Murchison Falls National Park – Uganda
Murchison Falls National Park is part of the Murchison Falls Conservation Area, the largest protected area in Uganda with about 5,072 square kilometers. It also includes the Bugungu Wildlife Reserve, Karuma Wildlife Reserve and, in the South, Budongo Forest.
The park was originally gazetted as the Bunyoro and Gulu Wildlife Reserve in 1926 and upgraded to a National Park status in 1952.
Murchison falls national park which is one of the country’s oldest protected areas. It is named after the marvelous falls on the river, which encounters a narrow cleft in the Rift Valley Escarpment to explode through a 6m wide gorge, plunging 45m into the Devil’s Cauldron to transform into a froth of thunderous white water, with no comparison to any other site in East Africa.
Map of Murchison Falls National Park
The altitude of the Park Range from 619m at the delta on Lake Albert and 1,292 m at Rubango hill. It is traversed by the river Victoria Nile, which connects Lake Kyoga with Lake Albert.
Vegetation and Climate of the park
The vegetation of Murchison Falls NP is characterized by savannah, riverine forest and woodland. The Northern Section of the park contains Savanna and Borassus palms, acacia trees and riverine woodland.
Climatic conditions of the park are both hot and cold as well as dry. During the day, temperature is around 25 to 32 degrees Celsius, making the region one of the hottest places in Uganda. However just like in arid areas, evenings/ nights in the park tend to be cooler with temperatures dropping to up to 18 degrees Celsius. Rainfall is low compared to other regions though tend to arrive in torrential storms.
Attractions in the Park
Wildlife
Murchison Falls is blessed with a variety of wildlife that also includes the Aquatic ones. There are over 76 mammal species, the big five and others respectively including giraffes that are found in a few parks of the country, elephants, lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, Kobs, bushbuck, waterbuck, oribi, jackal.
The Birds
The park has a rich list of birds counting to more than 450 species including cormorants, pelicans, herons, fish eagle, and shoebill stork in the Nile Delta among others.
The falls
The park’s top attraction remains the falls itself. Visitors get thrilled as the Victoria Nile explodes through a 6m narrow gorge in the remnant rift valley cliffs after descending a series of rapids.
The remarkable experience at the fall is when the Nile waters are transformed into a froth of thunderous white water, with no comparison to any other site in East Africa.
Chimpanzees
In the Kaniyo Pabidi Forest in the south of the Murchison falls conservation area is a quite average number of primates including chimpanzees and different kinds of monkeys.
Tour Activities
A number of tour activities can be done in the Murchison Falls National Park including.
Launch Cruise
The famous launch trip from Paraa along the river Nile up to the Murchison Falls (17 km) is ideal to see regular visitors to the river bank such as elephants, buffaloes, and waterbuck among others. The possibilities of seeing aquatic animals such as the hippos, crocodiles and water birds like cormorants, pelicans, herons, fish eagle, and shoebill stork are also high during a boat cruise.
A boat cruise can also be done down river from Paraa to explore Nile Delta where a maze of channels threads between wetland islands that choke the river’s exit into Lake Albert.
Hiking to the top of the falls
Visitors can also hike to the top of the falls through the Fajao gorge with a ranger, to see closer from the top the exciting and spectacular Murchison Falls as they plunge into the narrow rocky cliffs. The site can also be reached by a vehicle.
Game drives north of river Nile and at Lake Albert Delta (Buligi, Albert and Queen’s tracks). Sport fishing (Nile Perch and tiger fish), on the river Nile above and below the fall. “Chimpanzee tracking” and bird watching in Budongo Forest and Kaniyo Pabidi Forest Reserve.
Game Viewing
Game drives in the park are also one of the top interesting activities to do. They can be done on the Buligi peninsula, a triangle of grassland bounded by the Victoria Nile. Here, you can see a variety of wildlife including Elephants, buffaloes, antelopes, lions among others.
In the Southern part of the Murchison falls National Park, vehicle tracks have been opened and a drive along this area guarantees you an opportunity to see the substantial herds of the Uganda kob that attract lions for hunting in the evenings or early morning.
Forest Walks
Taking a forest walk in the Kaniyo Pabidi in Budongo, South of the park can land you an opportunity to spot the closest cousins to humans, Chimpanzees.
The activity is essential for birders due to the prescence of the Alberine Rift endemics and other locally-tied species like the chocolate-backed kingfisher, white thighed hornbill, Puvel’s illadopsis and many more.
Air Balloon
Visitors can also take to the air to explore the plains of the Park in a hot air balloon.
How to get there
Murchison Falls Conservation Area with the adjoining Karuma and Bugungu Wildlife Reserves can be accessed through different routes by road to reach Paraa Park headquarters, where the park’s tourism hub is situated.
By Road
The most commonly used route is Kampala via Masindi town and Kichumbanyobo Gate which is about 300km long and takes an average of 4.5 hours.
This route is considered the shortest and most convenient with the largest part of it tarmacked with the rest finely murramed. It takes you through Kaniyo Pabidi Forest famous for the chimpanzee tracking before encountering the rift valley escarpment that offers a spectacular view of the national park landscape.
The alternative route is via Biso and Bulisa which enables the visitors to enter the park through the Bugungu Gate. Although a bit longer than the Kichumbanyobo Gate corridor, this access route leads through Budongo Forest ,down the rift valley escarpment with a fascinating view over Lake Albert onto the Blue Mountains in the Democratic Republic of Congo and over the wide open spaces of the massive national park.
The adventurous route also leads the visitors through the chimpanzee packed forest before descending to the rift valley escarpment where one can explore the remains of the historical Butiaba Port as well as Wanseko a popular spot south of the Nile delta.
Once in the conservation area, the Nile river crossing at Paraa in the heart of the park is approximately 5hrs drive from Kampala (305km). Paraa is 85km from Masindi town by the direct route.
A longer (135km) alternative route passes through Budongo forest and provides scenic views across Lake Albert from the rift valley escarpment above Butiaba.
Paraa can also be approached from the north, via Chobe Gate near Karuma Falls and Tangi Gate near Pakwach (25km to Paraa), and Wankwar Gate near Purongo.
In case you want to switch from the Northern to the Southern Sections of the Park or otherwise, a vehicle ferry crosses the Nile at Paraa operating hourly between 07.00 and 19.00 with the exception of 13.00.
By Air
Murchison Falls National park can be reached by air using the daily flights from Entebbe International Airport or chartered aircrafts from Kajjansi airfield to Pakuba airfield, 19km North West of Paraa and south at Bugungu, 13 km from the park headquarters.
Accommodations
There are several accommodation facilities to use while in the Park. These cater from Up-market, mid-range to Budget.
Up market Accommodations include Paraa lodge, Nile safari lodge, Chobe safari lodge while Sambiya River lodge, Murchison River lodge, Fort Murchison lodge fall into Mid-range.
Budget accommodations include Bwana Tembo camp, Red chill camp among others. UWA also operates a campsite and a student’s dormitory style with 60 beds at North Paraa.
While in Budongo, there are comfortable on-site lodges including Budongo Eco Lodge, Boomu Community Group Bandas, while additional accommodations are available at Masindi town, 30km south.