kazinga channel

The Kazinga Channel is a wide, 32 kilometre (20 mile) long freshwater channel that links Lake Edward to  Lake George. The lakes are named after Queen Victoria’s son, King Edward VII, and his own successor, King George V. The channel is a key feature of Queen Elizabeth National Park and a popular area for wildlife tourism.

The channel is home to a wide range of animals and birds, including one of the world’s largest concentrations of hippos (around 2,000) and countless Nile crocodiles. You can also expect to see elephants, buffaloes, and over 100 species of water bird, including the African Skimmer.

Lake George is fed by streams from the Rwenzori mountains and its outflow drains into Lake Edward, via the Kazinga Channel. Lake George’s 250km² surface area is almost ten times smaller than that of its larger neighbour, Lake Edward (2325km²). The channel itself has a maximum depth of 8m.

Boat Cruise at the channel

Jump on a boat and explore the wonders of the Kazinga Channel from a panoramic view. Soak up the sights of energetic elephants and bathing buffaloes as an expert ranger guides you through the beautiful flora and fauna.

There are two independent boat ride operators, the Uganda Wildlife Authority and Mweya Safari Lodge. Both trips cost around $30 per person and last around 2 hours. Both vessels have experienced guides and crew, but the Kingfisher allows you to travel in luxury through providing refreshments and canopies. as you spot the long-tailed cormorants, yellow-billed storks in their brightest breeding plumage, water thick-knees, little, great white and cattle egrets, red-throated bee-eaters, babblers, goliath and grey herons, spoonbills, stilts, collared prantincole, pink-backed pelicans, white-winged black terns, common greenshanks, squacco heron, and marsh sandpipers among other birds of the channel.

Besides birds, you will also see mesmerising mammals and a glimpse of one of the eleven fishing villages that are located within Queen Elizabeth National Park.This village of people has lived along the Kazinga Channel’s shores for decades and are considered squatters by the government as they don’t own the land but have taken up residence there. They subsist and survive by building their own community, building and selling hand-made boats, transporting people back and forth to the mainland, and competing with the birds for the many fish in the Kazinga Channel.

while on a Uganda safari, kazinga channel shouldn’t be missed out.