Murchison Falls National Park

First gazetted in 1926, Murchison Fall National Park is Uganda’s largest national park and oldest conservation area.

It lays at the northern tip of the Albertine Rift Valley and is home to 76 mammals and 451 birds. The park is divided by the Victoria Nile which flows down to Lake Albert. In 1862, early European explorers John Speke and James Grant were among the first to visit the park followed by Samuel Baker and his wife Florence in 1863-4. Samuel Baker named the falls in honour Roderick Murchison then president of the Royal Geographical Society, and the park was subsequently named after the falls. The falls were featured in the Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart film ‘The African Queen’. Other notable visitors include British Royals, Ernest Hemmingway, Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt.

The park is part of the greater Murchison Falls Conservation Area which incorporates the collectively managed Budongo, Bugungu, Karuma and Kaniyo Pabidi. Budongo forest is famous being home to over 800 chimpanzees with six habituated groups. Trekking to theses groups is arranged at Kaniyo Pabidi. For keen birders, the Murchison Falls Conservation Area is known for its rich birdlife with 550 species of birds, the star attraction being the elusive shoebill stock.

Game drives
The most established game drive circuits with highest concentration of wildlife in Murchison Falls are within the Buligi area. The Buligi and Delta Areas are famous for leopard, lion, elephant and the buffalo that are often found grazing in the open savannah grasslands.

Boat cruise
The highlight of the Victoria Nile is the boat cruise upstream to the bottom of the Murchison Falls. There are abundant hippo, crocodile, elephant and birds. During the rainy season, shoebills can make an appearance.

Chimpanzee Trekking in Kaniyo Pabidi
Kaniyo Pabidi is the second largest of the four blocks that comprise Budongo Forest reserve, home to over 800 chimpanzees, you will encounter one of six habituated groups in their natural habitat.

Top of falls
Hop off your boat and join the resident ranger guide on the river bank, you can take a gentle walk upstream giving you plenty of time to take photos at the edge of the Murchison Falls.

Birding
Uganda is listed among the world’s best bird-watching destinations and even non-birder’s will be captivated by the checklist of 550 birds found in Murchison Falls Conservation Area.

Sport Fishing
For avid anglers, sport fishing in Murchison Falls National Park can be done either from a boat or from the banks of the river. The bottom of the falls has proved itself for being the best site to catch the Nile perch from the highly oxygenated waters. This fishing site has attracted world famous anglers including Jeremy Wade, John Dennis Wilson and Zeb Hogan.