Murchison Falls national park Safari tour : Murchison Falls national park is located in the northern Uganda, northwest of the capital Kampala. Murchison falls national park was gazetted in 1952, and today is the largest national park in Uganda covering an area of 3840 sq. km/1503 sq. miles, it is also known as the Kabalega National Park, the Murchison falls national park is popularly known for having the world’s safari most powerful waterfall that emits large volumes of water of about 300 cubic meters per second or 11,000 ft3/s at a very powerful pressure that cause the surrounding to tremble. Murchison falls National Park is commonly visited for Uganda Safari Tour because of its diverse safari activities and rich wildlife. Murchison falls National Park is managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Attractions in Murchison Falls National Park.
Wildlife.
Murchison Falls national park is covered with diverse vegetation that includes savannah, woodlands, riverine forests that supports huge animal species that includes the home to over 73 animal species and among which are four the ‘’Big Five’’ including buffalos, leopards, lions and elephants except the rhinos and other animal species include Uganda kobs, Hartebeests, lions, elephants, leopards, buffaloes, cheetahs, hyenas and many others, the tourists visit the park on their safari to spot various animal species as mentioned above. In Murchison Falls national park has other primates living within its verdant forests like the Budongo among are more than 610 chimpanzees.
Bird species.
Murchison Falls National Park is a birding destination in that the bird lovers who visit the park take a chance to spot various bird species, the park has got over 451 species including 23 Albertine rift endemics as some includes the rare shoebill stork, Goliath heron, the yellow footed fly catcher, malachite kingfisher, African jacana and many others, most of the tourists especially the bird lovers are attracted to the park because of the bird species.
The Powerful Murchison falls.
Murchison falls are among the top attractions in the Murchison Falls national park, these are large volumes of water from the Victoria Nile forces its way through an approximately 7 meter wide gorge to plunge 43 meters below into a pool, the powerful water fall creates a thunderous noise with a splashing cloud of fog offering a very breathtaking view worth enjoying.
River Nile.
River Nile is also the other attraction in Murchison falls national park, the River Nile whose source is found in Uganda’s tourist town Jinja is popularly known as the longest river in the world, as River Nile flows through the Murchison Falls national Park as well it is crowded with streaming hippos an numerous giant crocodile seen along the sandbanks, and also the different animal species and birds getting to drink and bath, Murchison Falls national park Safari tour
Budongo Forest.
Budongo forest is the major attraction in Murchison Falls National Park, this is found in the southwestern part of this conservation area located close to the park, continuous with Kniyo Pabidi forest, the Budongo forest boasts a huge diversity of wildlife among which are 287 butterfly species, 24 mammals, over 460 tree species and about 360 types of birds during a safari to the forest you can explore the ‘’ Royal mile’’ a well maintained road stretch displaying the various tree species and popular for its good bird watching opportunities as well the forest offers the most awesome primate watching opportunities.
Kaniyo Pabidi Forests.
Kaniyo Pabidi forest is located in the southern part of the Murchison Falls conservation area, the trails through Kaniyo Pabidi forest that stretches for about 8 kilometers inside the Kichumbar gate, the forest is loved by the most of the tourists because it offers the opportunity for chimpanzee tracking and also spotting other primates like the olive baboon, white and black colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, the forest is also known the Uganda’s remaining mahogany forest. The forest also is excellent for bird watching where various bird species can be spotted in the forest like the yellow-footed flycatcher, white thighed hornbill and many others and many animal species can be also be viewed from the forest.
Top of the Murchison falls view.
The top of the Murchison Falls view is the most spectacular view of the waterfall, this is where the sight and sound of the River Nile crashing through a small chasm make a memorable assault on your senses, the site can be reached either by a car or on a 30 minutes climb, from the boat at the bottom of the falls.
Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.
Ziwa Rhino sanctuary is also among the attractions in the Murchison Falls National Park, this is a private non-profit that was established in 2005 to increase on the population of the white rhino in Uganda following the intense poaching that happened during the period of 1990s that totally depleted the animal species from the Murchison Falls National Park and Kidepo Valley National Park where the rhinos used to live, currently they are 22 southern white rhinos that are found in the sanctuary.
Activities done in Murchison Falls National Park.
Game drives safari.
Game drive Uganda safari in Murchison Falls national park are conducted in early mornings and also late evening, while offering the tourists chances to enjoy up-close views of various animal species, in the park the Delta area, Paraa, Buligi Penisular and the southern sector are main game viewing area for the tourists to spot various wildlife in the park.
Chimpanzee tracking safari.
Chimpanzee tracking is among of the main activities done in Murchison Falls National park, within the verdant forest of Budongo are some of the best chimpanzee tracking safari conducted in Uganda, the tourists during chimpanzee tacking can associate with chimpanzees and enjoy the up-close encounters with these great creatures.
Boat cruise safari.
Boat cruise safari is one of the interesting activities carried in Murchison Falls National Park, in the park there are two boat cruises that is boat cruise upstream to the bottom of the falls and the boat cruise downstream to the Victoria Nile delta stretching to the shores of Lake Albert, during the boat cruise the guests can get the opportunity to enjoy the stunning views of Murchison falls, beautiful scenery, large herds of hippos in water, crocodiles basking on the banks, elephants, Uganda kobs, warthogs and among bird species like the African fish eagle, giant kingfisher, grey headed kingfisher, Senegal thick knee, blue headed coucal and many others.
Cultural tours.
Tourists during their safari to Murchison Falls national park enjoys the thrilling energetic cultural dances by the Mubako as you sit by a campfire, village tours to see the traditional lifestyle of the locals and the crafts shop by the Boomu Women’s group.
Birding watching safari.
The bird lovers who visit Murchison Falls national park can be the best place to be as in the park is a birding destination with over 451 bird species including the Albertine Rift endemics, water birds, savannah forest birds, the bird lovers can be rewarded with the most amazing and beautiful bird species, the bird watching is bestly done during the launch cruise and as well game drives. The bird lovers can be able to observe various bird species like Goliath Heron, African Quail-Finch, Blue-headed Coucal, Squacco Heron, Silver bird, African Jacana, Piapiac, Sandpipers, Weaver Birds, White-browed sparrow weaver and among others.
Visiting Paraa.
Paraa is another important area with worth exploring while in Murchison Falls national park which is close to the to the banks of the river Nile. According to the local language Paraa means the ‘’home of the hippos’’.While in paraa the tourists enjoy a diversity of activites like the game drives both in the early morning and also late evening, cultural visits, birding safaris, fishing trips, guided nature walks, boat trips as these offer you a chance to see various animal species in the shallows of the Nile. During the guided walks you can meet up with the Luo people and their you can get a chance to learn about their culture and way of life.
Hot air balloon safari.
Hot air balloon Uganda safari is an aerial view experience done by the tourists while observing the Murchison falls national park beautiful landscape and at the same time while viewing the wildlife in the park, this is done by the most of the tourists and gives them the best unforgettable memories in their life.
Nature walks and hikes safari.
Murchison Falls national park offers several trails that can be explored on foot through the Kaniyo Pabidi forests, Rabongo forests to observe bird species and other primates, the tourists can spot various animal and bird species with in the park while getting closer to them as they identifying various characteristics on them.
Best time to visit the Murchison Falls national park.
Murchison falls national park is considered to be an all year-round destination, but the best period is during the dry season also known as the peak season during the months of June to September and December to February, during the dry season the park receives little rainfall therefore vegetation will be thin that guides the guests to have clear views of animals, access roads to the park and the hiking trails will be passable and many animal species will be gathering around the water bodies to drink water which gives the guests an opportunity to view large concentrations of animals and take beautiful photos.
Where to stay in Murchison Falls national park.
Murchison Falls national park has got various accommodation facilities for the guests who come to visit the park as these are categorized into the Budget, Mid-range and the Luxury accommodations, the park has also got the camping options for those who likes exploring the wild nature of the area, the accommodations includes the Chobe safari lodge, Paraa safari lodge. Pakuba safari lodge, Nile safari lodge, Murchison River lodge, Red Chilli Rest camp, Yebo safari camp and many others.
How to get to Murchison falls national park.
The park can be accessed easily through using the road transport and the air transport from Kampala city to Murchison Falls national park, Murchison Falls national park Safari tour
By Road transport.
From Kampala to Murchison falls national park it is about 4 hrs. 30 minutes through Kampala city-Masindi ( 282 km) or 5hr 30 minutes through Kampala-Hoima.
By Air transport.
Air transport is the quickest means of transport to access Murchison falls national park that is there are also charter flights from Kajjansi Entebbe to chobe airstrip in Murchison Falls national park.
