Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda's largest and most-visited game park. Named for the British monarch who opened the park in 1954, it is 2000 sq. miles large and borders Lakes Edward and George. The park is famous for the Kazinga Channel which connects the two lakes via a deep gorge packed with animals and birds.

The area in the vicinity of the channel is mostly grassland plains with a few scattered woodlands. This is old volcanic terrain, and there are a number of deep crater lakes. (Some just outside the park produce much of Uganda’s salt.) This northern (Mweya) area of the park is famous for its elephant, hippo, Ugandan kob and giant forest hog. Further south the terrain becomes dominated by woodland interrupted by meadows and a few prairies, and this southern (Ishasha) area is famous for its cats and variety of antelope. Altogether, more than 100 mammal species have been recorded in the park, together with a remarkable 606 bird species. The biomass makes the park the most diverse of any of East Africa’s larger protected wildernesses.