Murchison falls National Park is one of the most famous parks in East Africa. In Murchison falls National Park, the great River Nile meets the Albertine rift valley to make the phenomenal waterfalls. The falls are well designed in a way that the waters of the Victoria Nile flow between the walls of an 8 meters wide gorge and explode into a thunderous roar into the Devil’s Cauldron this all creates a permanent  rainbow.

Murchison falls National Park is an all-round park that has a lot to offer for any safari cravings. You will find a vast number of mammal species, bird species vegetation and activities that include easy hiking, boat cruise, bird watching and thrilling game drives. It also boasts of the great history it carries mostly related to great ancient explorers that even got to name the park.

Activities in Murchison falls National Park

The first activity in the park is always the game drive. Right from when you enter the park, you will notice the animals mostly the stubborn baboons that usually welcome the guests to the park. As you enter deep into the park, you come across herds of elephants, buffaloes, different species of antelopes like the kob, waterbucks, Jackson hartebeest, bushbuck, kudu also hyenas, Leopard, lion and the hippos mostly seen at the water banks.

The boat launch is one of the most enchanting activities on Ugandan safaris. Here you get to see the animals up close as they chill, swim or take water from the shores. There is also the salt leak that is like a showroom for buffaloes. Some of the animals you will encounter are the hippos, elephants, buffaloes, crocodiles, waterbucks to mention but a few. For the bird lovers, this is the best activity that you will encounter various species of birds including African fish eagle, the Pied, Giant and Malchite king fishers, weaver birds, silver bird, black headed gonolek not forgetting the red throated bee eaters that drill through the soft rocks near the water to stay in.

The boat launch ends with a spectacular display of the front view of the falls as you’ll be sailing towards the bottom of the falls.

The hike to the top of the falls gives you more views of the falls until you reach the top. At the top, you are able to see the permanent rainbow the falls create between the rocks.  There are different viewpoints at the top that you can explore. Don’t forget to take pictures when you are there.

There are more activities near Murchison falls National Park that include Rhino tracking at Ziwa Rhino sanctuary, Chimpanzee tracking and a forest walk in Budongo Forest. These activities can be done on your trip to Murchison falls national park.

How to get to Murchison falls National Park.

You can access the park by road and air. By air you can use the Pakuba airport that is in the northern part of the park. You can use a chartered aircraft from Entebbe International airport or Kajansi Airfield near Kampala.

By road, there are two main routes If you are coming from Kampala or would like to pass through the southern part of the park, you can use the Karuma-Olwiyo-Pakwach-Nebbi-Arua route which leads you to Kichwanyombo gate and through the Kaniyo Pidi forest alternatively you can use the Bugungu gate through Budongo forest which is quite further than the Kichwanyombo gate.

From the southern entrances, the Nile is crossed using the ferry at Paraa.
The entrances in north are accessed using the Acholibur-Gulu-Olwiyo route which is usually used when coming from the North towards the park. The Nile is crossed by the Karuma bridge on the highway as you can branch off through the northern gates of the park Chobe, Wankwar, Mubako or Tangi gate. Through these gates you can reach Paraa where you will find the ferry that helps you cross the Nile.

Accommodation in Murchison falls National park. There is a variety of accommodation in the park that can cater for everyone right from budget to luxury. These include Paraa safari lodge, Red chilli rest camp, Sambiya river lodge, Geolodges shoebill camp site, Geolodges Nile safari lodge, Yebo safari camp these are found in the Paraa and central Murchison areas. Then in the Northern and Eastern Murchison we have Chobe safari lodge, Murchison river lodge, Pakuba safari lodge.