Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most famous and visited park in Uganda. It is often called the "Pearl of Africa" or "Switzerland of Africa". The definitions are associated with the extremely diverse equatorial area of Queen Elizabeth Park, where you can see two beautiful lakes, connected by a canal. Among the wondrous views of Queen Elizabeth are volcanic craters, grassy plains and tropical forests, which form a great biodiversity, which is rarely seen on the planet.

Queen Elizabeth National Park extends into western Uganda, comes within the four districts of Uganda. It is located about 376 kilometers southwest of the country's capital Kampala. Kasese is located close to the northeastern end of the park and city Bushenyi is the southeastern boundary. The total area of the park amounts to 1 978 square kilometers. About 17% of the Queen Elizabeth park falls in the area Kasese, 50% - in Bushenyi, and about 33% in Rukungiri.

The protected area of Queen Elizabeth was declared a National Park in 1954. For many years it was known as the Ruwenzori National Park, but then again returned to its royal colonial name. Among the lakes, which are an integral part of the character of the park is Lake Edward, which extends the territory of the Congo and Uganda, a few kilometers south of the equator.

Spread over an area of 2325 square kilometers, Edward is the largest lake in Africa and is included in the list of World Heritage sites by UNESCO. While in Queen Elizabeth National Park, visit the Virunga National Park in Congo.

the wild lands of Queen Elizabeth Park remain attractive mainly for their vast variety of fauna. Here there are nearly 100 species of mammals and 606 different bird species. Much of the populations of different mammals are almost lost during the war between Uganda and Tanzania.

Today, fortunately, they are all restored and Queen Elizabeth is home to many hippos, elephants, leopards, lions, chimpanzees and many othersIt is said that the biggest population of hippos in the world is located along the Kasinga Channel.

There are warthogs, buffalo, rare aquatic antelope, giant forest pigs, giraffes, zebra, etc. Northeastern boundary of Queen Elizabeth is a dense forest, where thousands of chimpanzees live undisturbed. The vast wealth of birds includes rare species such as pink flamingos, storks and all African exotic birds.

All wildlife in Queen Elizabeth National Park lives freely without any fences. Usually tourists wander there under the required accompaniment of members of the reserve. They show the guests the most interesting places where you can catch a glimpse of wildlife. Optionally, you can rent a special car, which however, reduces the opportunity to meet face to face with a zebra and antelope.