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Park entrance time: Queen Elizabeth national park gate opens for visitor entrance at 7:00am and closes at 7:00pm. Before or after this time bracket, there is no visitor entrance allowed. This is very important especially if you have booked your accommodation for the arrival night inside the park
Boat cruise on Kazinga channel: The scheduled boat cruise on Kazinga channel is twice a day. 11:00 (just after the morning game drive) and 3:00pm. Any other private boat cruise can be done at a different time on special arrangement with the park. It is better to be there 30 minutes before the starting time.
Game drives: The game drives are conducted in the morning starting 7:00am and in the evening before 7:00pm. At will guests can still do game drives across the day as long as they have paid their entrance fees? Any game drive outside this bracket is a night game drive and has to be authorized and paid separately. Different categories of game drive ranging from, just driving around the park to enjoy the natural heritage while looking for animals including tree climbing lions in Ishasha.
Bird watching: Better in the morning and evening. It may also depend on the species and the vegetation cover. Since this activity is self-timed, it is better to go for it full day as long as you have paid all the required fees such as park entrance fees, guide fees and others.
Chimp tracking in Kyambura: this activity starts at 8:00am at fig tree camp. It is better to be there 30 minutes before the starting time.
Summary of activity timing
| Activity | Scheduled/ best time | Also possible |
| Park entrance | 7:00am – 7:00pm | Through the day |
| Boat cruise on Kazinga channel | 11:00am and 3:00pm | |
| Game drives | 7:00am and 5:00pm | Through the day |
| Bird watching | 7:00am and 5:30pm | Through the day |
| Chimp tracking in Kyambura | 8:00am | In the evening |
Note:
Queen Elizabeth national park is located 392/ 399 km west of Kampala. It is the most accessible by public transport, of all national parks in Uganda. The park is crossed by many public roads that create easy access by any means of transport including motorcycle or even bicycle. From Kampala, the park can be accessed through two routes, Kampala-Mubende-Fort portal road or Kampala-Masaka-Mbarara road. From Rwanda it can be accessed through Ntungamo-Kasese road and from Congo it can be accessed through Fort portal-Mpondwe road.
The Fort portal-kasese-Mbarara road provides opportunities to reach locations such as Kikorongo junction, Katunguru and Kyampura, the famous accommodation centers and starting points for the wildlife safari in Queen Elizabeth national park and chimp tracking in Kyampura game reserve. Other roads that cross through the park and ease the transportation are; the road to Lake Katwe that passes by Mweya gate, the road to Mukungu fishing village on Lake George, the road to Kahendero fishing village on Lake George and the road that goes to Congo and the road that goes to Kanugu through Ishasha sector. all these roads are open to the public without paying park entrance fee.
given the many public roads, the park can be accessed by all means of road transport from Kampala or any other national park of Uganda. The common means of public transport available on these roads are; bus transport (59 seater), public shared taxi (14 seater) and private special hires that you can find in the neighboring district towns. Buses can be got from downtown Kampala and they will be able to stop you at any of the four stopovers of Kasese town, Kikorongo junction, Katunguru or Kyambura.
The location you will stay in the night before the safari, will determine which road and bus you take from Kampala or any other locations where your trip starts. For those staying the night before the safari in Kasese or Kikorongo area, should preferably have to take the bus that goes from Kampala through Mubende / fort portal road. They can also take public taxis that go through or from fort portal, Kasese, mbarara or bushenyi. Those staying in katunguru and Kyampura areas, should preferably have to use the bus that goes from Kampala through Mbarara Masaka road. They can also take public taxis that go through or from fort portal, Kasese, mbarara or bushenyi.
Those coming from other parks in the north of Queen Elizabeth, including Murchison falls, Semuliki Rwenzori or Kibale national parks, you connect to Queen Elizabeth through fort portal – Kasese road. Those coming from the national parks located in the south of Queen Elizabeth, such as Lake Mburo, Bwindi and Mgahinga gorilla national park or even from Rwanda, you connect through the Mbarara – Katunguru road.
Please contact us if you have any further questions. We will be happy to provide any support if needed including where and how to find the n-taxis in the different areas, arranging private hires and pickup, etc.
We welcome to Queen Elizabeth national park.
Taking a wildlife safari without a good guide can lower the value of your safari experience? I take this opportunity to guide you on how to get the right guide for your safari in Queen Elizabeth national park. Many people may claim to be safari guides and guests will be disappointed on safari when it is already too late.
What is a safari guide I am talking about?
A safari guide is presumably a person who is experienced and passionate with wildlife of a localized ecosystem and proud to share the love and passion for wildlife with visitors or other travelers who have come to experience the beauty of that specific area.
The safari guide focuses on the smallest component of the ecosystem to relate it to the largest while showing how these small microorganisms affect the larger species of the ecosystem. For example, the experienced safari guide will prefer to look at the elephant dunk and the small organisms that live in and around it, before looking at the actual elephant, to be able to give the guests a good understanding of how the ecosystem is kept healthy with the contribution of the smaller organisms to make it a better home for the larger ones.
From this, you realize that a safari guide requires special skills to conduct a good tour. These skills may be too critical and not obvious to the observer or the visitor being guided. This is why sometimes it will be a challenge getting the best safari guide that will make your safari a memorable one.
A safari guide for Queen Elizabeth national park
For your safari in Queen Elizabeth national park, the guides should be able to unveil to you the background of the ecosystem without leaving the local communities, the large mammals, the waters and microorganisms unique to this wonderful national park. The safari guides to take you around Queen Elizabeth national park during your safari can be found through several ways;
Sometimes guides can be too busy during the peak season. To get a good safari guide, you need to prepare early enough; before arrival or at arrival. In case you have been too busy to get one, The Elephant Home has standby professional safari guide who can provide the services during your safari. Please contact us if you need one. We can also help you on any other safari services such as accommodation, transportation or arranging your trip to Queen Elizabeth national park.