Murchison Falls National Park is a scenic national park located in northwestern Uganda stretching in districts of Kiryandongo, Masindi, Nwoya and Buliisa covering an area of 3,893 square kilometers. Murchison Falls national park is situated in the northern part of the Albertine Rift Valley a place where the Massive Bunyoro escarpment amalgamate in the enormous plains of Acholi land

 The park is the largest national park in Uganda established 1952, Murchison Falls national park gets its name from the stunning Murchison Falls which are the major tourist attraction in the park. Murchison falls were named by Sir Samuel Baker a British Explorer who was stunned by the falls during his visit in Uganda on a Uganda safaris Tour.

During the regime of Idi Amin, the park’s name was renamed to Kabalenga Falls national park after the King of Bunyoro but this lasted only for his regime. Murchison Falls national park is part of the greater Murchison Falls Conservation Area including Karuma Falls, Bugungu Wildlife reserves, Kaniyo Pabidi, Budongo and Rabango forests. The park largely consists of Savannah grasslands, woodlands, open plains and wetlands, Murchison Falls national park is bisected by the Victoria Nile from East to West for a distance of about 115 kilometers.  

Murchison Falls is a stunning and a trademark feature in the park formed as River Nile squeezes through a narrow gorge of only 7 meters wide before plunging 43 meters.

WILDLIFE IN MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK

Murchison Falls national park is a home to more than 73 species of animals including 4 of the big five including cape buffaloes, leopards, lions and elephants. The park is a home to 3 quarters of the world’s population of Rothschild giraffes and the largest population of Nile crocodiles in Uganda, there are also various primate species in Budongo forest with over 610 chimpanzees.

Mammals in the park include lions, leopards, cape buffaloes, leopards, Jackson hartebeests, bush bucks, warthogs, Nile crocodiles, hippos among others.

Primates in Murchison Falls national park include olive baboons, blue monkeys, black and white monkeys, red tailed monkeys, chimpanzees among others.

WILDLIFE IN MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK

Murchison Falls national park is a birder’s haven hosting 451 bird species including 23 Albertine rift endemics, these birds include Pennant-winged Nightjar, Piapiac, Pied Kingfisher, Red-throated Bee-Eater, Red-throated Bee-eater, Red-winged Grey Warbler, Rock Pratincole, Sacred Ibis, Saddle-billed Stork, Sandpipers, Secretary Bird, Senegal Thick-knee, Shoebill Stork, Silver Bird, Bluff-bellied Warbler, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Spotted Mourning Thrush, Spotted owl, Spotted Thick-knee, Spur-winger Geese, Squacco Heron, Standard-winged Nightjar, Sulphur-breasted Bush Shrike, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Swamp Flycatcher, Vaseline Masked Weaver, Veracious Dove, Verreaux’s Owl, Vitelline Masked Weaver, Weaver Birds, Whistling Cisticola, White African fish eagle, White-backed Night Heron, White-browed Sparrow Weaver, White-faced Whistling Duck, White-fronted Black Chat, White-rumped Seed-eater, Yellow-billed Stork, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird and Yellow-throated Greenbul among others.

SAFARI ACTIVITIES TO DO IN MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK

In the park there are various safari activities to do during your Uganda safari vast in the park.

Visiting the Top of the Murchison Falls

Visiting the top of the Murchison falls is an exciting activity and the first safari activity do by tourists during the visit, this activity leads to the top of the falls where you will watch River Nile squeeze through a narrow gorge on its way to Egypt forming Murchison Falls the most powerful water fall in the world.  The falls fall at 42 meters below with a thunderous roar, as water forces its way through the gorge it creates mist which combines with the sun to form a permanent rainbow.

This section of the falls is perfect for photography, from the top of the falls there is a path leading down to the river or to the smaller Uhuru Falls before Murchison Falls. During this excursion, the crocodile bar is one spot not to miss.

Boat Cruise at the bottom of the falls

Boat cruise at the bottom of the falls is one of the most popular activity to do on your Uganda safari to Murchison Falls national park, this activity is done along River Nile leading to the bottom of the falls thus offering breathtaking views of the waterfalls and the loud roars from water as it rushes down to the river.

Boat cruise at the bottom of the falls lasts about 3 hours, on top of enjoying breathtaking views of the falls, you will also see many animals such as cape buffaloes, Nile crocodiles, hippos, species of antelopes, elephants and many water birds such as shoe bill, kingfishers, herons, fish eagles, herons among others.

Boat ride to the Nile Delta

This thrilling excursion leads to the Nile Delta a point where River Nile connects to Lake Albert and further upstream beyond the point where boats make a turn , the ride to the Nile Delta offer excellent opportunity of watching animals congregating at the shores of the river to drink water such asherds of elephants, buffaloes and water bird species in the swamps along the Nile delta such as the rare shoebill stork, herons among others.

Game viewing

Game viewing is the highlight safari and the most enjoyable activity to do in Murchison Falls national park, this activity lasts of about 3 hours and is conducted on various trails running  through the savannah plains of the park in the presence of a ranger though you can still do it alone. Game viewing in the park is offered as morning game drive, afternoon game drive and night game drive.

While on game viewing activity expect to spot various species of animals such as Hippopotamus, Leopards, lions, Monitor lizards, Side Striped Jackals, Spotted Hyenas, lions, serval cats, warthogs, buffaloes, crocodiles, elephants, giraffes and antelope species such as Bohor Reedbuck, Bushbuck, Defassa Waterbuck, Hartebeest, Oribi and the Uganda Kob among others.

Predators in Murchison Falls national park such as lions, leopards, hyenas and serval cats are best sighted during night game drives with a help of a spot light.

Sport fishing

Murchison Falls national park is one of the best places in Uganda for spot fishing, this activity is done in the designated area below the Murchison falls and to do this activity, tourists have an option of doing this activity by road or just stand at the bottom of the falls and do the fishing. Some of the fish species you should expect to catch during this experience are the Nile perch, tilapia, mud fish and among others.  To do sport fishing in Murchison Falls national park, you need to acquire a fishing license from Uganda Wildlife Authority, also tourists are required to bring their won fishing gears.

Forest and nature walks

Forest and nature walks in the park are done in Chobe, in Rabongo and Budongo forest, this adventurous activity is perfect who wish to learn more about the forest and enjoy seeing various forest creatures. On this activity expect to see primates such as chimpanzees, white and black colobus monkeys and many birds such as Abdim’s Stork, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, African Darter, African Fish Eagle, African Jacana, African Quail-Finch, African Skimmer, Bar-breasted Firefinch, Beautiful Sunbird, Black Crake among others,

Bird watching

Murchison Falls national park is listed among the best places for birding in Uganda, the park is a home to abundance of birdlife with about 455 recorded species. Bird watching in Murchison is done during nature and forest walks and on game drives and expect to see such as Abdim’s Stork, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, African Darter, African Fish Eagle, African Jacana, African Quail-Finch, African Skimmer, Bar-breasted Firefinch, Beautiful Sunbird, Black Crake, Black Scimitarbill, Black-billed Barbet, Black-billed Wood-Dove, Black-faced Waxbill, Black-headed Batis, Black-headed Gondola, Black-headed Gonolek, Black-headed Plover, Black-lored Babbler, Blue-headed Coucal, Blue-naped Moosebird, Bluff-bellied Warbler, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow Weaver, Dark Chanting-Goshawk, Denham’s Bustard, Double-toothed Barbet, Eastern Grey Plantain-Eater, Fawn-breasted Waxbill, Giant Kingfisher, Goliath Heron, Gray Crowned crane, Green-winged Ptyilia, Grey Crowned Cranes, Grey-headed Bush Shrike, Hugli’s Francolin, Long Tailed Nightjar, Long-toed Plover, Malachite Kingfisher, Martial Eagle, Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Northern Crombec, Osprey, Pel’s Fishing Owl among others.

Birding in Murchison Falls national park is done in the savannah grasslands, forest galleries and on the banks of river Nile, it can also be done in Kaniyo Pabidi forest.

Chimpanzee Tracking in Budongo forest

Chimpanzee tracking in Murchison Falls national park is done in Budongo Forest found in the south of the park and it is part of the Budongo and Kaniyo Pabidi forest reserve. Budongo Forest is a home to over 820 chimpanzees and is a research station for Jane Goodall, chimpanzee tracking starts at 08:00 am and 3 pm. On this experience you will be able to spot other primates in the forest such as black and white colobus, blue monkey, forest galago, pattos and red-tailed monkeys and various forest bird species.  Chimpanzee tracking in Budongo forest offers you 1 full hour of being in presence of chimpanzees

Hot Air Balloon

Hot air balloon is a newly introduced safari activity in the Murchison Falls national park offering breathtaking aerial views of the savannah plains of the park and other beautiful features such as the Murchison falls. This activity starts early in the morning with briefing about safety issues to follow, the hot air balloon in Murchison Falls national park is conducted by Dream Balloons with supervision from the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority.

This activity lasts for about 1 hour of flying above the plains of Murchison Falls national park and offers an opportunity to spot and take beautiful pictures of wildlife such as herds of elephants, giraffes, cape buffaloes, antelopes among others.

Cultural visit to Boomu Village

The Boomu village is situated along the borders of the park and cultural visit to these villages are organized and conducted by the Boomu Women’s group, cultural visits offer a deeper insight into the life of the local people, their norms, culture and get an opportunity to mingle and interact with the locals, be entertained by local dances and drama. If you need a deeper experience you can spend a night in the village, sleeping in a traditional African hut with a rural African family setting and in the morning you will wake up early and help with garden work or assist women in cooking.

How reach Murchison Falls

Murchison Falls national park can be reached from Kampala the capital of Uganda by either road or air means of transport, by road it takes about 4-5 hours of driving to get to park. Public and private means of transport are used to get to the park, public means such as buses make daily trips to Masindi town but they do not go inside the park that is why it is recommended to use tour companies which offer a private vehicle.

By use of air transport, domestic chartered flights are offered from Entebbe International airport or Kajjansi airstrip to small airstrip situated in Pakuba near the Northern bank of River Nile and Bugungu near the park’s headquarters.

WHERE TO STAY IN MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK

There are a variety of accommodation facilities (safari lodges, campsites and hotels) offering accommodation and necessary services to tourists on a Uganda safari to Murchison Falls national park. These accommodations are categorized as luxury, midrange and budget and they are situated either inside Murchison Falls national park or outside the park and they include

Luxury accommodation

• Nile Safari Lodge
• Paraa safari lodge
• Chobe Safari Lodge
• Twiga Safari Lodge

Mid-range accommodations

• Pakuba Safari Lodge
• Murchison River Lodge
• Gipir and Labongo safari lodge

Budget accommodations

• Kalalo Cottages Pakwach
• Heritage Safari Lodge
• Parkside Safari lodge
• UWA Bandas
• Red Chilli Rest Camp
• Masindi Hotel among others.