5 Reasons Why You Should Visit Murchison Falls National Park.

Murchison Falls National Park is the largest and the oldest national park in Uganda, situated in the northwest region of the country. It’s among the most visited national parks in Uganda famous for the strongest waterfalls in the world. Murchison Falls National Park has diverse ecosystems, including wetlands, riverine tropical forests, savannah grassland, woodlands that provide a habitat to various wildlife species. The park is home to over 451 bird species including the migratory birds, forest birds, 144 mammal species including the 4 members of the African bigfive leopard, lion, elephant, buffalo. The park offers various tourists activities which such as sports fishing, game viewing, boat cruise, nature walks, bird watching. Are planning a safari in Uganda, here are the top 5 reasons why you should visit Murchison Falls National Park.

5 Reasons Why You Should Visit Murchison Falls National Park.

Bird Watching.

Murchison Falls National Park is a haven for bird watching, with over 453 bird species that call this beautiful park home, including aquatic birds, migratory birds, and forest birds. This is a guided activity led by an experienced park birder who helps identify birds by listening to their melodic songs and provides more insights about the bird species that you encounter. The park has different sites for birding, such as the Royal Mile, Kaniyo Pabidi, and Budongo Forest, which all provide memorable bird watching experiences.

Bird watchers will have an opportunity to spot various bird species, such as the Secretary Bird, Shoebill Stork, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill,  Black-bellied Bustard,  Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Black-headed Lapwing, Senegal Thick-Knee, Heuglin’s Francolin, White-browed Sparrow- Weaver, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Martial Eagle, Marabou Stork, Lappet-faced Vulture, Palm-Vulture, Rock Pratincole, Spotted Thick-knee, Long-toed Lapwing, African Quail-Finch, White-faced Whistling Duck, Yellow-billed Stork, Black-billed Barbet, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Tawny Eagle, Grasshopper Buzzard, Narina Trogon, African Dwarf Kingfisher, Blue –breasted kingfisher, Chestnut wattle-eye, Forest Robin, Red-tailed Ant-thrush, Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo, Grey Longbill, Brown Twinspot among more.

Game Viewing.

Game viewing is among the top 5 reasons why you should visit Murchison Falls National Park, this is best done by having a game drive in a 4×4 vehicle with a pop-up roof. The park has over 144 mammal species and 451 bird species, which can be seen while on a game drive. There are 3 sessions of game drives, the morning game drive, which allows visitors to spot animals while they are active, wandering around the park or looking for prey, the evening game drive and the night game drive, which allows visitors to spot nocturnal animals and birds like hyenas, leopards. This is a guided activity led by a knowledgeable park guide who gives more information about the park’s inhabitants that you may encounter. While on a game drive, visitors will have a chance to spot various animals and bird species such as elephants, buffalo, giraffes, waterbucks, lions, leopard, oribis, hartebeest, Uganda kobs, Aardvark, vervet monkey,  patas monkeys, warthog, hippos, birds like Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Black-headed Lapwing, Senegal Thick-Knee, Heuglin’s Francolin, White-browed Sparrow- Weaver, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Martial Eagle, Marabou Stork, Lappet-faced Vulture, Palm-Vulture, Rock Pratincole among others.

The mighty Murchison Falls.

Murchison Falls National Park hosts the strongest waterfalls in the whole world, known as Murchison Falls, as the River Nile squeezes itself through a narrow gorge 7 meters wide before pouring down in a pool of about 45 meters with a mighty rumble, creating the present Murchison Falls. A sighting of a rainbow and the echoing roar of the falls is truly unique, offering visitors one of the memorable experiences in the world. Visitors can have a boat cruise either from the bottom of the falls, which allows them to enjoy the stunning views of the falls from the base, or at the Albert delta. While on the boat cruises, visitors have stunning views of the vegetation cover, bird species and animal species. This is an amazing experience and worth enjoying while on your African Trip in Murchison Falls National Park.

Chimpanzee Trekking in Budongo Forest.

Chimpanzee trekking is one of the top 5 reasons why you should visit Murchison Falls National Park. This is an amazing experience done in the Budongo Forest which is part of the park in the southern sector and it is a guided activity led by a knowledgeable guide who gives more information about the parks inhabitants that you might encounter on the way. The activity takes 30 minutes to 4 hours, depending on the movement of chimps as they keep moving in search of food. Once chimpanzees are located visitors are given one hour to spend with them observing more about their behavior, how they play from tree to tree, mothers cuddling the young ones, feeding just like humans. Chimps are believed to be our closest relatives on earth, watching them is such an incredible experience.

Nature Walk.

Murchison Falls National Park is one of the best places in Uganda for a nature walk tour as it allows visitors to fully immerse themselves with nature. The park has well maintained nature walk trails which are used by visitors such as Baker’s trail, Budongo forest and Kaniyo pabidi. This is a guided activity led by an armed game ranger who provides protection to the participants and a guide who gives more insightful information about the park inhabitants that you may encounter. Visitors will have an opportunity to see various bird species, tree species and animal species like vervet monkey,  patas monkeys, Uganda kob among others.