Murchison Falls National Park

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Murchison Falls National Park Uganda

Murchison Falls National Park Conservation Area is the largest protected area in Uganda, 5.025kms, including Murchison Falls National Park, Karuma Wildlife Reserve and in the south, and Budongo Forest Reserve. The altitude range is from 619m at the delta on Lake Albert to 1.292 m at Rabongo hill. The area is traversed by the Victoria Nile, which connects Lake Kyoga with Lake Albert.

Murchison falls national park is the oldest and largest national park in Uganda. The national park derives its name from the magnificent falls located at the heart of the park. At Murchison Falls, the Nile squeezes through an 8m wide gorge and plunges with a thunderous roar into “devils cauldron” creating a trademark rainbow that is seen all year through.

John Speke and James Grant first discovered this falls back in 1862 but a year later they were thoroughly explored by the Bakers (1963-4). Although it was discovered in 1862, it was officially established in 1952 and is now managed by the Uganda wildlife authority.Murchison national park is situated in northwestern Uganda approximately 283km by road west of Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. Therefore it takes about 4 to 5 hours to get to the ideal destination also known as Murchison falls national park

Attractions in Murchison Falls National Park

For the carnivore lovers, Murchison falls national park is a conservation unit for lions as well as leopards and if you are lucky. The park is flourishing with a variety of animals such as the African elephant that may even come to your lodge, buffaloes, the Rothschild giraffes, hippopotamuses, the Nile crocodiles, hartebeests, waterbucks, the Ugandan kob, warthogs and all the different types of antelopes. The park is also the home of 450 species of birds that are commonly seen in the park, from aquatic birds such as the giant kingfisher to land birds such as weaver birds and sandpipers. Murchison falls national park is the ideal destination to find almost all the animals you desire to see. There are a variety of vegetation types but woodland and forest patches, as well as low savannah grasslands making the animals visible to the tourists, dominate the park. The entertainment and park activities will definitely leave you agog. The park has a variety of activities such as early morning and late-night game drives through the animals’ territories giving you the opportunity to see the animals in their natural habitat. Additionally, you are given the chance to hike to the top of the falls as you feel the cool and refreshing water drops from the falls. There are also nature walks through the parks accompanied by a trusted ranger and an amazing bird watching experience.

Brief History of the Park

I would like to enlighten you more about Murchison falls national park, Murchison falls national park has been visited by notable individuals such as Winston Churchill who is credited for having done activities such as boat cruise, hiking as well as cycling along the Nile corridor which attracted many more foreigners to the park. In addition, two movies have been shot in the vicinity of Murchison falls Nile river along lake Albert, these include the African queen and Humphrey Bogart. This is enough evidence to confirm that the scenery at Murchison falls national park is indeed breathtaking. Other vital visitors include Edward the 7th in 1930, Queen’s mother in 1959 and the British royals.

Species in Murchison Falls National Park

There are 76 mammal species, including giraffes, elephants, lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, kobs, bushbucks, waterbucks, oribi, and jackals. The list of birds counts 450 species.

Activities in Murchison Falls National Park

Launch trip from Paraa along the river Nile up to the Murchison Falls (17 km); a hike to “top of the falls”, to see closer from the top the spectacular Murchison Falls; Game drives North of river Nile and at Lake Albert Delta (Buligi, Albert and Queen’s tracks); Sportfishing (Nile Perch and tiger fish), on the river Nile above and below the Fall;. “Chimpanzee trekking” and bird watching in Budongo Forest and Kanyiyo Pabidi Forest Reserve