Murchison Falls National Park

Murchison Falls National Park: Highlights

Murchison Falls is Uganda’s largest national park, and it feels like one of its wildest. Its dramatic centrepiece is the eponymous waterfall, created where the River Nile crashes through an 8m-wide gap in the rock in a sensation of spray and roaring rapids. Take cruises downriver to spot huge elephant herds, game drives across the plains to track lions and buffalo, and walks though the nearby Budongo Forest to spot monkeys and chimps frolicking in the canopy.

Named after the dramatic Murchison Falls, which were christened by Sir Samuel Baker; Uganda’s Murchison Falls National Park is the country’s largest protected wildlife sanctuary. A wonderful tapestry of natural landscapes awaits visitors to the park. Here, the mighty Nile River bisects flourishing savannahs, flanked by lush riverine woodlands, before bursting through a chasm in the Rift Valley escarpment to form the raging Murchison Falls. Wildlife enthusiasts can expect to see great pods of hippo and immense rafts of crocodile in-and-around the Nile as well as an array of exceptional water birds. Other fascinating wildlife include the rare Rothschild giraffe, lion, various antelope species, buffalo, leopard and spotted hyena.

Murchison Falls National Park: In Pictures

Hippos

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Adult Elephant

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Waterfall

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Boatrides

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Experience Murchison Falls National Park

Uganda’s largest park, the wild and beautiful Murchison Falls National Park offers breath taking scenery of palm-dotted hills, swamps, riverine woodland and forest, East Africa’s most dramatic waterfall, and a remarkable diversity of wildlife on land and in the Victoria Nile, which teems with hippos and crocodiles. The park is home to large herds of buffalo and elephant and a good concentration of lion as well as leopard and several antelope species from grey duiker and Ugandan kob to oribi and Jackson’s hartebeest. It’s one of the few places in Uganda where you can find giraffe, and on the plains you may be able to spot the rare ground-dwelling patas monkey. Birding is excellent, and the top highlight is a sighting of the endangered shoebill stork, a rare creature that sits at the top of many birders’ wish list. You’re most likely to see them between January and March on the Delta cruise boat ride.

Where to find Murchison Falls National Park

Birdlife at the Murchison Falls National Park

murchison falls National Park has the largest checklist of any protected area in East Africa with more than 600 bird species recorded. This is mostly due to the wide variety of habitats: from savannah to forest to wetland. Many of the birds in the park are regarded as specials within East Africa, which make it a prime birding destination. The swamps in the Ishasha sector are a good place to look for the elusive shoebill stork. Migratory birds are present from November to April.

The birdlife in murchison falls National Park is good year-round, but at its best from late May to September, when the rain is less and food is abundant. June to July has the least rain, while April to May and September to November have the most rain. The heavy rains might result in delays due to impassable roads and slippery hiking trails. These may limit your bird-watching time. From November to April, migratory birds can be found in the park.

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