Unlike Kruger, the Serengeti or the Masai Mara, Queen Elizabeth National Park is hardly a household name. But not only does its wildlife rival that of any other African national park, its volcanic backdrops put safaris here into a whole other league. Yes, it has four of the Big Five strolling across its bright green savannah, but it also has crater lakes, flocks of flamingos, and a chimp-inhabited underground forest. The trumpeting of elephants echoes around ancient craters, and bounces off the steep walls of the Kichwamba Escarpment. Buffalos cluster in huge herds, framed by the dark, knuckle-like silhouette of the Rwenzori Mountains – the ‘Mountains of the Moon’. Come to Uganda for its gorillas, by all means, but don’t fall for the idea that there is nothing else to see.

Most tours enter the park from the north, taking you through the Kasenyi region, a favourite for game drives, and onto the Kyambura Gorge. Pause at Mweya Peninsula for views across the park and Lake Edward, and an afternoon cruise up the Kazinga Channel.

Uniqueness

The Kazinga Channel provides a truly unique wildlife experience. The riverbanks attract plenty of other species, from open-jawed Nile crocodiles to enormous buffalo and grazing herds of elephants. The more remote southern sector is known for one thing: its tree-climbing lions. Climbing trees is very rare behaviour for these felines. This ‘underground forest’ is a tree-filled chasm that runs down the east of Queen Elizabeth National Park, some 100m deep and a kilometre across at its widest point.