Best Time to Visit Queen Elizabeth National Park

The Best Time to Visit Queen Elizabeth National Park –Queen Elizabeth national park is located in the south western part of Uganda, across the equator in the western arm of the east African rift valley. It is the second biggest national park in the country occupying a total are of 1978sq km, which is covered by different types of vegetation from savannah to forest vegetation. This are habitats for a variety of animals including lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, hippos, crocodiles, chimpanzees, baboons and warthogs among others.  The beauty of Queen Elizabeth national park is much more than just wildlife. It has numerous craters and water bodies which make it extraordinary.

Queen Elizabeth national park has natural vegetation and is a natural habitat, the features of attraction are natural and the area doesn’t remain the same during different seasons of climate. Uganda has two climatic seasons in a year; the dry and wet seasons. there is the long and short dry season from mid June to mid-October and December to February respectively and the long and short wet season from March to early June and October to November respectively. During the wet season, the grass in the parks tends to grow taller and tracks and trails become slippery. The dry season on the other hand keeps tracks and trails dry and dusty and easy to penetrate through for cars going to the park, for activities like game drives which require you to go to farer places inside the park and hiking.

The major tourist activities in Queen Elizabeth national park are game viewing, boat cruise, crater drive, nature walks, chimp tracking and birding and all these are best done during the dry season. Therefore the best time recommended for visiting queen Elizabeth national park is during the dry seasons; June to October and December to February when there is little or no rain.

During this dry season, it is easier to access the park through the tracks that have been maintained in their nature by not putting tarmac, as well as those that lead to inner parts of Kasenyi where game drives are conducted. It is also easier to slop and climb the steep sides Kyambura gorge when tracking chimps and also to move through the forest. However, the dry season is the time when most tourists travel to Uganda and Queen Elizabeth in particular and the park is crowded and accommodation is fully booked yet the rates of accommodation are higher. These rates are later on discounted during the wet season when the number of travelers has reduced. The wet season therefore is recommended for budget travelers to enjoy the discounted rates of accommodation.

Though most people visit Queen Elizabeth national park during the dry season, there are always visitors throughout the year and some activities like boat cruise, bird watching will always be at the peak with the best to offer for visitors. Plan for your trip to Queen Elizabeth national park with Adventure in the wild safaris, we advise you on the best itineraries that suit your safari duration.

The Best Time to Visit Queen Elizabeth National Park for a Safari