Top Safari Activities in Murchison Falls National Park : Murchison Falls National park sits in the northwestern part of Uganda and was created in 1952, covering a total area of about 3893 square kilometers which makes the park to be the largest national park composed of different vegetation types like savannah grassland, riverine forests, a swamp which act as habitat for wild animal species including animals like the big four of the big five mammals, primates and 450 species of birds. Murchison Falls National Park is a UNESCO world heritage site and is approximately a 4 to 5 hours drive. Alternatively, you can fly from Entebbe International Airport or kajjansi airstrip by domestic flight Aerolink Uganda or Bar Aviation which flies to different Uganda national parks and reserves. Domestic flight flies tourists to the pakuba airstrip within the park.
Activities in Murchison Falls National Park ;
A game drive in Murchison Falls National park offers visitors a great opportunity to adventure the park by enjoying great views of wildlife species. We recommend tourists on their game drive use a 4-wheel drive safari vehicle and they are categorized into three sessions.
Morning game drive; The morning game drive is quite a gainful safari adventure on game drive safari to Murchison which is done early in the morning after breakfast. The fact is that the morning game drive is the most rewarding as you get a high chance of seeing rare animals before they return to their hideouts, and the morning hours it’s when animals can be more active.
During the morning game drive, visitors expect to explore animals like buffaloes, waterbucks, giraffes, elephants, Uganda kobs, warthogs, Jackson’s hartebeest, bushbucks, Oribi many more, if your lucky you will be able to view big cats like leopards, lions which can be on their hunt as well as different bird species many others.
Afternoon game drives ;
This activity can be done after lunch and is not an impressive activity like the morning session because animals like big cats can be in their hideouts and others resting under the tree due to the hot sun.
Night game drive
The night game drive starts late in the evening after dinner and boards your safari vehicle accompanied by the park ranger guide. This activity gives a great opportunity to view the nocturnal animals such as civets, genets, bush babies, night jars, leopards, lions, hyenas, leopards, porcupines, and grazers like waterbucks, elephants as well as enjoy the beautiful landscape under African continent.
Boat cruise –Murchison Falls National Park
The boat cruise in Murchison Falls National Park is the second activity after a game drive. Within the park there are two remarkable boat cruises -one can be done upstream to the bottom of the falls and another boat cruise can be done to the bottom of the falls.
The morning boat cruise session starts at 9:00 am and the afternoon session starts at around 2:00 pm both morning and afternoon boat cruise takes about 2 to 3 hours ride.
You can choose to do Nile delta boat cruise which is done in different sessions and each session can last about 4 to 5 hours.
Both boat cruise begins from the Paraa Jetty landing site and gives you an amazing view of the endless park’s plains, beautiful scenery, large herds of hippos in the water, crocodiles that can be seen basking on the water banks, Uganda kobs, buffaloes, elephants, waterbucks, warthogs can be seen drinking water along the Nile shores and various water birds can be seen including; swamp flycatcher, blue headed coucal ,grey headed kingfisher ,Senegal thick knee ,shoe bills ,African fish eagle ,goliath heron ,yellow footed kingfisher, open billed stork among others.
Bird watching –Murchison Falls National Park
In general, Murchison falls national park is home to a variety of bird species with more than 450 recorded bird species composed of migratory, savannah species, and Albertine rift endemic birds. Birding here can be done on the nature walk, boat cruise to the bottom of the falls, and along the Victoria Nile delta. Some of the birds to be spotted on the birding tour to Murchison Falls anational park includes ;Silver bird ,martial eagle ,yellow fronted tinkerbird ,long toed plover ,black billed barbet ,long tales nightjar ,yellow fronted tinkerbird ,shoebill stork ,black headed lapwing ,Abyssinian ground hornbill many more.
Chimpanzee trekking
Chimpanzee trekking in Murchison falls national park can be conducted in the Budongo forest which is a famous home to rare mahogany tree species in East Africa. The activity starts with briefing the visitors and then after they can be divided into a group of six people and you will be allocated to the chimpanzee family to trek. Trekking of chimpanzees in the Budongo forest can last about 30 to 4 hours depending on where the chimpanzee was last seen the previous day. As your trek in the forest, visitors will be able to view other primate species, butterflies, different plant and tree species many more, Top Safari Activities in Murchison Falls National Park
Once chimpanzees are located visitors are allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat, learning about their behaviors and habits, and taking photos and video capturing.
Guided nature walk and hiking –Murchison Falls National Park
This is a thrilling activity where tourists get an opportunity to explore the park on guided foot with a well-trained park ranger guide and armed game ranger. In Murchison falls nature walks can be carried out in Kaniyo pabidi and Runongo forests both home to primates and bird species. Primates to see red-tailed monkeys, chimpanzees, black and white colobus monkeys, and a variety of bird species many more. You can do a nature walk at the top of the fall where you will be able to enjoy spectacular views of the beautiful scenery, listen to the thunderous water as well as watch the waters of the Nile squeezing through 7 meters gorge many others.
Best time to visit Murchison falls national park
Murchison Falls National Park can be visited all year round but the best time is during the dry seasons starting from June to September and December to February. This is the best time of the year to see high concentrations of animals gathering around the water bodies in the park and the best time for photography. You can still visit the park in the low seasons of March to May and October to November because prices for accommodations are low in low seasons due to the few visitors received in the park.
On a visit to Murchison Falls National Park, you can opt to combine activities in Murchison with a visit to Bwindi Forest Impenetrable National Park for Gorilla Safari.
