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After the Rwenzori trekking experience or the Rwenzori foothills exploration, you definitely need to relax as you take the wildlife safari in the neighboring Queen Elizabeth national park. If it is true that you’re planning on traveling this direction, this information will be very useful for you.
The route to Queen Elizabeth national park from Rwenzori is past Kasese town. Kasese town is located bellow the Rwenzori mountains on Fort portal-Mpondwe road. To transfer from Rwenzori to Queen Elizabeth national park, you have three optional modes of transport to choose from at different stages of the journey. these include public shared taxi/ bus, special hire, private self-drive or bodaboda. A bodaboda is a local name meaning a motorcycle customized as a taxi for public use. The mode of transport may be dictated by the entrance gate of Rwenzori mountains national park you trekked through and or you will be travelling from. The four gates include; Kilembe southern gate, Ibanda central circuit gate, Kichwamba-Bukurungu gate or Kinyampanika northern gate. Travelling from any of the three gates connects to Fort portal-Kasese road or to Kasese town. The following are the distances involved from each gate.
Kilembe southern gate: connects to kasese town. It is located 11km from Kasese town, the road is mainly tarmac
Ibanda central circuit gate: Connects to Fort portal-Kasese road. It is located 17km to fort portal – Kasese road or 26km to Kasese town. The 17km from Kasese fortportal road to the gate are marrum while the rest is tarmac
Kichwamba gate: Connects to Fort portal-Kasese road. It is located 10km to fort portal Kasese road or 45km to Kasese town. The 10km to fort port Kasese road are marrum while the rest is tarmac
Kinyampanika northern gate: Connects to Fort portal-Kasese road. It is located 13km to Fort Portal-Kasese road or 73km to Kasese town. The 13km to Kasese fort portal road are marrum while the rest is tarmac
All connections to fort portal-Kasese road don’t have public shared transport; taxis or buses. You will therefore have to use either a private hired car or bodaboda to connect to fort portal-Kasese road / Kasese town to be able to get shared public taxis or bus that goes towards Queen Elizabeth national park. For extra comfort and proper time management, you can arrange your transfer from the gate to bring you up to Queen Elizabethan national park. If your transfer from the gate will only bring you to Fort-portal Kasese road or to Kasese town, you will then have to take a shared taxi, to take you up to your chosen destination in Queen Elizabeth national park. In everything you do to arrange your travel, always remember to ask your service provider, as one reliable source to guide you on how to get the transport means of your choice. Someone will be willing to go through the process for you or even call the driver to pick you up.
The choice of taxi/ stage to take the transport from will depend on the gate you come from and the lodge /location of Queen Elizabeth national park you’re destined to. If your lodge is anywhere up to Kikorongo junction, you can travel by a taxi going from Kasese taxi park to Bwera or Kisinga and it will drop you to the named lodge. If you’re destined for any point beyond Kikorongo junction on Mbarara road or to Lake Katwe, then you will take the taxi going to Mbarara or Lake Katwe. Queen Elizabeth national park is wide. Be sure you have boarded the right car from Kasese town by telling the conductor, which hotel or stage you want to stop at before you board.
If you haven’t chosen a hotel to stay in during your visit, you can try the elephant home. It is located 22km from Kasese on Kasese Mbarara road, next to Queen Elizabeth national park. It is 1km before Kikorongo junction that goes to Mpondwe Congo border. From Kasese town you will take a taxi or bus and they will drop you in front of the lodge after a 15-20 minutes’ drive. For those travelling by bus from Kampala or fort portal, you can as well tell the bus to drop you at Kikorongo for the same price, instead of stopping in Kasese where you will then be required to take another transport means. Please view our location on the following Google maps link.
Do you need help on arranging your transport? We are just a call away, in case you want someone to handle the travel for you. Tell us the dates and your travel plans then leave us to do the rest as you focus on enjoying your holiday. Fortunately, no consultation fees will be charged to you!
It has been made easier for visitors to book and participate in the boat cruise experience on Kazinga channel. Whether you want to do it as part of your main wildlife safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park or you want to do it another time outside the common schedule, it will be all tailored to your interest.
The simple procedure to book is; to send us an email telling us the numbers of people and what time you want to do this boat cruise, then leave the rest to us. Though we recommend that the booking should be made at least one day in advance you can also try your luck and make last-minute bookings on the same day. At the longest, one day from the time of booking, everything will be set to take you on this memorable safari.
What is special about Kazinga channel boat cruise experience?
Kazinga channel boat cruise is truly the best way to see wildlife in Queen Elizabeth national park. Kazinga channel ecosystem is a complete wilderness full of life, due to its all-year-round green status. The channel extends 40km between two famous lakes; Lake Gorge and Lake Edward in this park. The connection to these two water bodies feed this channel into a broader ecosystem stretching from Kibale forest to the great Virunga in Congo through the cross-boarder Lake Edward. This two hours boat cruise, therefore, gives the visitors an opportunity to take a snapshot of the greater queen Elizabeth national park ecosystem.
The boat cruise is also an opportunity for families to reunite as they unwind in a unique natural setting. During the channel, you will realize that your souls as family or friends will get closer together as you enjoy the scenery of this great landscape and wildlife, allowing you to rebuild your bond with your people and nature at the same time.
During the boat cruise, you will witness that Kazinga channel is a true demonstration of coexistence in the Queen Elizabeth national park ecosystem. You will see a full mix of wildlife at one time. You will be exposed to herds of Buffalo, Hippo and other animals near the edge of the channel as they cool off. Depending on the season European migrant birds like the terns and gulls congregate here in large flocks. With a keen eye, you may also spot some crocodiles as they bask by the edge of the channel.
You can choose to climb to the rooftop (protected by side rails) and take a sky view of the ecosystem from the top of the boat. From here you will take exclusive views of the fishing eagles and zoom the big five as much as you have always wished. At some points, the boat will bypass fishing canoes on the shores or cruise past the fishermen on canoe doing their routine fishing trades. As you cruise, the scenarios of canoes on or off the water with the background of the fishing villages will give you wonderful picture moments.
Other important information to note:
The two options of the boat cruise are the Park boat cruise and the community boat cruise.
The park boat cruise is scheduled for two times a day; one at 11:00 am and the other at 3:00 pm. This boat safari offers an opportunity to explore wildlife at close range in this evergreen paradise of Queen Elizabeth national park that lies along the edges of the Kazinga channel. The boat cruise starts at Mweya peninsular. It is also important to note that you need to book space in advance (especially during peak season) since the boat has a limited number of seats.
For those seeking to explore on budget or are limited by one factor or another, there is also another boat option on the Kazinga channel being operated by the community. Though it is operated on the same channel in Queen Elizabeth national park, this community boat cruise costs cheaper, and needs a minimum of 2-3 people in case there is no one else to join. This community boat cruise starts at Katunguru and its timing is flexible depending on the availability of clients, able to operate any time between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm.
Each boat cruise tour is a return journey that takes a total of two hours. Guests are expected to arrive at the boat starting point at least 30 minutes before to allow for payments in the reservations office or visitor information center and boarding down by the dock. The boat cruise package comes with a ranger guide (onboard) to interpret the tour for the whole group on board.
Please contact us to organize your boat experience of choice at no additional charges. We can also arrange your stay with us at the Elephant home before and after the boat cruise experience.
Queen Elizabeth National park is located 526km north of Lake Bunyonyi in the albertine rift of western Uganda. After Lake Bunyonyi, a favorite of majority of travelers to the gorilla highlands, the next destination is normally to participate in a wildlife safari in one of the most popular wildlife areas, queen Elizabeth national park. The road takes circles and rounds over the scenic hills as you view the fascinating hillside farms, terraces and the homesteads. The road side markets full of happy venders selling fresh foods; fruits and vegetables, eggs all in a display that will give you that memory touching deep into your life, long after the trip. Travel with confidence on this memorable journey, will give you the opportunity to fully explore the wonders of this indigenous land and her tribes. without knowledge of the route, it can be quite challenging to travel this journey if you don’t have a private driver or an informed road map of the journey. Even when you have private means of transport, you may need to be well informed to be able to drive confidently or else you will find yourself making rounds returning to the highlands or spending allot of time in the last minutes restraining your eyes to the map trying to find the way, as you miss the lovely views this land offers.
The full journey from Lake Bunyonyi to queen Elizabeth national park takes an estimate of 5 hours from start to end, depending on the status of the road and mode of travel used. From the lake, you will take a bodaboda or private hire to drop you in Kabale town. This distance takes you maximum of 15 minutes driving. Some people do walk it. From Kabale town you will take a public bus (69 passengers). The public buses travels through Ntungamo to Mbarara on their way to Kampala. This route has quite a good number of buses. You can be able to get a bus every 30 minutes. Some buses start in Kabale or they will be en-route from other further destinations like Kisoro, Kanungu or Kigali-Rwanda. It is better to take a bus that starts the journey from Kabale (to be able to take a better seat or a location on the window side to give you opportunities of viewing the country side) though you can also take any en-route bus if it still has space by then.
One bus (Kalita) commonly travels from Kabale through Queen Elizabeth national park on the way to Fort portal – Kagadi. This bus leaves Kabale at night on scheduled journeys. It reaches Queen Elizabeth national park in the early morning of the next day. You need to call them or contact your travel advisor before the travel day to find out the schedule and availability on your travel day. All other buses will be traveling from Kabale to Kampala. If you use them, you will be required to stop in Mbarara and take a taxi from Mbarara town (midway) to continue to Queen Elizabeth national park (Kasese).
Travel by private means is more flexible. You will take the same route from Lake Bunyonyi. From kabale take the same route; Kabale Ntunganmo road and either travel to Mbarara or branch off at Ntungamo on Rukungri road to drive through Ishaka via Kitagata hot springs. On reaching Ishaka, you will join Kasese-mbarara road and drive north towards Queen Elizabeth national park. This is a shorter route that also shows more of the country side than going through Mbarara town.
Depending on your booked accommodation location, you will have to stop, either in Kasese (Katunguru, Kikorongo, Kasese town) or Rubirizi (Katunguru, Kyambura, Katara etc) where most lodges are located. Call your hotel and make sure they give you the right stopping stage name and location. Please communicate your stopping point when you board the public means of transport or else, you may be disappointed when they drop you at a wrong point and you have to travel ahead or back to find the right destination.
We can provide any further information to help you travel right, if you contact us any time through this website or our phone numbers.
Enjoy Lake Bunyonyi and Queen Elizabeth national park, during your forthcoming trip!!
This is a list of items you will need to do a wildlife safari in queen Elizabeth national park and get the best out of it.
Please contact Rainforest and community tours or any other tour operator of your choice to provide any further support, advice and services basing on your interest and time of visiting Queen Elizabeth national park. This way you will be informed of the rates and prices or any other changes at the time. We look forward to welcoming you to the elephant home lodge during your stay.
Rwenzori is a beauty above the odds. The name “Rwenzori” is inspired by the local Bakonzo dialect meaning a natural source of water. Setting your eyes and foot on Rwenzori, will rise your imagination of Uganda, the pearl of Africa. Rwenzori is a perfect mix of nature and culture as you explore the foothills or the high peaks to witness snow at the equator. A visit to Rwenzori mountains gives you an opportunity to experience a Uganda known to very few travelers.
Fortunately, Rwenzori mountains beauty and level of challenge still awaits discovery. This mountain is still unknown to 99.5% of the visitors who come to Uganda, making it the least known but most challenging mountain on earth!! Despite its location, 40 km away from Queen Elizabeth national park (one of the most visited parks of Uganda), many people still miss the golden opportunity to visit this fountain of beauty.
In a special arrangement, we have created an opportunity to bring guest from queen Elizabeth national park to explore Rwenzori mountains using whatever time available to them, ranging from hours to days. From queen Elizabeth, Rwenzori mountains can be visited in the time as short as two hours. The activities available include a traditional lunch or coffee experience and other cultural encounters, short walks in the foothills looking for small animals accustomed to this area like chameleons or trekking from 1 – 8 days in the mountains, for those more prepared to visit the high mountains. This tour extension is an opportunity to learn how Rwenzori mountain influences the entire ecosystem of up to five national parks (including queen Elizabeth) and a multitude of human communities in Uganda and Congo. You will definitely be inspired by this Rwenzori experience!!
This unique experience covers two national park of Queen Elizabeth and Rwenzori mountains.
Day 1: On the arrival day to Queen Elizabeth, after checking in your hotel, you will get set for the trekking. The days activities include going to Kasese town, 15-20 minutes away, to buy supplies for the trek. Return to a nice lunch or early dinner. The rest of the evening, stay at the camp fire as you catch up with the locals about their life with the wildlife of queen Elizabeth national park.
Day 2: You will be participating in the wildlife safari in queen Elizabeth national park. This includes a game drive on the Kasenyi tracks looking for the big five, the cats and other wildlife, a boat cruise on Kazinga channel and a few other wildlife or community activities. Depending on your choice, other activities may include a visit to lake Katwe traditional salt mines, the community bodaboda safari, chimp tracking in Kyambura or Kalinzu forests, the crater lakes walk, cotton growing experience or visiting the equator. After witnessing one of the best wildlife experience, you will transfer to the Rwenzori base camp this evening, arriving to dinner and overnight.
Day 3: In the morning, after an early breakfast, you will go for the trek of your preferred duration. You can trek the Rwenzori in many packages from just one day up to eight days and above, where you access the high snow picks. Trekking can be done through one of the four different gates. These include; Kilembe southern gate, Nyakalengija central circuit gate, Kichwamba Bukurungu trail and or Kinyampanika trail. for thse who dont feel prepared, you will scale the lower slopes or the communities in the foothills where you can walk up to 2400m to look for the views of margarita peak, the portal peaks and other scenic view with background of Bakonzo traditional homesteads dotted over the hills and valleys.
On your return from the trek, you will spend one night at the base camp where you will have chances of participating in the cultural encounters with the local community. This is also the best time to connect to another destination of your itinerary including Kibale national park (117km). For those interested in the gorilla experience after Rwenzori, a return to the elephant home is ideal, to be able to connect to southwestern (Bwindi) the next morning. The elephant home is centrally located on the main tourist route and can be used as a base for exploring all the attractions in the region. You can contact the elephant home, or Rainforest and comminty tours for any support and formation.
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:
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
Activities inside the queen Elizabeth national park;
Activities outside the park. These activities can be done without paying park entrance fees.
These activities in the surrounding wildlife reserves.
These activities may require entrance fees to these specific wildlife reserves.
Cultural encounters and other community activities.
These activities are all outside the national park organized by the local communities in and around their residential areas. The income generated by these activities go to the grassroots community members, hence supporting alternative livelihoods to natural resource depletion.
To get more information or including any of these activities in your safari, please contact us on; info@theelephanthome.com or whatsApp: +256780278010
If you’re looking to get accommodation for your next trip to Queen Elizabeth national park – western Uganda, look no further. The elephant home will give you a perfect memorable safari experience that you have been looking for.
The Elephant home is a budget lodge located in the Savannah bushes within Kikorongo community. It is appropriate for people seeking to visit Queen Elizabeth national park in western Uganda since it is located just opposite from the park. The lodge boasts with one of the largest self-contained rooms you will find in this location. Each room is furnished with twin beds. The prices are set to suite those seeking to travel on budget while endlessly exploring the natural and cultural heritage of Queen Elizabeth national park. The room comes with free breakfast, furnished with bedding and perfect housekeeping services included in the price. the lodge has a restaurant on site where you can order all meals and you will be impressed with our food experience.
Guests can take the self guided walk behind the lodge to explore the plant life and great scenery of the surrounding area including queen Elizabeth national park. Placed within the buffer zone of Queen Elizabeth national park, visitors are able to spot many birds within the lodge property. Besides, the staff will arrange your wildlife safari, boat cruise in Queen Elizabeth national park at an affordable price. village experiences that give visitors a hint of the local life, can be arranged on request. the list of these experience include; the Bodaboda safari around Queen Elizabeth national park, the community hill trek to the mountain lake, the cotton growing tour, the equator tour and the traditional dancing experience by the local community.
Our bookings are open here online and we will be able to provide further information. it is possible to Contact us and book your stay through our online booking form. bookings and deposits can be done through the Kampala office through Uganda Community Tourism Association (UCOTA).
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: