Zoom and look out for the lions; Kings of the wilderness. Get to the point when the appetite for encountering lions is at its peak when nothing besides getting closer to the lions makes sense. During this time, one has the chance to take charge of the camera. It is more of researching about the lions and uncovering what they are, what they feed on and how they behave. This is done in Queen Elizabeth National Park – a lion conservation area in the western region.

Uganda’s most visited national park it is; Queen Elizabeth national park harbors the largest concentration of lions “kings of the jungle”, thus offering the highest chances of spotting them. The park is shared by Rubirizi district and Kasese, the same region which hosts towering snowcapped Mountain Rwenzori. It has a list of over 95 mammals notably elephants, leopards, lions and warthogs, about 200 large cats, 500 bird species and plants in the Mweya, Kasenyi and Ishasha sectors.

Queen Elizabeth National park got its park status in 1952 and the name changed from Kazinga national park upon the visit of Queen Elizabeth II. The lion trekking day is accompanied by variety of stunning landscapes, forests, woodlands, crater lakes and gorges.

Lion tracking experience is only done in the park with a 100% chance of encountering the lions. It has two species of lions in Africa, unlike several other destinations. You get to encounter the savanna grassland lions and unique tree-climbing lions in the southern region of the Park – Ishasha sector.

In comparison to the game drive, lion tracking is limited to a specific number of persons, to create more space for gathering information, taking photos and avoiding stressing the animals.

Experiential lion tracking activity is only done in the early hours of the day, for about 2-3 hours. It is guided by a researcher from the Uganda carnivore program.

Meanwhile the tree climbing lions are best spotted lazily resting at the tree branches of Ishasha sector in the afternoon under the scorching sunshine.

Guests are briefed about the activity before a drive to one of the lion prides. In this pride of about 5-25 lions; one will be having a radio collar put in the neck, to pass signals to the trackers. It is the time to uncover the territory of lions, their habits and pay attention to the mighty roars. Male lions mark their territories using urine, leaving some hair on trees and scraping the ground using the behind feet. But then much of your attention should be on the tall grass as they love walking through tall grass, tree shades and bend grass.

The cost of lion tracking.

Those intending to track lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park are expected to book at least 6 months in advance. In line with the Uganda wildlife Authority tariff, lion tracking permit costs 100 USD for international tourists and 100,000 UGX for east African community citizens inclusive of Ugandans. 10% of the permit fee is channeled to Uganda Carnivore Project; an organization which is responsible for monitoring and taking care of the lions.

Other places to find lions in Uganda include; Murchison Falls National Park in the northwestern region, and the true wilderness of Uganda; Kidepo Valley National Park in the far corner of the northeastern part of Uganda.

Experiential lion tracking is one of the Must-do activities in the pearl of Africa, Uganda. It is not a gamble since one has high chances of spotting the lions in a close range, study their unique behaviors and take amazing photos.