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A day of the wildlife safari in Queen Elizabeth national park starts between 5:00 and 6:30am. The actual starting time  mainly depends on the hotel you have stayed in the night before, dictating the time you will need to take / pack breakfast. The park gate opens at 7:00am. By this time a good number of guest are waiting by the gate in their cars to start the safari. From the elephant home, you will be departing at 6:30am (latest) to start your safari in the Kasenyi tracks.

Kasenyi is one of the areas with the highest populations of wildlife in Queen Elizabeth national park, that is open for safaris. It is located in the northern parts of the park and neighboring Lake George. The area has a great scenery of the rift valley escarpment on eastern (Kyambura) side and the backdrop of the Rwenzori Mountains on the west. The habitat of Kasenyi includes an assortment of wetlands, lakes, open Savannah with thickets and acacia that provide breading grounds, nutrition and shelter to a diverse wildlife habitat. In this same area, you will be able to take the great views over the rolling hills and heritage over the Kasenyi salt pans. The areas has been carefully selected to be a good mix of the natural and cultural endowment that queen Elizabeth national park, generously offers to every visitor.

As you drive deeper into the wild, in the most suited 4WD (pop-up roof) safari vehicle with an experienced guide, you will have all the chances of viewing wildlife in their natural home. Common site is the colorful herds of antelopes, buffalos, elephants and other game normally seen from a distance against the sunrise beams in the extended Savannah. This is also the best time of looking for cats in action, before the heat pushes them to the thickets. You will be amazed to see wildlife in full action naturally providing to nature as much as they get from it. As the elephants break and munch the branches of acacia, the antelopes are feeding while they watch out in intervals, for the sudden lion attack. The warthogs are either kneeling to graze as they thank God for the meal or they are running around to digest what they have so far eaten. By coincidence, you may find the cats in an active hunt chasing for breakfast or as they surround to eat the just captured kill. You will also be amazed by the encounter of the rich aquatic life as you watch the hippopotamus slowly retreating from land to the nearby waters or even going deeper in the wetlands looking for the elusive shoebill stock and other endemics.

After the safari in Kasenyi tracks, you can decide to go for more wildlife safari in other parts of the park, the rest of the day, potential safaris can be conducted on Mweya side, in Ishasha or on the many public roads that go through Queen Elizabeth national park; like those to Lake Katwe, Hamukukugu or to Ishahsa/ Bwindi.

This wildlife safari experience awaits you.  It can be easily organized by most hotels or tour operators. At the elephant home, we go an extra mile by giving you the most experienced guides, reliable cars and quality but affordable accommodation services before and after the safari. You can reach us by sending an email to info@theelephanthome.com or contacting us through this website to book your safari, stay or any other services.

Queen Elizabeth national park is located about 400km west of Kampala. The two optional routes to get you to queen Elizabeth national park are; Fort portal-Mubende road (390km) and Masaka-Mbarara road (398km) The road is mainly tarmac. The travel time ranges from 1-7 hours basing on the mode of transport used; from the list below,

Three transport options:

  1. By public bus: Link bus is still the best and timely public bus on Fort portal Mubende route. This bus leaves every one hour from downtown, Kampala in Kisenyi bus terminal. The furthest point it can drop you is at Kikorongo junction as it heads to Bwera near the Congo boarder. The price from Kampala will range from 8-15$ as of now (2018). The price varies and will normally be high during holiday seasons and lowest on the rest of the days. The holiday seasons that lead to the increase of the bus price include; Christmas, Easter,  matayers day 3rd June (4th June) starting and end of the school holidays.
  2. By private car: This can be by tour operator or private hire. In most cases, the driver will know how to go around but it is also important for you to be informed of the distances, directions and locations of places. You can contact Rainforest and community tours or any other tour operator to give you a quote and more information about private hire.
  3. By air: Now it is possible to take a scheduled flight from Entebbe to Kasese air strip. The flight is operated by Aerolink. It will take from 40-60 from Entebbe to Kasese airstrip. Kasese airstrip is located 26km from Queen Elizabeth national park gate. On landing at Kasese, it is possible to get a public or private taxi to queen Elizabeth National park.

In any case, we encourage you to contact the elephant home or your driver/ operator to provide more information. Link bus stops just in front of the elephant home, making it very easy to get here. We also organize private transfers from Kampala or Entebbe at an affordable price. For further information about the current prices, accommodation and travel around Queen Elizabeth national park, please contact us at, theelephanthome@gmail.com