The Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park — the southern extension of QENP, separated from the main Mweya peninsula section by 80 km of communal land corridor — is famous for one specific behaviour found almost nowhere else in East Africa: lions that habitually climb and rest in fig trees. Uganda’s Ishasha tree-climbing lion phenomenon (also found in Tanzania’s Lake Manyara NP and occasionally at Serengeti’s Moru Kopjes) occurs when lions use the fig tree canopy to escape ground-level insects, gain elevated vantage for surveillance, and benefit from the tree’s shade — the specific fig trees in Ishasha’s southern game circuit (Ficus natalensis, a broad-canopy strangler fig with low, horizontal branches) are structurally well-suited to lion climbing, with branches positioned 2–4 metres above the ground accessible without exceptional climbing effort. This guide covers Ishasha for 2025.
The Tree-Climbing Lions
The Ishasha tree-climbing lion population uses a well-defined territory of approximately 60 sq km in the southern Ishasha sector around the Ishasha River floodplain. The behaviour: lions climb the large fig trees that line the river-adjacent grassland, with 2–8 lions per tree visible on a good day (the tree’s horizontal branches accommodating multiple lions simultaneously — the most dramatic sightings show a full pride distributed among the branches of a single large fig). Peak sighting hours: 07:00–11:00 and 14:00–18:00 when the lions are most active and visible before descending to drink. The Ishasha tree-climbing behaviour is not guaranteed on any given game drive — the lions are wild and the behaviour is habitual but not continuous. The Ishasha game circuit has approximately 4–6 resident lion prides and the probability of seeing tree-climbing lions on any given morning drive is estimated at 60–70% in dry season (June–September) and 40–50% in wet season when the fig trees are densely leafed.
Getting to Ishasha
Ishasha is positioned at the southern end of QENP and is typically approached from Bwindi Impenetrable Forest (54 km north of Ishasha, 1.5–2 hours via the Kihihi road — a good murram road, passable all year in a 4×4, rough in the wet season). From Kampala: 480 km, 8–9 hours via Fort Portal and Kasese (northern approach) or via Mbarara-Bwindi-Ishasha (southern approach). The Bwindi-Ishasha-QENP Mweya combination is the standard western Uganda circuit: arrive Bwindi for gorilla trekking (2 nights), drive south to Ishasha for tree-climbing lions (1 night), then north through QENP to Mweya for the Kazinga Channel and Katwe crater lakes (2 nights), then continue north to Kibale (1 night chimps) or Murchison Falls. The Ishasha-QENP Mweya road (80 km via Kasese) takes 2–2.5 hours on a good murram/tarmac combination.
Accommodation and Park Entry 2025
- QENP entry (Ishasha sector): USD $40/person/day
- Ishasha Wilderness Camp: USD $200–300/night per person full-board. The only full-service tented camp in the Ishasha sector, on the river in the middle of lion territory.
- UWA Ntungwe Camp: USD $50–80/night. Basic UWA bandas, functional, budget option.
- Game drives: Ishasha sector has a small but well-maintained road network covering the primary lion territory — the southern Ishasha circuit is approximately 40 km of tracks, passable in dry season in most 4×4 vehicles.
