5 things that make Murchison Falls National Park special

If one was to consider visiting Murchison Falls National Park or was wondering whether Murchison Falls National Park is worth visiting, a question that would likely come up in their mind would be what makes Murchison Falls National Park special? Well, this article we will touch on 5 things that make this national park in Uganda special.

Before we go in to what makes Murchison Falls Game Park special, let me tell you a little bit about the national park;

Murchison Falls National Park is the oldest and largest national park in Uganda and is one of Uganda’s popular game parks. The bio-diversity of this park is what keeps visitors coming and picking an interest in visiting the park.

The game park is home to about 76 species of mammals and get this, the mammals are spread out in the park and the adjacent Budongo Forest which is part of the greater conservation area. The park is situated north west of Kampala the capital city of Uganda and is divided by the Victoria Nile into a north and southern section. Trips starting and ending in Kampala make it easy to visit the park with the 3-Day Murchison Tour being the most preferred.

Now on to 5 things that make Murchison Falls National Park special;

1. Murchison Watefalls / Top of the falls Murchison

The Murchison Waterfalls

One of the highlights to visiting Murchison Falls National Park is spending time at the top of one of the world’s most powerful waterfalls – the Murchison Waterfalls. The waterfalls are situated inside the park and there are 2 ways to visit the waterfalls, for the adventure enthusiasts you can choose to do the top of the falls hike. This hike takes you through the park alongside your guide and you hike up to the top of the falls. This is a short hike and I recommend it for someone who would like to experience an activity that will have them moving and is an opportunity to experience part of the park on foot.

One other way to visit the Murchison Waterfalls is to branch off alongside the main Murchison Road and then drive towards the top of the falls. There is an area the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has designated for parking, so your guide parks the car here and then you simply take a 2-minute walk to the top of the falls. Whichever way you use to get to the top of the falls, the view from the top is worth every minute that you spend at the site. You watch the dramatic waterfalls as they force themselves through a 7-meter gorge splashing with a thunderous explosion into the River Nile. You get what they call, a shower from the falls while here as the waterfalls are so powerful that the water splashes towards the viewing point.

2. Game drives in Murchison Falls National Park

Uganda is one of the best game viewing destinations in East Africa and what makes game viewing in Uganda special is the less crowded safari moments that one gets to enjoy while on safari here. The visitor numbers to Uganda are few which means over tourism is not an issue here, so you almost have the park to yourself and you will have less visitors while on safari which makes for un-interrupted game viewing.

Giraffes seen while on a game drive in Murchison Falls National Park

Murchison is special for its game drives that happen in the northern section of the park where you find the largest concentration of wildlife. You start your day early in the morning, you can even choose to have a packed breakfast from the safari lodge. Once you start driving into the park, you begin looking out for wildlife with the help of your guide, wildlife to look out for in the park include Lions, Cape Buffaloes, Leopard, Elephants, Rothschild’s Giraffes, Hyenas, Oribi, Jackson’s Hartebeest, Patas monkeys, Olive baboons, Vervet monkeys, Hippos, Uganda Kobs, Water bucks, Bush bucks, Reed buck, Warthogs, Hyenas.

A game drive in Murchison is incomplete without a stop over at the hippo pool, it is a stretch along the Nile where you look out for hippos that like to spend time in the water during the day, it is also a nice spot to get out of the safari vehicle, stretch as you look out for wildlife. The pool also attracts bird species like the herons, cattle egrets, kingfishers, and lapwings among others.

3. Murchison Falls Boat Cruise

Guests on an afternoon boat ride in Murchison

The afternoon Murchison boat trip is what makes the park a special destination. The Murchison boat cruise happens along the Victoria Nile and you can decide to take the boat trip to the bottom of the falls or cruise towards a different direction to the delta. The most popular option for most visitors is the launch trip to the bottom of the falls, after spending the morning looking out for wildlife in the savanna plains, you now spend the afternoon on a quiet boat ride on the Victoria Nile as you look out for gigantic Nile crocodiles, hippos, elephants, waterbucks and wildlife that comes on the river banks to quench their thirst on a hot afternoon.

Murchison Falls launch trip

The highlight of the Murchison Falls boat ride is stopping at the bottom of the falls, here you watch the falls from the bottom as they force themselves through a 7-metre gorge and dramatically splash 43m down into the River Nile. An incredible way to watch these powerful Murchison Waterfalls!

4. Chimpanzee Trekking in Budongo Forest

One of the special things about visiting Murchison is that you can plan for an extra day to see the chimps in Budongo. Budongo Forest is part of the Murchison Falls Conservation Area and is located in the adjacent area of the game park, the forest is the second-best place to do the chimpanzee trek in Uganda after Kibale National Park.

Being the one of the largest tropical rain forests in East Africa, Budongo is a bio-diverse forest with thick canopy and a presence of primates like the Black-and-white colobus monkeys, Olive baboons, Red-tailed monkeys. Budongo has one habituated chimpanzee community that lives in the Kaniyo Pabidi area south of Murchison Falls National Park and this community with over 100 members is open to visitors for trekking, the forest it self has over 800 individuals living in the tropical rain forest.

A chimpanzee in Budongo Forest

The chimpanzee trek in Budongo at Kaniyo Pabidi is just like the chimpanzee trek in Kibale, it starts with a briefing from the ranger guide and then you start the journey into the forest in search of the chimps. Once you locate the chimpanzees, you are allowed to take photos and watch them in their natural forest habitat. A quick reminder – remember to take photos without the flashlight on when visiting the chimpanzees.

5. Rhino trekking at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary

Rhino trekking at Ziwa

One of the things that makes a visit to Murchison special is having the opportunity to look out for the Big 5 animals while on your Murchison Falls Safari. A rhino trek at Ziwa can be added as one of the activities to do while on your trip. Rhino trekking happens at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary which is located along the way as you head to Murchison, the sanctuary is one of the best places to see the Southern White Rhinos in Uganda and is located in Nakasongola district.

Rhinos at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary

The stop over at Ziwa is a great way to break the journey while heading to Murchison while offering a close encounter with the rhinos at Ziwa. The rhino trek starts with a briefing after which you do a trek to see the rhinos, once you locate them, you get to spend 1 hour with them as your guide takes you through their behaviour and existence at the sanctuary.

Ready to get started on your Murchison Falls Tour? Get in touch with one of our safari experts here: info@56africatours.com or WhatsApp: +256782251326