Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park lies in western Uganda on the floor of the Albertine Rift, between Lake Edward and Lake George, with the Rwenzori Mountains rising to the north and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Virunga National Park across the border to the west. The park covers roughly 2,000 square kilometres of savanna, acacia woodland, wetland, forest and volcanic crater lakes, and is Uganda's most visited savanna park. Its bird list, commonly cited at more than 600 species, is one of the longest of any protected area in Africa.

The park divides into two main sectors. In the north, around the Mweya peninsula and the Kasenyi plains, game drives find lions, elephants, buffalo and large herds of Uganda kob, whose breeding grounds are a focus for predators. The Kazinga Channel, a natural waterway of about 32 kilometres linking the two lakes, carries one of Africa's densest concentrations of hippos, with elephants, buffalo and crocodiles along its banks and huge numbers of waterbirds; two-hour boat cruises operate from Mweya. Kyambura Gorge, a forested ravine on the eastern edge, holds a community of chimpanzees that can be tracked on foot with a ranger.

The southern Ishasha sector, some two hours' drive away, is famous for lions that habitually rest in the branches of fig trees during the heat of the day. Sightings are not guaranteed, but the open savanna and scattered trees make for distinctive photographs. Many itineraries combine Queen Elizabeth with gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which lies to the south of Ishasha.

Photographically the park offers variety rather than the sheer predator density of the Serengeti: lions and elephants on open plains at dawn, hippos and birds from the water in the afternoon, chimpanzees in forest shade, and the lions of Ishasha framed by branches. The equatorial light is strong by mid-morning, so early starts matter, and the channel cruise is one of the few places where a boat gives a stable, low angle on large mammals.