Queen Elizabeth National Park is among the most visited with a number of activities such as boat cruise and game drives. It is the second largest park in Uganda located in the south western regions of Kamwenge, Kasese, Rukungiri and Rubirizi districts. The inhabits a number of wildlife which includes animals like the leopards, elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, hippos, bushbucks, warthogs, crocodiles, Uganda kobs, giant forest hog, tree climbing lions found in Ishasha sector and also primates such as baboons, chimpanzees, black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys, plus 600 bird species like African fish eagle, pied kingfisher, open billed stork, squaccon heron, wattled plover and many more.

Boat cruise tours are done in Kazinga Channel. Kazinga channel connects Lake George and Lake Edward and is a water channel which is 40km long. Uganda Wildlife Authority is responsible for conducting boat cruise in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Boat cruise is done in two sessions that is morning and afternoon. The morning session begins at 9:00am and the afternoon session begins at 2:00pm. It all starts at a landing site close to Mweya safari lodge.

When boat cruising at Kazinga Channel, you will meet animals like buffaloes, elephants, antelopes, warthogs drinking water at the water banks. You will see crocodiles and hippos in water. Birds like long tailed cormorant, black crake, open billed stork, pink backed pelican, pied kingfisher, yellow billed stork, African skimmer, African jacana, red capped lark, swamp flycatcher,  grey capped lark, African mourning dove, slender tailed nightjar and many more, are also spotted when boat cruising at Kazinga channel. Local fishing villages are surrounding the Kazinga Channel and fishermen are seen fishing with their fish nets in water.

Cost of boat cruise in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Boat cruise at Kazinga channel is charged UGX 30,000 for East African citizens, $30 for foreign nonresidents and foreign residents and it only lasts for two hours.

Best time to go for a boat cruise safari in Queen Elizabeth national park

You can do boat cruising at any time in the park but the best recommended time is dry season which happens during the months of June – September and also December- February. In the dry season the park receives little rainfall but Kazinga Channel is an oasis for animals during this time. This gives a chance to visitors a chance to watch animals closely that are trying to drink water from the oasis.

What to carry for boat cruise safari in Queen Elizabeth national park

Visitors who wish to do boat cruise at Kazinga channel should carry equipment like camera and extra batteries for the camera. The camera will help you to take pictures and also video record he exciting moments while boat cruising. A pair of binoculars should also be carried with so as to easy the viewing of birds that are in air and distant. A hat will be used for body protection during the sunny day.