Guide to Murchison Falls National Park, attractions, activities, best time to visit, what to pack, and all about Murchison Falls Park with Superfine Safaris Limited. Murchison Falls National Park is located in Northwestern Uganda, surrounded by Buliisa, Masindi, Kiryandongo, and Nwoya districts. The Park is divided into 2 sections by the Victoria Nile River, forming the Northern and Southern sections. Murchison is Uganda’s largest game park, covering an area of 3,840 sq. km. The Park is largely dominated by woodlands, savanna grasslands, wetlands, and open plains. It forms part of the larger Murchison Falls Conservation Area which also encompasses the Bugungu and Karuma Falls Wildlife Reserves.

Murchison Falls National Park encompasses the lush natural forests like Budongo, Kaniyo-Pabidi, and Rabango. It is these lush tropical forests where you can find a diversity of primate species, including blue monkeys, chimpanzees, olive baboons, black and white colobus monkeys. It should be noted that Murchison Falls National Park is also among the oldest Parks in Uganda, officially formed in 1952.

Attractions in Murchison Falls National Park

Murchison Falls National Park supports a range of attractions, including over 76 mammal species and 451 species of birds. Other attractions include the powerful Murchison waterfalls, reptiles, and more.

Wildlife to see

Diverse wildlife to encounter on Uganda safaris in Murchison Falls National Park includes the Rothschild giraffes, cape buffaloes, elephants, lions, leopards, Jackson’s hartebeest, hippos, Nile crocodiles, warthogs, Uganda Kobs, Oribis, and others.

Bird species

Murchison Falls National Park protects diverse bird species, including critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable, and near-threatened species. The checklist of birds in Murchison Falls Park include Knob-billed ducks, white-faced whistling-duck, yellow-billed ducks, spur-winged goose, fulvous whistling-ducks, Egyptian goose, western crested guineafowl, helmeted guineafowl, red-necked spurfowl, crested francolin, Heuglin’s spurfowl, Afep pigeon, rock pigeon, vinaceous dove, African green-pigeon, ring-necked dove, mourning collared-dove, black-billed wood dove, blue-spotted wood-dove, red-chested cuckoos, ross’s turacos, white-crested turacos, African swift, scarce swift, white-rumped swift, little swift, long-toed lapwing, Senegal lapwing, greater painted-snipe, wattled lapwing, black-headed lapwing, African jacana, lesser jacana, elusive shoebill stork, and crowned lapwing.

Additional birds in Murchison include yellow-billed stork, African open-bill, Great cormorant, reed cormorant, African sacred ibis, hadada ibis, African darters, squacco heron, dwarf bittern, pelicans, hawks, kites, and eagles; owls, mousebirds, wood hoopoes, bee-eaters, rollers, kingfishers honey guides, wattle-eyes and batises, and African barbets.

Activities to do in Murchison Falls National Park

Game drives

Game drives in Murchison Falls National Park present you a great deal to observe diverse range of wildlife. The wildlife tracks that are available for exploration during a guided game drive include Albert track, Queen’s track, and Buligi game track. A guided game drive through Murchison Falls National Park’s game tracks lets you enjoy sights of African elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, oribis, Uganda Kobs, and bird species. The available options of game viewing include the morning and afternoon. The best way to go about game drives in Murchison Falls National Park is by embarking on a 4×4 safari vehicle.

Launch or boat cruise

Boat cruise offers the most memorable recreational experience. Expect to enjoy 2-3 hours as you cruise on the Victoria Nile River in Murchison Falls National Park. The boat cruise takes you up to the base of the Murchison Falls starting from the Paraa Jetty. En route, you can keep eyes on the diverse aquatic species including hippos, crocodiles, and water birds.

On the boat cruise excursion, you stand a chance to spot aquatic birds such as dwarf kingfishers, Great blue turacos, black-headed lapwing, shoebill storks, saddle billed storks, blue headed coucals, squacco heron, blue-spotted doves, and African skimmers, etc.

Bird-watching

Birding in Murchison Falls Park allows you to spot diverse range of bird species. The numerous species of birds to spot here include the black-bellied bustards, open billed storks, secretary birds, Abyssinian ground hornbills, African black-headed oriole, white-breasted cuckoo shrike, red-headed lovebirds, white-crested helmet shrike, Meyer’s parrots, gray-headed bushshrike, tropical boubou, brown-crowned tchagra, Northern puff back, papyrus gonoleks, fork-tailed drongo, and chestnut wattle-eye.

Guided nature walks

Expect to embark on a nature walk, a great opportunity to have a deep penetration into places where you can’t access using a 4×4 safari vehicle. Nature walks offer on-foot walk whereby you get to witness the treasures in the hidden habitats in Murchison Falls National Park. A guided nature walks in Murchison Falls National Park allows you to come across diversity of birds including the fork tailed drongo, blue napped mouse bird, speckled tinker  bird, Cassin’s hawks, yellow-footed flycatchers, forest robin, and chocolate backed kingfishers, etc.

Hike to the top of the falls

Visitors on Uganda tour to Murchison Falls National Park can also embark on a hike to the top of the falls starting from the base area. The trek takes about 45 minutes to an hour with an experienced guide leading you. Expect to enjoy the magnificent Murchison Falls as you ascend to the top. There can be some interesting bird species to spot on your way.

Chimpanzee tracking

Chimpanzee tracking offers amazing encounters with chimpanzees in their natural habitat. A visit to Murchison Falls National Park allows you to include a trek with chimpanzees and this is done in Budongo Forest Reserve. It is a foot-walk adventure where you can be led by an experienced guide to search for a habituated troop of chimpanzees in their natural habitat. This is expected to take about 2-4 hours which include a maximum of 1 hour for up close and personal encounter with chimps.

Chimpanzee habituation

Chimpanzee habituation experience allows you to explore unhabituated troop of chimpanzees. Chimp habituation is a gradual process where chimpanzees are introduced to human presence for tourism or research purposes. Visitors interested in chimpanzee habituation can enjoy chimpanzee habituation experience in Budongo Forest Reserve. This is especially in the Kaniyo-Pabidi.

Best time to visit Murchison Falls National Park

Murchison Falls National Park is a destination that can be visited at any time of the year. The Park enjoys favorable weather conditions but the dry season is notably the ideal period for tourists to experience the best of game viewing. The dry months of the year in Murchison fall around June, July, August, to September. The second phase of the dry months extends from December to February.

Game viewing and most of other safari activities are best done during the dry months. The advantage of visiting Murchison Falls National Park around the dry season is that the park game tracks are accessible and it is possible to encounter diversity of wildlife in the open savanna grassland.

Murchison Falls National Park can also be explored even during the wet (rainy) season which starts from March, April, to May or from October to November.

5 Most Popular Accommodation in Murchison Falls National Park

Murchison Falls National Park is comprised of budget, midrange, and luxury accommodation properties. Here are the five top lodges worth considering for overnight stay on wildlife tour in Murchison National Park; Paraa Safari Lodge, Chobe Safari Lodge, Twiga Safari Lodge, Pakuba Safari Lodge, and Nile Safari Lodge.

How to get to Murchison National Park

Visitors with plans to explore the wonders of Murchison Falls National Park have multiple options of getting there. It can be road or air transportation. Using road transportation, a visitor requires about 6 to 7 hours to drive on the Kampala-Gulu highway. Driving to Murchison Falls Park also presents a chance for you to branch off to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary to track rhinos.

Access gates to Murchison National Park include Bugungu and Kichumbanyobo gates located in the southern part of the park. If you are on the Northern section, the access gates to use include Tangi, Wankar, and Chobe. The park entrance fees for Murchison Falls Game Park are set at USD 45 for foreign non-residents, USD 35 while East Africa citizens pay UGX 25,000 per person.

By air –Visitors have an option of taking a flight from Entebbe International Airport to airstrips like Chobe, Bugungu, or Pakuba.