Queen Elizabeth
Savannah across the equator between two lakes, hippos crowding the Kazinga Channel, lions resting in the trees of Ishasha and chimpanzees in a sunken gorge.
- Arrival
- Entebbe International · EBB
- To the park
- About 410 km west of Kampala by road
- Private jets
- Into EBB, then light aircraft to Mweya or Kasese
- Best time
- December to February · June to July
The city
Between Lake George and Lake Edward.
Queen Elizabeth covers close to 2,000 square kilometres of western Uganda and straddles the equator. At its centre the Kazinga Channel joins Lake George to Lake Edward, and the Mweya peninsula looks out over both water and plain. More than 600 species of bird have been recorded here, and some 95 of mammal.
A few days here allow a boat along the channel, close to hippos, elephants and buffalo at the water's edge, a morning in Kyambura Gorge after chimpanzees and a drive south to Ishasha for its lions in the trees. By road it is a long day from Kampala, so most visitors fly in from Entebbe. December to February and June to July are the drier months.
- Kazinga Channel A boat trip along the water that links Lake George and Lake Edward, with hippos and elephants on the banks.
- Ishasha The southern sector, known for its lions that climb into the trees.
- Kyambura Gorge A forest sunk below the savannah, where chimpanzees are tracked on foot.
Arriving
Over the hills to the channel.
International flights land at Entebbe. From there the park is a long day by road, about 410 kilometres, or a short hop by light aircraft to the airstrips at Mweya and Kasese, with Kihihi for Ishasha.
- Kigali 35 min
- Nairobi 1 h 25
- Amman 5 h 00
- Rome 6 h 45 long-range jet
- Hong Kong 12 h 25 long-range jet
When to go
December to February, and June to July.
The figures are for Fort Portal, the nearest station with long-term averages, which stands higher than the park; the plains around the channel are warmer. Rain falls in two seasons, March to May and August to November, and the months either side of the turn of the year and in mid-year are the driest.
- 27° J 42
- 27° F 59
- 27° M 125
- 26° A 171
- 25° M 124
- 25° J 79
- 25° J 70
- 25° A 114
- 25° S 156
- 25° O 184
- 25° N 146
- 26° D 63
Elsewhere in Uganda
More reasons to come.
- Kampala The capital, its markets and the Kasubi royal tombs.
- Entebbe The airport, and botanical gardens on Lake Victoria.
- Jinja Where the Nile leaves Lake Victoria.
- Murchison Falls The Nile forced through a gap seven metres wide.
- Bwindi Impenetrable forest, home to about half the world's mountain gorillas.
Flying to Queen Elizabeth?
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A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.