Getting to Queen Elizabeth National Park : Located about 250 miles from Uganda’s capital Kampala, Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of Uganda’s most sought after game parks because of its flora and fauna beauty. The park is known for its amazing savannah grass, swampy and flat like landscape, the kyambura gorge and the kazinga channel. Most of all its known for the diverse wildlife that makes their home in the park, which include the rare tree climbing lions and leopards on top of the other multitudes of animal species. The park is also home to over 450 bird species that add to its beauty.
Usually when people are inquiring about Queen Elizabeth National Park they are amazed at how much beauty they will find at the park but they worry about getting to the park. Well in this article we want to help dissect how one can get there without a hassle.
There are two main ways to get to Queen Elizabeth National Park, by road and by air. The most commonly used is by road.
By road
Getting to QENP by road you will have to drive from Kampala, Entebbe or another part of Uganda, depending on where you first stay when you land in Uganda. The drive to the park is about 5 to 6 hours depending on the route you have used and the traffic you encounter on your day of travel. The are two major road routes that get you to the QENP and these routes are from Kampala, via Mbarara getting you to the eastern entry of the park and via fort Portal getting you to the northern entry of the park.
The fort portal route is usually used by persons who pair their visit to QENP with a visit to fort portal city, Kibale National Park for chimpanzee trekking, the Rwenzori Mountain for the famous summit hike among other things.
There is another road route to the QENP from Bwindi National Park. However this route is only useful to persons who are in Bwindi’s Buhoma sector. Hence that’s why it’s not a popular route. But if you are having a mountain gorilla trekking experience in Bwindi National Park – Buhoma sector you can connect to QENP in under 3 hours through this route. The route connects you to the Ishasha sector of the park when you get to see tree climbing lions if you are lucky.
By Air
You can also get to Queen Elizabeth National Park by air. You should note that all people getting to the park by air have to start their trip in Kajjansi airfield near Entebbe International airport. From this airfield you will fly to QENP and land at one of the nearby airstrips that are Kasese airstrip, Mweya airstrip and Ishasha airstrip. The flights to QENP are usually scheduled so you should check with your tour operator for the operating schedule. However if the schedule doesn’t work for you, you can always charter an aircraft; still you have to consult with your tour operator for details on how to charter an aircraft.
The flights to QENP will take about an hour or two, depending on the airstrip your landing at. From either of the airstrips, it will take you between 45mins to an hour to get to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Though flying is more costly, it’s more convenient, faster and hassle free compared to road travel. Road travel on the other side is quite long and can be tiring; however it gives you the best views and scenery of the park’s surrounding areas and other parts of the country on the road to the park. It also offers the most adventure and fun experiences.
That said, how you get to QENP will come down to your choice and budget but either way you will get to QENP safe and sound
