Located in western Uganda, Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most popular and most visited national park in Uganda. This beautiful park is one of the best places to visit in Uganda for an incredible safari experience that will make your African Safari unforgettable.
Game Drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park are one of the top Uganda Safari activities to do. This incredible wildlife experience is done in the Kasenyi Plains, this regions hosts the richest number of wildlife in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Apart from the Kasenyi Drive Circuit, there are other game drive circuits in Queen Elizabeth National Park. These circuits include Ishasha game drive circuit, Channel drive circuit and Crater drive circuit.
Game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Game Drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park are offered as morning and afternoon game drives, there are no night game drives in the Kasenyi Plains. This is because the region is flooded with tourists during day, so animals are left to rest at night as a way of minimizing stress on them. You can have a night game drive at Mweya Peninsular where you can view the nocturnal animals.
Game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park are done on several tracks running through the Kasenyi Plains, the North Kazinga Plains, the Crater Lakes, and the Ishasha Sector offering guaranteed sightings of a beautiful wild Africa.
Here are the different circuits in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Kasenyi Game Drive Circuit
Kasenyi Region is the most famous game drive circuit in Queen Elizabeth National Park, thanks to the many resident herds of Uganda Kobs and the lions that prey on them. From Mweya it is about half an hour’s drive to Kasenyi Plains, along the drive you cross the bushy plains running east from the Kasese – Ishaka Road to the local fishing village of Kasenyi on the Western shore of Lake George.
Kasenyi Plains is one of the best sites to see the magnificent African Lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The area hosts 3 prides of lions that you can best encounter shortly after sunrise. However, seeing them is guaranteed if you sign up for a lion tracking experience with the Uganda Predator Project. They monitor and track the movement of lions, leopards and hyenas with radio collars fitted on their necks.
Ishasha Game Drive Circuits
Game drives in the remote Southern region in Queen Elizabeth National Park are perfect opportunity to see the rare Tree-Climbing lions. These rare kings of the jungle, perched up in the huge fig trees and lazily resting their day way are a beautiful sight to see.
There are two main game drive circuits running through Ishasha Sector, both of them are roughly 20km. these are The Southern Circuit and The Northern Circuit.
The Southern Circuit
Ishasha Sector offers a more rewarding game viewing experience, especially if you wish to have a clear vision of the distinctive tree climbing lions of Queen Elizabeth National Park.
The Southern Circuit is an open countryside with boundless horizons, it passes through the main kob breeding area showing how these lions always stay close to their prey. The Southern Circuit has numerous trees that favor these peculiar tree climbing lions of Queen Elizabeth National Park.
The Northern Circuit
The Northern Circuit in Ishasha Sector is best circuit for general watching of Uganda Wildlife animals. This circuit is 4 kilometers from the main road to Katunguru and it overlooks the floodplains of the Ntungwe River.
On the pools and wallows of the Northern Circuit, you will see red buffaloes which are related to the forest buffaloes of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the northern part of this circuit, the loop develops into a full-blown wetland. From here, birds can spot black coucals, compact weavers, and other wading birds.
Other circuits in the Ishasha Sector The Edwards Flats and Ishasha River Campsite.
Channel Drive Circuit
The Channel Drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park runs roughly a parallel direction from Kazinga Channel’s Northern shores. This circuit serves majorly as a route between Katunguru Bridge and the Mweya Peninsula.
During the drive on this circuit, lookout for several animals including warthogs, bushbucks and waterbucks among others.
The side road to Channel Campsite is good for viewing the Leopards and Lions which are infrequent. Also, you can see the localized Giant Forest Hogs in this area.
Visitors can also explore the channel drive circuit from Channel Campsite in about 2 hours. It is near Mweya and it has many interconnecting tracks.
Also there are night game drives arranged from Mweya Visitor Information Centre.
Categories of Game Drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Game Drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park are categorized as guided game drives and Self- Drive.
Guided Game Drives
These are common kind of game drives for visitors on Uganda Tours in Queen Elizabeth National Park, it is the type of game drive in which certified guides lead tourists in their excursions. They are knowledgeable about the history and wildlife of the park.
Guided game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park can be done either with the Uganda Wildlife Authority vehicles or a private vehicle.
The guides know the behaviors of Queen Elizabeth National Park animals and spots where you can find them with their tracking radio calls. Guided game drives will allow you to learn about the animals as you watch them closely
Self-Drive Game Drives
Self – Drive Game Drives are good for visitors who would like to test their adventurous free wielded spirits. It is where you go into wild Uganda by yourself and decide which course to take. You can rent a vehicle to experience Uganda’s wilderness by yourself.
Self-Drive Game Drive is more liberating because you decide what you would like for yourself without worrying about what other want.
How Much is A Game Drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park
| Category | Foreign Residents (USD) | Foreign Non Residents (USD) | East African Citizen (UGX) |
| Day Game Drives per person (UWA Vehicles) | 25 | 30 | 30,000 |
| Night Game Drives per person (UWA Vehciles) | 35 | 40 | 40,000 |
| Day Guided Game Drives per vehicle (Private) | 15 | 20 | 20,000 |
| Day Self Drive – Game Drive per vehicle | 10 | 10 | 10,000 |
| Night Game Drive per person (Private) | 20 | 30 | 50,000 |