Murchison Falls National Park
ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST SPECTACULAR POWERFUL WATERFALLS
Murchison Falls National Park Overview
The heart of Murchison Falls National Park straddles one of the world’s most spectacular powerful waterfalls – the Murchison Falls. This natural wonder was named by Sir Samuel Baker in 1862, taking its name from the geologist Rand then Royal Geographical Society President Roderick Murchison.
Murchison Falls National Park is without doubt visitors’ favourite wildlife destination, offering incredibly outstanding African wildlife safari experiences. Within the lush vegetation cover of this park, there exist abundant wildlife species ranging from small to large mammals.
Explore the wonders of Murchison Falls National Park
Murchison Falls National Park is Uganda’s biggest and oldest park. This park was established in 1952 and is currently managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). It makes up part of the vast Murchison Falls Conservation Area –MFCA. This conservation area measures over 3840sq.km and incorporates Karuma Wildlife, Bugungu and Kaniyo-Pabidi Forest/Budongo Forest.
Location
Murchison Falls National Park is situated in Northwestern Uganda, and its boundaries stretch to nearby districts including Masindi, Kiryandongo, Nwoya and Buliisa. This park is set along the northern edge of the Albertine Rift Valley and bisected by the Victoria Nile forming the Southern and Northern sections.
Wildlife
Murchison Falls National Park boasts of its huge animal concentration, inhabiting up to 76 mammal species. The former Kabalega Falls National Park shelters 4 of the big 5 game species (leopards, lions, buffaloes and elephants) with exception of rhinos. The park also holds about three quarters of the world’s Rothschild giraffe population. Other animal species to look for on Uganda safaris in Murchison Falls National Park include chimpanzees (about 800 chimpanzees exist in Kaniyo-Pabidi/Budongo Forest), olive baboons, black and white colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, patas monkeys, blue monkeys, hyenas, Nile crocodiles, hippos, oribis, waterbucks, Jackson’s hartebeest, Uganda kobs, duikers, and more.
The park’s scenery
Murchison Falls National Park features varied sceneries and breathtaking landscapes characterized by savanna plains, forests, swamps, and wildlife. The scenic Victoria Nile separates the park into two and forms the powerful waterfalls –Murchison Falls. The Nile forces itself through a narrow rock of 7m and plunge 43 meters down into a pool creating a thunderous roar, a permanent rainbow.
When to visit – weather & climate of the park
Murchison Falls National Park is known for its favourable weather conditions making it an all-year-round destination for game viewing. But the dry season happens to be the best period to travel for wildlife safaris and that is from June to September or December to February.
Things to do in Murchison Falls National Park
Over 76 species of mammals plus 451 bird species all exist in Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda. This makes it the best place to go game viewing and some of the animals to see include large and small mammals. The available game tracks to explore on a game drive include Victoria, Albert, and Buligi. These can be explored in the morning or during the afternoon wildlife/game viewing.
The boat cruise tours are a must-do on Uganda safari in MFNP. You can go upstream from the Paraa to the base of Murchison Falls while spotting aquatic species such as hippos, crocodiles and birds. Or embark on the Nile-Lake Albert Delta boat 3-4 hours round excursion.
More than 451 species of birds have been recorded in this park which makes it birders’ favorite bird watching destination. On birding tour in Murchison Falls National Park, birds to search for include the blue headed coucal, goliath herons, secretary birds, grey crowned cranes, shoebill storks, swamp flycatchers, black-bellied bustards, swamp flycatchers, widow bird, open billed storks, woodpeckers, pied, giant and malachite kingfishers, swallow tailed and red-throated bee-eaters.
This is the must-do activity on a trip in this park taking you through the 45 minutes’ walk from the base of the falls to the top. It is perfectly done starting from the Baker’s Rock after the boat docks.
Hot air balloon excursions provide a remarkable chance to tourists to enjoy aerial view of Murchison Falls National Park’s diverse animals and breathtaking landscapes. In Uganda, hot air balloon excursions are only carried out in the 2 parks –Murchison Falls NP and Queen Elizabeth National Park. The balloon experiences in the two parks are handled by the Dream Balloons company. It is a perfect experience for honeymooners, adventure and fun seekers. You can go for sunrise or sunset balloon excursion.
This is a newly launched adventure experience available for tourists visiting Murchison Falls National Park. Foreign residents and foreign non-residents pay USD 50 while East African citizens are charged shs.50000.
The best place to go track chimpanzees in Murchison Falls NP is Budongo Forest. This primate adventure lets you search for chimpanzees for 2-4 hours and observe how they behave for one hour.
Sport fishing is a must-do recreational excursion for every enthusiastic angler on Uganda tour in Murchison Falls National Park. This is conducted on the River Nile rocky surfaces, at the base of Murchison Falls or you can visit Karuma Falls. All the two locations provide anglers a chance to challenge themselves with the heaviest Nile Perch catch.
Game viewing in Murchison Falls NP isn’t complete without a visit to the surrounding communities. For authentic cultural experiences, visit Mubako community for a memorable cultural campfire performance, or Boomu women’s group in Kigaragara and Kihaguzi communities.
Where to stay
This park is comprised of budget, midrange and luxury lodges distributed in and around it. The top accommodations in Murchison Falls National Park: are Paraa Safari Lodge, Chobe Safari Lodge, Murchison River Lodge, Budongo Eco Lodge, Sambiya River Lodge, Bakers Lodge, Heritage Lodge, Red Chilli Rest Camp and others.
Getting there
By road: Murchison Falls National Park is between 5 and 6 hours’ drive and you drive from Kampala via Gulu highway, branch off to Masindi to Kichumbanyobo gate through Kaniyo-Pabidi forest or Masindi-Bugungu gate via Budongo Forest.
Or Kampala-Pakwach along Karuma Falls bridge and get to the park through Mubako, Wankwar, Chobe and Tangi gates. By air, scheduled/chartered flights set off from Entebbe airport or Kajjansi airfield and land in at Pakuba, Bugungu and Chobe airfield.
