Queen Elizabeth National Park is in the Kasese district of Western Uganda. It covers approximately 1,978 square kilometers. When it was established in 1952, the park was called Kazinga National Park. It was renamed in 1954 after a visit by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The Park is on the rift valley floor. Visitors enjoy stunning views of the escarpments, crater lakes, and the diverse ranges of the Rwenzori Mountain.

In Queen Elizabeth National Park, two main areas offer wildlife viewing: the northern and southern sectors. The northern section includes the Kasenyi and the north Kazinga plains. This area is home to a variety of animal species. Visitors can spot leopards, lions, elephants, herds of buffaloes, and more. The southern sector is also known as the Ishasha sector. It provides chances to see tree-climbing lions and other species, including Topis.

In addition to the usual game drives in 4x4 safari vehicles, Queen Elizabeth National Park offers boat trips along the Kazinga Channel, allowing visitors to see numerous water-adapted animals and birds along the channel's banks.

Queen Elizabeth National Park has special features, which include the following;

A) The Kazinga Channel

The Kazinga Channel is a 32-kilometer freshwater link connecting Lake Edward and Lake George, located within Queen Elizabeth National Park. The channel attracts a wide variety of animals and birds. Notable inhabitants include several Nile crocodiles and one of the places in the world for large concentrations of hippos.

B) The Kyambura Gorge

The Kyambura Gorge, often referred to as the "Valley of the Apes," is a 100-meter-deep, narrow valley that stretches 11 kilometers in the eastern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park. A permanent stream flows through the middle of the gorge, connecting it to the Kazinga Channel.

The gorge is characterized by a tropical rainforest ecosystem, rich in biodiversity and home to a wide variety of wildlife and avian species. It supports several primate species, including chimpanzees, olive baboons, black-and-white colobus monkeys, red colobus monkeys, and red-tailed monkeys, among others. Due to its significant primate population, Kyambura Gorge is one of the few locations in Uganda where chimpanzee tracking is offered.

Key activities within this ecologically rich section of Queen Elizabeth National Park include chimpanzee tracking, bird watching, and nature walks.

C) Explosive Crater Lakes

Queen Elizabeth National Park boasts over 10 extinct volcanic crater lakes, located primarily in the Mweya Peninsula and the Bunyaruguru area. Among them are Lake Nyamunuka, the Bunyaruguru craters, and the well-known Katwe explosion crater, where local communities extract salt.

This area features a 27-kilometer circuit that offers scenic views of the craters from a distance, providing breathtaking landscapes and opportunities to encounter wildlife, including elephants and buffalo.

Experiential Tourism in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Only Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda allows experiential tourism, which involves tracking lions, banding mongooses, and censuring hippos.

Experiential tourism involves using scientific gadgets to track the animals. Through active participation, participants in this unique activity can learn about the general behaviors, group dynamics, and makeup of the observed animals from experienced professionals.

The cost for tracking lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park is 500 USD per person.