Filming the tree climbing lions in Uganda — Queen Elizabeth National Park

Filming the tree climbing lions in Uganda – All permits and clearances

Filming the tree climbing lions in Uganda is best done in the Ishasha wilderness area of Queen Elizabeth National Park which is permitted only after you have wholly fulfilled and surpassed the Uganda Wildlife Authority guidelines. You must be approved and granted permission by Uganda Wildlife Authority. For filming that involves aerial shooting, permission from Uganda Civil Aviation is needed necessarily. Great Film Fixers Uganda will take care of all filming permissions, Press Accreditation, Kit Customs Clearing, security, transportation, and accommodation bookings.

The Ishasha wilderness area of Queen Elizabeth National Park is very famous because of its population of tree-climbing lions that are a very exceptional attraction that you can document. The Lions are normally seen lazily lying up within the branches of the huge acacia and fig trees staring down at the numerous Uganda Kobs that graze in the open Ishasha plains and these are the main prey to these predators. Depending on the luck of the day, sometimes the leopards also climb trees and stay longer.

Ishasha wilderness area is located in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park; it spreads to the western arm of the Great Rift Valley and is home to a wide variety of wildlife including elephants, lions, hippos, buffalo, Uganda kobs, Olive baboons, and many bird species. With both a riverine and savannah habitat, Queen Elizabeth National Park includes the southern Ishasha wilderness area with its tree-climbing lions and Maramagambo forest, one of the largest surviving natural forests in Uganda. The northern Kasenyi plains and Mweya peninsular area, traversed by the Equator line and dominated by the scenery of crater lakes, is often occupied by large flocks of flamingos. Queen Elizabeth National Park is such a beauty to do the filming and you can contact Great Film Fixers Uganda as your local fixer to organize all required for your shoot.

Requirements to do film the tree climbing lions in Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park

Filming the tree climbing lions in the Ishasha wilderness area of Queen Elizabeth National Park, you need to obtain a filming permit from Uganda Wildlife Authority; you will also need Media Cards from Uganda Media Council. Great Film Fixers Uganda can process all these as your local fixer in Uganda. You are required to also pay filing fees to the Uganda Wildlife Authority of 40% of the Park entrance fees, 15% Monitoring fees on top of the park entry fees. For your filming equipment will also need to temporarily clear in with customs at the point of the entry point. Contact us at Great Film Fixers Uganda we will be able to process both the filming permits, Uganda Media Cards, Accommodation, transportation for you as well as guide and help you with clearance processes at the point of entry into Uganda.

Where to stay in Ishasha sector on your tree-climbing lion’s filming?

Ishasha sector has a variety of accommodation choices where you can stay while on your shoot. The lodges range from Luxurious to Budget Lodges. It is always advised to choose Lodges depending on your budget. For Luxurious Lodges include Ishasha Wilderness Camp, for budget/Mid-range lodges, you can stay at Ishasha Jungle Safari Lodge and many others. Contact Great Film Fixers with a lodge of your choice or even we can suggest for you the best option depending on your budget while on your shoot of the tree-climbing lions.

How to get to Ishasha wilderness area to film the tree climbing lions?

There are daily internal flights to Mweya Airstrip and Kihihi Airfield which is the easiest means of transport to access the Queen Elizabeth National Park which only takes you approximately 1hr 15minutes to get there. You can take a flight from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airfield into Kihihi Airstrip and then drive few minutes to the lodge for your stay in the Ishasha sector. Whenever the crew opts to fly to the National Park, we normally drive the filming equipment by road transport because of the capacity of our domestic flights.

You can as well have a road trip to the Ishasha wilderness area in Queen Elizabeth National Park, which is approximately 8 hours’ drive from Entebbe/Kampala. The drive may seem long but it is very enjoyable as you can have some stops on the road with a lot to see. We only use 4×4 vehicles for transportation considering the state of our roads in the National Park; the vehicles are very comfortable and spacious to accommodate the crew and their luggage. Drinking water is provided throughout the trip and our professional driver/fixers are delighted to help you with a successful production.

How to book your filming trip?

Great Film Fixers Uganda as your local fixers will handle all the requirements for you to have a successful shoot/production. We can organize and book for you the filming permits, all permissions, all clearances, park entry fees, accommodation and transportation, and all other services. First, we will need you to share with us your planned dates to do filming so that we check for availability with lodges, then start to process Media Accreditation and clearances for your tree-climbing lion filming in the Ishasha wilderness area of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Once we confirm everything, we shall invoice you, and then we will book for you as payment comes through.

Kindly note, we cannot guarantee that you will see the Lions as nature detects but we shall work for hand in hand with Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers, our guides to spot and locate the lions any time of the day depending on luck. Contact Great Film Fixers Uganda for a quote and more advice for your Pre- Production and Post-Production filming of tree climbing lions in the Ishasha wilderness area of Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.