Why not explore beyond the Kenyan border and visit the Queen Elizabeth National Park in western Uganda? The most visited and loved national park in Uganda, it is found in approximately a 6-hour drive from Entebbe International Airport.
Tree-climbing lions spot you in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. Buffalo, hippos, and elephants also like to be seen in this national park.
‘Never come between a hippo and the water’ is the advice in many travel books. This is a difficult task in the Queen Elizabeth National Park. Never before have you seen so many hippos in the water and on the banks.
The park is located in the west of Uganda about 400 kilometers from Kampala the capital of Uganda. The park borders Lake Edward and the massive Mountains Rwenzori ranges in the distance high above the clouds.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most famous park in Uganda and with 2,000 square kilometers is also one of the largest. Tourists especially go to this park because of the many animals, including the rare tree-climbing lion. These lions climb into trees to sleep, while the normal lion just stays on the ground. The reason that these lions search the height is not yet clear to researchers.
Boat Trip over Kazinga Channel
Tree climbing lions in Ishasha sector Queen Elizabeth National Park
Before you start the lion safari, you first go with a boat safari. You sail to the Kazinga channel. This channel connects Lake Edward with the smaller Lake George.
Along the shore, you can see buffalo, elephants, and several herds of antelope. A flock of pelicans fly low over the lake in search of fish. It seems like they are sliding over the smooth water.
Then the boat sails past a large group of hippos. The whole channel is full of these cumbersome gray beasts. Roaring and squirting they occasionally come up to lurk at the boat, after which they submerge themselves underwater again.
Tree climbing lion
After the boat trip, you and a guide will travel in a jeep in search of the rare tree-climbing lions. You are tense, the group for this has not seen a lion.
With a pair of binoculars, the guide peers over the savannah landscape. The only creature he sees is a stray grazing buffalo. You continue. The sun is at its highest point. The sun’s rays pierce through your hat.