Murchison Falls National Park The Amazing Africa Safari Destination

Although the world is still grappling with a pandemic of COVID- 19 that has left all governments around the world and their people always fearful of what the next day will bring. I believe that the best thing we can do is to have hope and trust our medics and adhere to the guidelines that have been put in place to see that we can defeat this scourge that has cast a big shadow over our lifestyles. With that said, we can always plan to have our normal lifestyle, and when that day comes. We can reactivate our travel plans that have been shelved as of now. If your travel plan was to visit Uganda but you hadn’t yet zeroed down on which attractions to visit in Uganda. Over the next series of articles, I intend to help you overcome this bottleneck by taking you on an amazing safari Uganda journey through some of Uganda’s incredible attractions that should never miss in your tour Uganda itinerary. Let’s kick off our series with taking a Uganda adventure trip to the incredible Murchison falls National Park

What is Murchison falls National Park?

MurchisonFalls

Murchison falls

Murchison Falls National Park is Uganda’s biggest savanna national park spanning over 3893sqkm. This national park was named after the stunning Murchison falls that are found within the confinements of this park. This park is so diverse as it consists of both rolling savanna grassland plains that are found in the Northern sector of the park. This sector is beaming with a wide variety of wild life which include 4 out of the big five which are present here and these include the cape buffaloes, African bush elephants, the African leopards and the kings of the savanna the might lions. Other notable wild mammals in this park include the towering Rothchild giraffes, the Jackson hartebeests and many other antelope subspecies. Besides wild animals Murchison falls park is a truly incredible birding destination given the fact that this park is home to over 450 bird species and these consist of forest, savanna and water bird species and some of these birds you will find here include Swamp Flycatcher, the Blue-headed Coucal, Squacco Heron, Sandpipers, African Jacana, Denham’s Bustard, Black-billed Barbet, Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill, Black-headed Gonolek, Eastern Grey Plantain-eater,

Murchison_falls_lions

Murchison falls lions

Weaver Birds, Pied, Piapiac, Silver bird, Giant and Malachite Kingfishers, White-browed Sparrow Weaver, Red-throated Bee-eater, African Quail-Finch and Speckle-fronted Weaver. In the Southern sector that is separated from the Northern sector by the Victorian Nile which empties it waters in Lake Albert before reemerging out to continue with its North journey to the Mediterranean Sea is a typical lowland tropical forest named Budongo which gives a unique version to this park since this is home to several primate species such as monkeys, baboons and chimpanzees. To a birder, a walk along the royal mile in Budongo leads to sightings of bird species such as Nahan’s Francolin, White-thighed Hornbill, Sabine’s and graceful Cassin’s Spinetail, Blue-throated Roller, Forest Flycatcher, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, Lemon Bellied Crombec, Ituri Batis, Tit Hylia, Forest Robin, Uganda Woodland Warbler, Grey Throated, Yellow Billed, Yellow Spotted and Hairy Breasted Barbet, Black Billed and Great Blue Turaco

Getting to Murchison falls National Park

Getting to Murchison falls can be done by either using road or air transport as there are many small aircraft companies which charter flights to this park from either Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airfield. However, to me a road trip to Murchison is a thriller you should never miss out especially if you have the time to do it. This road adventure to Murchison Falls Park is an 8-9 hours’ drive covering 310km, this road trip gives you a glimpse into the life of ordinary Ugandans which you meet along the way while they engage in activities such as tilling their gardens, men and women riding bicycles loaded with usually farm produce heading towards next local markets to trade. You will also engage in exciting roadside market stops in Kasana Luwero which gives you an opportunity to take your taste buds on a culinary journey as you taste some Uganda’s purely organic tropical fruits that will tantalize your taste buds due to their absolute sweetness. When you make it to Nakasongola, you can decide to engage in a rhino trekking adventure by making a detour to Ziwa rhino sanctuary and this gives you a chance to meet one of the 5 big five Africa game which are only found in this sanctuary in Uganda. After rhino trekking make your way to Murchison falls and engage in a miniature game drive as you progress to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

What to do when in Murchison falls National Park?

Ugnada_Murchison-Falls-Buffalos

Uganada Murchison Falls Buffalos

There several activities you can decide to engage in when you visit Murchison falls park given the diversity of attractions that are found here. However, many Uganda safari adventurers favor engaging in a game drive and boat cruise, as well as hike to the top of Murchison falls. If you decide to engage in these 2 activities while in Murchison, you will need to spend an overnight stay in any of the Uganda safari lodges here. Your day to explore this park will begin quite early at 6:30 am as you wake up for a nicely crafted breakfast then begin your morning game drive experience as you explore the rolling savannah landscapes in the Northern bank of Murchison Falls National Park. The activity which commences at 7am takes you to the haven of wild game catching up with them before they disperse off completely to graze and hunt. You follow the designated tracks including the Buligi, Albert, Queen, Pakuba among others stretching to the delta area gaining impressive views of wildlife and the landscapes. The possible sights include Rothschild Giraffes, the Jackson’s Hartebeest, the lions, the leopards, the elephants, the Cape Buffaloes, the Oribis, Kobs among others. You retreat from the activity that lasts 3 – 4 hours and get back to the lodge for relaxation and lunch after which you gather at Paraa jetty for an afternoon boat cruise commencing at 2pm. The Nile launch cruise offers you an opportunity to explore the calm waters of Nile River as they approach the delta gaining views of the aquatic Species like Nile crocodiles and Hippos not forgetting the lucky sights of the most sought after shoebill stork. The boat stops at the bottom of Murchison Falls – the world’s powerful water fall enjoying one of the magical sceneries in Uganda.

Next time we will journey to Kibale Forest National Park, the primate capital of the world

At Wild Gorilla Safaris, we strive to meet all your Africa safari needs as we have got virtually the safari packages that will give you a memorable Africa safari experience. For anyone interested in Uganda wildlife safaris packages we have got you covered with wide range of packages that are tailored basing on the number of days you have and the destination you would like to visit on your Uganda safari tour. If you’ve got only a few days, then choose from our short Uganda wildlife safaris which run from 2 days to 5 days such as 2 days Uganda wildlife safari to Murchison falls or 5 days Uganda wildlife safari with chimpanzees and many more. For those that have got more than 5 days, then I suggest pick from our compressive long Uganda wildlife safaris that run from 6 days to as many as 21 days such as

On top of an epic Uganda safari adventure to many of these savanna parks, you have an opportunity to encounter mountain gorillas. Yes, a Uganda gorilla tour experience is very possible when you visit gorilla trekking Uganda destinations Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.  A Uganda gorilla safari to any of these parks gives you an opportunity to meet any of the 19 gorilla families that have been habituated to give you nothing but the ultimate Uganda gorilla tours experience, you can ever think of.

If you’re interested Uganda gorilla safaris these are available in both short Uganda gorilla safari packages such as 3 days gorilla tours in Bwindi and 4 days Bwindi gorilla tour and wildlife in Lake Mburo. There are also long Uganda gorilla tours that run from 6 days to as many as 18 days while featuring many other things along the way to the gorillas. After a magical gorilla tour in Uganda, you can always visit Lake Bunyonyi Uganda and enjoy the stunning views of this magical lake. A visit to Lake Bunyonyi gives you an opportunity to experience a boat ride on Africa’s second deepest lake.

Rwanda is also another gorilla destination you wouldn’t want to miss out on, hence if you are planning for a Rwanda gorilla safari package, check out some of our Rwanda gorilla tours packages which also come in form of short Rwanda gorilla gorilla safaris for those that have got only a few days in Rwanda but those that have got more days, then Long Rwanda gorilla trekking safari packages will do you good as they also give you a chance to visit other Rwanda safari attractions.

Congo as well is another gorilla destination and we have numerous Congo gorilla safari packages that will take you on a Congo gorilla tour adventure to either Virunga National Park for an encounter with mountain gorillas or Kahuzi Beiga National Park where you will encounter Eastern lowland gorillas. Besides gorilla safaris and wildlife encounters in Uganda, you can still explore Uganda’s diversity using any of our wide range of day trips that visit other sites that are near the capital city Kampala or Entebbe international airport such as a Mabamba birding day trip to Mabamba island Kampala city tour day tour Jinja day tour and 1 day Ngamba island chimpanzee safari. Check out our great east Africa safari to such as Kenya safari tours and Tanzania safari tour that take you on an Africa wildlife safari adventure to Kenya and Tanzania respectively.

 

5 days gorilla safari in Congo & Nyiragongo hiking