Kazinga channel

Kazinga Channel is a 32Kilometre natural water way linking Lakes George and Edward in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Being a dominant feature with which the park identifies itself partly explains why it (Queen Elizabeth) is popularly referred to as the ”Home of the Kazinga Channel and Tree climbing lions”.

Besides the usual game drives in the park, it’s well worth to add the Kazinga Channel boat cruise to your Safari to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Kazinga Channel Boat cruise is the best avenue to spot many animals plus birds. A boat trip on this water Channel is best when done late afternoon, and you wouldn’t want to miss an oasis of life in its wildest form!

Kazinga Channel attractions and wildlife

The Kazinga Channel boat cruise experience is more or less like viewing most of the park’s wildlife in one place and at a very close range. Besides the incredible concentration of wildlife, the Kazinga Channel boasts of a place with the largest population of hippopotamus on earth. It is home to over 5000 of these giant herbivores and this is almost 3 quarters of the park’s hippo population.

Other than the hippos, the Kazinga Channel attracts giant crocodiles, elephants, buffaloes, many antelopes, variety of birds, monitor lizards and on some rare occasions, lions and leopards can be spotted along the channel banks. Consider a boat cruise on Kazinga Channel added to your Uganda Safari itinerary for those incredible in and out of water wildlife sightings.

Kazinga Channel Boat Cruise Schedule

Boats for the Kazinga Channel trip depart four times a day and most of them start from Mweya landing stage right below Mweya Safari Lodge. Each boat trip takes 2 hours and can be private or the general one. Initially, it used to be Uganda wildlife authority and Mweya Safari Lodge with licenses to operate boat trips along the Kazinga Channel and all trips would start from Mweya landing stage going towards Lake Edward.

Currently, other operators/companies have been licensed for the same and the newest entrant is MV Kazinga. It has a new state of the art water vessel whose trips start from Lake Edward cruising towards Mweya landing stage. Other operators with quite smaller boats have also been licensed to cater for the increasing number of revelers and tourists. All Kazinga Channel boat safaris are conducted by very knowledgeable and experienced wildlife guides from the Uganda wildlife authority.

Best time for a boat cruise on Kazinga Channel

The best time for the Kazinga boat trip largely depends on one’s interests. Bird watchers are encouraged to take up the morning trips while the afternoons are the best for the game viewers. In the afternoon, many animals throng the channel to quench their thirst and bath after the morning grazing and hunting. It is very breath taking to see herds of large elephants sloping down to the channel to bathe/cool off the afternoon heat, play, feed on the green grass along the channel banks as they drink water.

Birds on Kazinga Channel

Queen Elizabeth National Park hosts one of Uganda’s best birding spots, the Kazinga Channel. Kazinga Channel is one of Queen Elizabeth Park’s variety of habitats for its over 600 bird species. Any avid birder is encouraged to visit this water channel for its wonderful in and out of water bird sightings. During birding in Queen Elizabeth National Park, one can spot over 60 bird species along the Kazinga channel alone. Below is the Kazinga Channel bird list: