Explosion Craters in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National park’s Map is marked with various dots which stand out for the Explosion crater situated with in the park. Majority of these craters have been filled with water thus forming crater lakes in the park whilst other do remain dry and the rest to have water Seasonally especially during the dry season and in the dry season they do dry out. Most of the crater lakes in the Park are salty, they don’t have fresh water and they harbor no fish in them. The main activity carried out in these explosion craters is Salt mining that is carried out on explosion craters like, Bunyampaka salt Lake Crater and Lake Katwe. Other Crater lakes include; Bunyaruguru crater, Nyamununka Crater and Ndali-Kasenda crater among  others. 

Formation of the Craters

According the geographical study, explosion craters in Queen Elizabeth National park came in existence about 8000 years ago and this was as a result of Volcanic activities that carried way the peak of the extinct Volcanoes. During the volcano activities, liquid Lava that was underneath the Earth Crust was pushed out of via the Vent under too much pleasure thus carrying off the surface of the extinct Volcano, here the Ashes were rested on the either side of the Volcanoes whist the a huge basin was left in the middle thus forming craters. When you the park, you encounter with numerous craters that are adjacent Mweya but they are not filled with Water. All these can be explored when you plan your trip Mumwe Safaris and include explosion craters on your list of attraction. Our reservation assists you to customize you trip for a unique rewarding lifetime experience in the Pearl of Africa.

In this article, we present to you some of the famous craters situated in Queen Elizabeth National park.

Katwe Crater Lakes

The Katwe Crater Lakes are found in the northern part of Mweya Peninsula which offers a thrilling spectacular scenic beauty to the park. The activity that involves visiting Katwe Crater lake is what we refer to as an Explosion Crater Drive that takes about 2 hours drive covering a distance of about 27 kilometers. The drive starts from Kabatoro gate and takes you through queen Pavilion. The activity allows you an opportunity to  explore the beautiful craters which gives you an extraordinary memorable experience in the park.  the activity is contacted into two session which is either in the Morning or in the evening that allows you clear views of the crater and its beautiful surrounding. Katwe crater lake is the main crater lake and it is situated Adjacent Lake Edward. The main activity that is done on this lake is Salt Mining where you encounter both men and women very active in the mining process while they design their salt pans and extract the salt from the Lake.

The drive around these craters gives you an opportunity to spot the scenic views of Mountain Rwenzori, the beautiful canal of Kazinga Channel which joins Lake Edward and Lake George as well as the colorful bird species. On a lucky day, you can spot some numbers of impressive wildlife animals such as; Buffaloes, Elephants among others. The crater Area in the park is offers you great photography of the wonderful natural features in the background of your photos on a safari.  drive to the Katwe crater lakes allows you to enjoy a wonderful stopover at Lake Kitagata where you get lost in the glimpse sight of the amazing salty Hotsprings which feed the Lake Kitagata with Warm Water.

Nyamununka crater lake

The lake is seasonal lake that is filled with water during the wet season and in the dry season it dries up. At stopover at this lake allows you to view amazing wildlife at the lake as well as enjoy the scenic beauty of its surrounding environment. The waters of the lake contains Sulphur and acts as local medicine to the Ticks and it also heals wounds of wild animals that get while fighting and trying to run away from Predators.

Bunyaruguru Craters

The crater is as well referred to as Bunyaruguru Crater Fields, it is situated in the western region of queen Elizabeth national park along the Kichwamba Escarpment of the great western Rift Valley that borders the park.

Bunyampaka Salt Lake

The Bunyampaka Salt Lake is situated in the north-eastern Part of the park and it is popular lake for Salt Mining. The Lake harbors colorful bird species with the most common being the huge impressive numbers of Flamingos which migrate seasonally from Lake Nakuru. Enjoy the outstanding scenic beauty of the lake that can be explored after an awesome game drive with in the Kasenyi plains.

It is important to note that some of these crater lakes are salty while as others contain fresh water and they have fish in them. As you enjoy a drive along the Kasese-Mbarara Highway to park, you get a chance to spot some of them such as; Lake Nkugute which is also referred to as Lake Rutoto with an impressive shape of the Map of Africa. Get chance to visit the Twin Lakes of Rwizongo and Nyungu situated close to Rugazi post Office.

In synopsis, the crater natural features with in and around the park make queen Elizabeth national park one of the most great beautiful safari destination in world worthy to explore on a Uganda Safari and it offers a perfect spot for photography due to the wonderful Vegetation and impressive numbers of wildlife plus the Rwenzori Ranges Backdrops. To book with a trip to magical queen Elizabeth national park, contact our professional reservation team by sending an inquiry at info@gorillaugandasafaribookings.com or call us directly on +256-775630809 or +256-701343598  to speak directly to our reservations team.