Attractions (Things to See) And Sites Near Queen Elizabeth National Park

1. Kalinzu Forest Reserve

Situated alongside the Kasese-Ishaka Road 35 kilometers south of Katunguru, Kalinzu forest now ranks among the most incredible tourist attraction or things to see near Queen Elizabeth National Park, and a reliable site to see chimpanzees in Uganda, during Uganda safaris to this area.

Kalinzu Forest covers an area of 137 square kilometers and it is an extension of Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Maramagambo Forest. It comprises more than 400 tree species and at least 300 chimpanzees, including a 40-strong community habituated for tourists and a slightly larger one reserved for research.

Chimpanzee tracking in Uganda’s Kalinzu Forest at USD 40 per person now comes with about a 95% success rate, making the site almost as reliable as Kibale National Park and the quality of sighting is usually very good.

Besides chimps, there 5 other diurnal primate species you will encounter during your Uganda wildlife tour in Kalinzu Forest Reserve, including;

• Olive baboons
• Black and white colobus
• Red-tailed monkeys
• Blue monkeys
• L’Hoest’s monkeys

There are also nocturnal potto and two varieties of bushbaby/galago. The forest provides refuge to the very rare Pygmy antelope. Other wildlife in Kalinzu include;

• 378 bird species
• 262 species of butterflies
• 97 species of the month

2. Kyambura Wildlife Reserve

Characterized by wooded savannah, Kyambura Game Reserve is a contiguous extension of Queen Elizabeth National Park, bordered by Kyambura gorge in the west and Kazinga Channel in the north.

It supports similar selections of wildlife to Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Kasenyi plains. The main point of interest is a cluster of 7 scenic crater lakes, 3 of which are accessible from a public road that connects the Kyambura trading center to Kashaka, a fishing village sited at the confluence of the Kazinga channel and Lake Gorge.

About 10 kilometers out of Kyambura village, the bumpy track to Kashaka runs along the northern rim of Lake Chibwera, offering the opportunity to alight from the car and scan the surface for waterbirds such as little grebe and various ducks.

About 3 kilometers further on, it offers distant views over the aptly entitle Flamingo Lake, where the concentration of several thousand greater and lesser flamingos gather when conditions are favorable.

3. Kitagata Hot Springs

Kitagata hot springs are located about 77 kilometers south of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Situated 16 kilometers south of Ishaka and 1.5 kilometers south of Kitagata trading center, these sulphiric Hotsprings hold few mysteries for linguists−Kitagata translates somewhat prosaically as ‘boiling water’.

Bubbling as they do into a clear, shallow, steaming pool about 200 meters west of Kabale road, Kitagata has long been believed to possess therapeutic qualities for those who are suffering from creaky joints or aching muscles. It is even claimed that they can do much healing of malaria and several other ailments.

There are two hot springs adjacent to each other. According to the locals, one of the springs was used by the former Omugabe (King of Ankole) and is known as Ekyomugabe.

The other spring which is believed to possess healing powers is known as Mulago, after Uganda’s largest National Referral Hospital.

On arrival at the site, one will notice half-naked men and women bathing in the warm waters of Kitagata Mulago. Many people bathe in the waters of Kitagata Mulago, sometimes as many as 200 in a twenty-four-hour period. The water in the springs can warm up to 80 °C (176 °F).