Whether you want to travel to by air or by road, it is easier to get to queen Elizabeth national park than to get to any other park in Uganda. This park is located in the extreme western part of Uganda near the Congo border. The park neighbors with Kasese town from the south. By road distance, Queen Elizabeth national park is located; 390km from Kampala, 96km from fort portal, 125km from Mbarara, 210km from the Rwanda border (Katuna) and or 50km from the Congo boarder (Mpondwe)

Other places most travelers can come from to get to queen Elizabeth national park within the same day include; Lake Bunyonyi, Bwindi impenetrable forest, Mgahinga, Lake Mburo, Kibale forest, Rwenzori mountains and Semuliki National Park.

How you will get to queen Elizabeth national park will depend on where you’re coming from and the mode of transport you will be using. For those coming from these destinations, please note that; currently, Queen Elizabeth national park can be accessed by five different routes. These include;

• Fort Portal- Kasese road, for those coming from the northern side.
• Mbarara- Kasese road, for those coming from the south western side.
• Bwera/ Mpondwe – Kasese road, for those coming from the eastern side
• Kanungu-Kihihi-Kanungu road via Ishasha – for those coming from Buhoma / Bwindi
• Or by air, for those coming from different pints basing on their flight itinerary.

Available transport options to Queen Elizabeth

Remember, as of now, there is no railway, no airstrip or no water transport point that bring you directly to the park. The park is reached by first class public tarmac roads. It is therefore easy to use both private and public transport without any problem. The roads that cross the park are; fort portal-Mpondwe road, Kasese-Mbarara road, Katunguru-Ntungamo road and Kanungu-Kihihi-Kanungu road.

Ir travelling by Air is your choice, then you will lad in Kasese town and connect to the park by road. flights to kasese airstrip start from entebbe or Kajasi between Kampala and Entebbe. for more information about the flight schedule on your day, you can contact Aerolink-Uganda, your local flight service provider

Traveling from the western and northern ends, you will take any route that lead to fort portal/ Kasese towns. Kasese town touches queen Elizabeth on her northwestern end. Depending on the location of your lodge in the park, it is just 32km from Kasese town to the park gate at Kasenyi.  Visitors traveling from the south end will take any route that leads to/ from Kihihi Bushenyi, Ishaka or Mbarara, to be able to connect to the park.

Traveling from the western part (Congo) you will take the route that leads to Kasese town as it is the only one from that direction. Again, if your traveling by air, you will likely take the flights that land in Kasese or Kihihi airstrips, and will require transfer by road from the airstrip to the national park. Google map is a wonderful tool that will guide you to the doorstep of your lodge. By entering the rightful lodge name in this App.

Accessing queen Elizabeth national park by public transport

We have some exceptions and important considerations for those who want to travel by public transport,

• You will easily find taxis and buses from Kampala or other nearby towns like Kasese, Mbarara Bushenyi, fort portal, or Congo boarder, traveling via queen Elizabeth national park.
• If you want to use the large public buses (60-seater), it is much easier to get them on Kampala-Mubende-fort portal – kasese – Mpondwe road than it is to find them on the Mbarara – kasese route.
• On Kampala-Mbarara-Kasese route, most buses starting from Kampala will end in Mbarara or head to Kabale (the southwestern). When using this route, you will likely end with the bus in Mbarara and take smaller taxis (14-seater) that head from Mbarara to Kasese via Bushenyi- Ishaka-Katunguru road.
• On the road from Kihihi to queen Elizabeth national park, via Ishasha it is not easy to find a good choice for public transport. the route has very scarce and uncomfortable public transport options. If you must use this route on public transport. Please get enough information from your agent early in advance.

A stopover visit on transit to Bwindi or Bunyonyi

Some people want to spend some time in queen Elizabeth national park on their trip in the western Uganda. this is super easy. queen Elizabeth is kind of located between the northwestern and south western parks of Uganda. the northwestern being Murchison falls and the southwestern being Bwindi and Mgahinga or lake Bnyonyi.

fro Murchison falls, Semuliki or even Kibale national park, the road that heads to Bwindi goes through Queen Elizabeth national park. this will give travelers an opportunity to view wildlife on the move or even branch off for an activity or two and then proceed to the southwestern.

Some ow the activities you can do on a quick stop include; The Kazinga channel boat cruise organized by the community in Katunguru, the Kasenyi game drive on the Kasenyi tracks, the Kyambur gorge chimp tracking and nature walk, Kalinzu chimp tracking and nature walk, or a range of community activities in the various villages next to Queen Elizabeth. all these activities are organized off the Kasese-mbarara road, the same that leads to Bwindi.