Murchison Falls National Park is in Northern Uganda. The park covers approximately 3840 km², and the River Nile passes through. Rabonga Forest in the southeast has large populations of chimps and the Nile has a lot of hippopotamuses and crocodiles.
Named after the president of the English Royal Geographic Society in 1862 by Samuel Baker.
Part of the Albertine Rift. The White Nile flows through this park from east to west, before turning north when it contacts Lake Albert. At the spectacular Murchison Falls, the Nile squeezes much of its water through a 7-m wide cleft. Less know is the Uhuru Falls, adjacent to Murchison Falls. "Uhuru" means "freedom" in Swahili - these falls broke through the rock in the year of Uganda's independence.
Elephants, Rothschild's giraffe, nile buffalo, lelwel hartebeest, oribi, waterbuck, bushbuck, warthog, lion, leopard, hippo, nile crocodile, olive baboons, mongoose, honey badger, monitor lizards, black and white colobus, vervet monkey, chimpanzee and a wide array of bird life including the rare shoebill stork.
Tropical, rains April/May and Oct/Nov. Good to visit all year
For non-residents, a one day permit costs US$40, for East African residents, US$30.
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This park offers plenty of different ways to enjoy primates, wildlife and a variety of birds. Chimp trekking and birding takes place in the southern reaches, in Budongo Forest, but the core park activities are centered around the river Nile, and the dramatic Murchison Falls. Launch cruises can be taken to the base of the Falls, offering a relaxed way to enjoy the scenery and the wildlife which comes to the water's edge, including elephant, buffalo, Defassa waterbuck, Nile crocodile and hundreds of hippopotamuses. The falls are only modest in their height (approximately a 43 m drop) but what they lack in height they make up for in power. The entire Nile river explodes through a 7-m (23-ft) wide crevice. It is said that up to 300 m³ of water per second rush through this narrow rocky gorge.
The bird life is also excellent in this area, but to spot the famous Shoebill, it is best to take a Delta cruise in the opposite direction, to where the waters of the Victoria Nile and Albert Nile meet and mingle at the northern end of Lake Albert. The delta area is a network of watery channels with papyrus islands, where plenty of aquatic birds can be spotted, and quite often, the pre-historic looking Shoebill is found fishing for frogs and lungfish. The park also offers game drives around the Buligi circuit in the delta area, or further east and north towards Karuma Falls or Pakwach and Wangkwar gates. The game is not as plentiful as that found in the large national reserves of Kenya and Tanzania, but the wildlife encounters can be more intimate, as Uganda is 'off the beaten path'. Frequently spotted game includes lion, leopard, elephant buffalo, the endangered Rothschild's Giraffe, Jackson's Hartebeest, Defassa Waterbuck, Uganda Kob and the dainty Oribi.
Game drives, chimp walks, birding, boat trips
Community tours that offer a chance to see the local community, understand issues faced by rural Ugandans and learn about local food are offered at Boomu Women's Group. This group also offers a chance to see how local handcrafts are made.
Local crafts, drinks, snacks and simple meals can be purchased from Boomu Women's Group. As this is a community tourism project all sales directly help the surrounding community.
If you stay to the roads with a safari vehicle, there is no danger. However do not go off the marked roads.
- Masindi - approx 90 km.