How to get to Queen Elizabeth National Park

In western Uganda, roughly 250 miles from Kampala, Queen Elizabeth National Park (often abbreviated to QENP or shortened to Queens) is Uganda's most visited national park.

Renowned for its amazing landscapes and home to the famous tree-climbing lions and leopards, the park is not just a wildlife reserve (as with many popular safari destinations found in Kenya or Tanzania), it is also home to a significant human population.

The park has amazing biodiversity, and is home to hippos, buffalo, and elephants, as well as warthog, antelope, and a wide range of spectacular birds. The only ‘big five’ animal not found here is the rhino, although there is no evidence that they ever existed north of the Kagera river and south of the Nile.  

Driving directly from Kampala will take at least eight hours along a tarmac road. There are two routes from Kampala, via Mbarara to the east of the park (covering a distance of 250 miles), or Fort Portal to the north (slightly longer at 260 miles). Most visitors choose to include stops at other parks along the way rather than driving direct from Kampala to Queens.

Queens is commonly paired with trips to Kibale National Park for chimpanzee trekking or other wildlife activities. From Kibale, it is a 3-hour drive on gravel roads.

For those on their way to gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Queens is a natural stop on the journey from Kampala or Entebbe to Bwindi. From Queens, you can drive south from the Mweya Peninsula to Buhoma, the entrance town in northern Bwindi. This drive is roughly four hours along a gravel road.

Semliki National Park and the Rwenzori Mountains are also within driving distance from Queens. 

Queen Elizabeth National Park can be reached by air from both Entebbe International Airport, the country's international airport and your most likely starting point, and the Kajjansi Airfield near Kampala. The closest airports to Queens are Kasese, Mweya and Ishasha.

Uganda’s domestic flight network offers a range of scheduled direct flights, and aircraft can also be chartered. The flight time is generally an hour or two.