Murchison Falls National Park is one of the best game parks to visit while in Uganda. The park is located in the Murchison Conservation Area where we also find the Bugungu and Karuma wildlife reserves.
Murchison Falls National Park was established in 1952 and is the largest park in Uganda covering an area of 1,503 square miles. It is found in northwestern Uganda in the Districts of Kiryandongo, Masindi, Nwoya and Buliisa. The River Nile flows through the park dividing it in two and leaving behind beautiful waterfalls.
The park is endowed with several attractions including over 76 mammal species with four members of the big five, the lion, the leopards, the elephants, and the Buffaloes. Other species include bushbucks, Uganda kob, waterbucks and warthogs, giraffes, Jackson’s hartebeest, hyenas etc. Along the shores of the nile and within the waters you will see lots of hippos and crocodiles among other resident creatures. There also several primates in the Murchison falls national park including babaoons and several monkey species.
Wildlife
Four of the Big Five can be seen, but rhino are absent. Huge herds of elephant and buffalo are common, and lion are quite easily spotted. Antelope include Jackson’s hartebeest, waterbuck and Uganda kob. Large herds of Rothschild’s giraffe are a specialty. Chimpanzee and several other primates can be tracked in Budongo Forest, in the south of the greater Murchison Falls Conservation Area.
The Murchison falls, Uganda’s largest national park is also home to over 450 recorded birds species including the rare shoebill stork. The park is also home to 23 Albertine rift endemics given its location in the western arm of the east African rift valley. Our Murchison falls birding safaris allow you see many of these bird species with the help of our expert guides.
Scenery
The park is divided by the very scenic Victoria Nile. A boat trip takes you to the base of the Murchison Falls where you can see the Nile squeezing through a narrow gorge before dropping down into the ‘Devil’s Cauldron’. North of the river is a savannah habitat that’s dominated by grassland and dotted with borassus palms. South of the river, the habitat changes to woodland with forest patches.
Weather & Climate
Murchison Falls has a consistently hot climate. The minimal variation in temperature is due to the park’s equatorial setting. It does, however, get noticeably hotter during the relatively brief Dry season (December to February). Light rain is usual in the Wet season (March to November), with the occasional storm blowing through. Temperatures are also affected by the wide variation in altitude across the park.