Crater Lakes In Queen Elizabeth National Park : Queen Elizabeth National Park is a savanna grassland park found in the western part of the country. The park is about 1,970km2 and is considered the second biggest national park in Uganda. Queen Elizabeth National Park offers many activities like game viewing in the Kasenyi, Mweya, and Ishasha Sectors, nature walks, chimpanzee trekking in the exhilarating Kyambura Gorge, a boat cruise at Kazinga channel, birding, and many more. These activities reward tourists with plenty of wildlife which includes water bodies, savanna grasslands, primates, mammals, and bird species.
Back in the day, Queen Elizabeth national park was called Kazinga Channel because of the fresh waters of Kazinga Channel but later changed name after the visit of the late Queen Elizabeth II. The park was gazetted as a national park in 1952 and two years later it changed to Queen Elizabeth national park from Kazinga Channel national park. The park now has secured the protection of the Ecosystems for many years and the surrounding villages have benefited and still benefiting from the park. Queen Elizabeth national park is the most famous park in Uganda and among the oldest parks.
About crater lakes
Queen Elizabeth national park has a number of crater lakes that were formed as a result of the vulcanization of molten rock (lava) which involves a violent eruption that gets to the top of a volcano cone that will be later blown off forming a large basin that shall be surrounded by lava, a harsh realm, and rock debris in place. The end results of the craters are quite interesting, a trip to Queen Elizabeth is rewarding because you get to see plenty of beauty in one place. These include;
- Lake Katwe Explosion Craters
Lake Katwe Explosion Crater is the biggest and oldest crater lake in Queen Elizabeth national park. It is found on the edges of the park which is about 10m2 from the Kasese District. Lake Katwe Explosion Craters which are sometimes called Katwe-Kikorongo ExplosionCraters are grouped into different volcanoes in Toro town that is found in the far west of the country. Lake Katwe Explosion Crater’s volcanic field is over 200km2 in size well as its length is 3km in diameter and the depth is over 110m.
Way before 1870, Lake Katwe was part of the Toro Kingdom which was later on taken over by Omukama Kabalega who led the first military confrontation between the British and the Bunyoro. The British group was led by Captain Fredrick Lugard who came to Uganda in 1890. He later wrote a report about Lake Katwe that it was such a beautiful white clean lake piled with salt in heaps that is covered in glass.
Earlier in 1882, this crater lake had over 500 years when John Speke visited and wrote that this lake was a healthy lake for salt and that it was even closer to the mighty Rwenzori Mountains. Lake Katwe Explosion Crater is more valuable in Uganda that is even far better than the metal in Pre-colonial Uganda. Most crater lakes have turned into saltwater lakes or sometimes times called lush grasslands. The shores of Lake Katwe Explosion Craters are bordered by small ponds of water where salt is evoked from the ground. That whole procedure is called salt panning.
Crater Lakes In Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Bunyaruguru Crater
Bunyaruguru Crater is located on the western rift valley of Queen Elizabeth national park at the edge of the Kichwanba Escapement. This crater is sometimes called the Kichwamba crater field which contains fresh waters and saline waters. Bunyaruguru Crater is free from Bilharzia and it’s recommended for swimming because it’s not even that deep and its main activities are fishing and tourism.
While around Bunyaruguru Crater, expect to see a number of wildlife that including primates, birds, and many more species. Walks around Bunyaruguru Crater are usually organized by local guides to Mahoma Falls. Visit Bunyaruguru Crater with Lakeside Tours and Travel and you shall get the best of it all with our well-trained tour guide.
- Nyamunuka Crater Lake
Nyamunuka crater lake is only filled with water during the wet seasons because this lake is seasonal. When you come around for a tour at Nyamunuka crater lake in the dry season, expect to see nothing because the lake can be dried up. This lake is surrounded by beautiful sceneries of wildlife which include birds, wild animals, and many more.
The water in Nyamunuka crater lake contains Sulphur and works as medicine to the locals for ticks. The water also helps to heal the wounds of the wild animals that they get from fighting among themselves or from hunters.
- Bunyampaka Salt Lake
This is quite a famous Salt Lake that mines salt and it’s found on the northeastern side of Queen Elizabeth national park. Bunyampaka Salt Lake is home to a number of lively birds that are quite huge i.e. the Flamingo birds and many others.
This Salt Lake has an amazing beauty that can be toured at any time of the day because it’s within Kasenyi Plains of Queen Elizabeth national park.
- Lake Nyamusingire
This is found in Queen Elizabeth National Park the most famous park in Uganda near Lake Nyamusigire. Lake Nyamusingire is a crater lake that is upgraded to over 1,015m above sea level, it is sometimes called Lake Naimsigeri or even Lake Nyamisgeri. From Kampala to Lake Nyamusingire in queen Elizabeth is about 6 to 7 hours’ drive by road.
Lake Nyamusingire has a number of activities that are done there which include birding, nature walks, canoe rides, and a boat cruise. The activities around the lake are rewarding indeed because you get to see plenty of wildlife which includes the Maramagambo Forest, the bat cave that is home to a very huge number of bats, bird species around the lake, wild animals, and many more.
- Kazinga Channel
Kazinga channel is found in Queen Elizabeth National Park which is about 30km wide. The northern side of the Kazinga channel that is near Mweya adds up to the Kasenyi plains which offer beautiful diversity of wildlife for game viewing. Yet the best place to view the unique tree-climbing lions is in the Ishasha sector which is on the southern side of the Kazinga Channel.
The channel connects with the two waterbodies i.e. Lake Edward and Lake George. Lake Edward is found on the western side of the channel which is about 2,300km2 wide and over 17m deep. The lake is one of Uganda’s treasures with fresh water adjoining into Kazinga Channel from Lake George.
Lake George is found on the eastern side of the channel which is about 260km2 wide and over 2.3m deep. The lake is fed by a small narrow river that is connected to the Rwenzori Mountains on the northern side of the lake in that the flow of water also connects to Kazinga Channel receiving a big amount of water from the lake.
Kazinga Channel is home to many wild animals, birds, and reptiles. These include large animals like a big number of Hippos and many Nile Crocodiles that can be seen when you are around the channel. The main activities on the Kazinga channel are Fishing and tourism which are mostly done while on the boat.
A boat cruise at the Kazinga channel is totally interesting because you get to see a lot of wildlife in the water and at the shores of the channel like the elephants and many more that come to drink water. They are usually organized on a daily basis where the morning session starts at 11 am to 1 pm while the after session starts at 3 pm to 5 pm depending on the bookings of the tourist which start from Mweya Peninsula.
- Twin Lakes
These are crater lakes found in Magambo parish in Rubirizi District which has over 32 crater lakes. The twin lakes are divided by a small piece of land whereby one of the lakes is called Lake Kyema and the other lake is called Kamweru. The water in Lake Kamweru is green while the water in Lake Kyema is clear and clean accordingly.
In the 17th century, it’s believed that the twin lakes were a result of a volcanic eruption that happened to form the twin lakes. But the locals say that one of the twin lakes called Lake Kamweru was cratered and later filled by Lake Nzuguto which is currently a wetland.
Lake Kamweru has an ancient cave that is next to it to fill it up with water just in case the water in the lake reduces. The cave is believed to have been a hiding place of the former Ugandan presidents Milton Obote and Idi Amin back then in the days of the war. The lake is also surrounded by a number of trees which are home to a number of primates and other wild animals.
- Lake Rutoto
This is found outside Queen Elizabeth National Park which is a spectacular place to visit for wildlife. Lake Rutoto is in between Maramagamabo forest and Ryemondo hills with its stunning and beautiful sceneries. Lake Rutoto is a crater lake bordered by banana plantations and Pine trees pointed at the main road that goes to Kasese from Bushenyi.
- Ndali-Kasenda Crater Field
A visit to the Ndali-Kasena crater field is a rewarding tour because you get to see different kinds of sceneries at once. The crater field has more than one crater lake that are found in the Fort Portal town close to Kibale Rainforest. Ndali-Kasena crater field is made up of small crater lakes that are close to Queen Elizabeth national park.
When exploring the Ndali-Kasena crater field, you can do it on foot where you get to see a number of sceneries like on top of the Kibale Rainforest, the Rwenzori Mountains, and the Western rift valley of the Kichwamba Escarpment. Among the crater lakes that Uganda has, the Ndali-Kasena crater field has the dullest crater fields sofa.
