Private • Uganda
3 Days Queen Elizabeth National Park Safari
Kasenyi at dawn, the Kazinga Channel by boat, and Ishasha's tree-climbing lions
Overview
About this journey
- Region
- Western Uganda
- Duration
- 3 days
- Departures
- All year round
- Party size
- Up to 6
Queen Elizabeth is Uganda's most visited savannah park, about 376 kilometres west of Kampala, and covers nearly 1,978 square kilometres of plains, crater lakes, forest and wetland along the Kazinga Channel. It holds more than 95 mammal species and over 600 birds. Three days gives you a full day inside it: the Kasenyi plains at first light for lions and kob, and the channel by boat in the afternoon for hippos, crocodiles and elephant at the water.
The first day is the drive west with a stop at the Equator and lunch in Mbarara, arriving in time for an evening drive to the lodge. The last morning goes south to the Ishasha sector to look for the lions that rest in the fig trees, then home with lunch and a stop at a drum-making centre on the way. Chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge can be added as an option.
The dry months, June to September and December to February, are the easiest for game viewing, with the grass short and animals close to water. March to May and September to November are greener and better for birds.
A private trip with your own vehicle and guide, at an unhurried pace.
Highlights
What you'll experience
The Kazinga Channel by boat
Two hours on the water between Lake George and Lake Edward, with crocodiles on the banks, pelicans rafting in the shallows and buffalo coming down in numbers to drink.
The tree-climbing lions of Ishasha
In the park's southern sector the lions rest in the branches of wild fig trees, behaviour seen almost nowhere else, and the morning drive is spent scanning the canopy.
Kasenyi plains at first light
One of Uganda's densest gatherings of kob, and where the kob are the lions and hyenas follow, with the odd leopard at the edge of the euphorbias.
Six hundred bird species
Fish eagles, pelicans and kingfishers from the boat, and skimmers and malachite kingfishers along the water's edge if you look slowly.
Standing on the Equator
A stop at the crossing on the way west for the photograph and the craft shops.
Why choose us
Why choose a Private Journey?
Queen Elizabeth is Uganda's most varied park, with woodland, savannah, crater lakes, wetland and forest inside one boundary. Three days covers Kasenyi, the channel and Ishasha without trying to see everything.
A guide who knows this park
Our lead guide on this route has worked in Queen Elizabeth for years and knows where the lions slept last week and which stretch of the channel the elephants use in the afternoon.
Your own vehicle throughout
You share the safari vehicle with your own party only. Game drives start when you want them to, and the boat seat is yours.
A sensible pace
Three days covers Kasenyi, the channel and Ishasha without hurry, with rest built in so the afternoon on the water feels like pleasure rather than schedule.
Itinerary
Your day-by-day journey
Day 1
West through the Equator to the park
We collect you early from your Kampala or Entebbe hotel and drive west through villages, rolling hills and tea, stopping at the Equator crossing for photographs and the craft shops. Lunch is in Mbarara, then the road runs on past Ankole long-horned cattle, the Rift Valley escarpment and crater country.
You reach Queen Elizabeth in the late afternoon, and the drive in to the lodge doubles as your first game drive, so keep watching the tracks. Dinner at the lodge.
Meals · Lunch, Dinner
Day 2
Kasenyi plains at dawn, the Kazinga Channel by boat
An early breakfast, then out onto the Kasenyi plains, the park's best ground for predators. The big herds of Uganda kob draw the lions, and elephant, buffalo, waterbuck, warthog, hyena and giant forest hog are all regulars. Back to the lodge for lunch and a rest.
The afternoon is the Kazinga Channel, the 40-kilometre waterway between Lake George and Lake Edward with one of the highest concentrations of hippos in Africa. From the boat you see hippos, Nile crocodiles, elephant and buffalo at the water's edge, and along the banks fish eagles, pelicans, kingfishers and monitor lizards. Dinner at the lodge.
Meals · Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3
Ishasha's tree-climbing lions, then home
An early breakfast, then south through the park to the Ishasha sector, where the lions climb into the spreading fig trees to rest through the heat of the day. The morning drive here is spent scanning branches rather than grass, and a pride draped along a limb is the sight this park is known for.
From Ishasha you start east. Lunch on the way, with a stop at a drum-making centre where the artisans show how the drums are made, and arrival in Kampala in the evening for drop-off at your hotel or Entebbe airport.
Meals · Breakfast, Lunch
Inclusions
What is and isn't included
Included
- Private 4x4 safari vehicle with a pop-up roof throughout
- Two nights' accommodation on full board
- All meals as listed, from lunch on Day 1 to lunch on Day 3
- Three game drives: the evening drive on arrival, the Kasenyi morning and the Ishasha morning
- Kazinga Channel afternoon boat cruise, about two hours
- All park entrance and activity fees
- Professional English-speaking driver-guide
- Bottled mineral water in the vehicle daily
- Hotel or airport pickup and drop-off in Kampala or Entebbe
Not included
- International flights to and from the region
- Entry visas and any transit visas
- Gorilla and chimpanzee permits, unless listed as included
- Travel and medical insurance, which is mandatory
- Alcoholic drinks and premium beverages
- Laundry, telephone and other items of a personal nature
- Tips and gratuities for your guide, drivers and lodge staff
- Optional activities not listed in the day-by-day itinerary
Pricing
Available all year round
A private itinerary with no fixed departure dates. Rates are per person in USD.
Journey Details
Essential information
Minimum Age
5 years for the game drives and the boat
Safari Duffel
Soft-sided bags recommended. Hard suitcases can be stored at the lodge
First Group Event
Pickup from your Kampala or Entebbe hotel at 07:00 on Day 1
Last Group Event
Drop-off at your Kampala or Entebbe hotel by 19:30 on Day 3
Guaranteed Departures
A private trip, guaranteed from one guest
Alternate Sightseeing
The Kazinga cruise time shifts with the season, and the Day 1 evening drive depends on the time you arrive