Activities to do in Murchison Falls National Park.
Travellers planning to visit Murchison Falls often wonder about the activities to do in Murchison Falls National Park, and this blog will help you make informed choices. It’s one of the most sought-after national parks in Uganda, located in the northwestern region of the country. It’s the largest national park in Uganda, covering districts of Masindi, Kiryandongo, Bilisa, Nwoya, and spanning an area of about 3893 square kilometres. The park is famous for its powerful waterfalls in the world, formed by the Victoria Nile as it squeezes through a narrow 7-meter wide gorge, causing the water to drop 43 meters with immense force.
Murchison Falls National Park has diverse ecosystems such as swamps, woodlands, savannah grasslands, and tropical forests, which contribute to its rich biodiversity. The park hosts over 144 mammal species, including the 4 members of the African Big Five: leopard, elephant, buffalo, and lion. It hosts the biggest population of Rothschild giraffes in the whole world, over 1980 Rothschild giraffes. Bird enthusiasts will find the park a paradise for bird watching, as it’s home to 453 bird species, including forest birds, water birds, and migratory birds. Murchison Falls National Park offers various activities for travellers, such as boat cruises, bird watching, game drives, nature walks, and sport fishing, among others.
Top Activities to do in Murchison Falls National Park.
Bird Watching.
Bird watching is one of the most done activities in Murchison Falls National Park since it’s among the top birding destinations in Uganda. The park hosts over 453 bird species, including migratory birds, forest birds, and aquatic birds. Murchison Falls National Park has various sites for bird watching, such as Royal Mile, Kaniyo Pabidi, and Budongo Forest, which provide unforgettable bird watching encounters. These bird species can be spotted during nature walks, boat cruises, hiking, and game drives.
Some of the bird species to spot while on your birding safari in Murchison Falls National Park include Abyssinian Roller, Grey Crowned Crane, 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, Open-billed stork, African Fish Eagle, Denham’s Bustard, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Black-bellied Bustard, Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Black-headed Lapwing, and Senegal Thick-Knee.
Game Drives.
Game drives are among the most sought-after activities in Murchison Falls National Park, which gives visitors a chance to explore the park’s savannah grasslands. It’s home to over 12 primate species, 453 bird species, and 144 mammal species, which can be seen while on game drives. Game drives are normally conducted in the northern sector due to its high concentration of mammal species. This is a guided activity led by an experienced park guide who gives insightful information about the park’s inhabitants that you may encounter. During your game drives in the park you will have an opportunity to see various animals like giraffes, buffaloes, lions, elephants, waterbucks, oribis, olive baboons, leopards, bush backs, hyenas, grey checked mangabeys, blue monkeys, red tailed monkeys, birds like Black-bellied Bustard, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Black-headed Lapwing, and Senegal Thick-Knee.
Boat Cruise.
A boat cruise is one of the amazing activities to do in Murchison Falls National Park, which gives visitors a chance to explore the beauty of the Nile. The boat cruise can be done to the Nile delta or the bottom of the falls, which all provide exceptional experiences. Visitors have a chance to enjoy the fresh breeze from the waters, observing the famous Murchison Falls, which is the strongest waterfall in the world, and see various animal and bird species, including schools of hippos swimming, crocodiles enjoying the sun, elephants, antelopes and buffalo drinking water from the river banks since it acts as a water source to various wildlife species. Bird lovers will see various water birds like shoebill stork, the swamp flycatcher, papyrus gonoleck, the open-billed stork, African jacana, blue-headed coucal, goliath heron, and more species.
Sport Fishing.
Sport fishing in Murchison Falls National Park is one of the best activities that gives visitors a chance to participate in the catch-and-release fishing method on the fresh waters of the River Nile. This amazing activity is done at the bottom of the falls. Participants need to get fishing permits from the Uganda Wildlife Authority, and they have to carry their fishing gear. Visitors will catch fish species like catfish, tiger fish, tilapia, and electric fish.
Chimpanzee Trekking.
Chimpanzee trekking in Budongo Forest is among the activities to do in Murchison Falls National Park, which allows visitors to come up close to these amazing creatures. This is a guided activity led by a park ranger who is knowledgeable about the park’s inhabitants. The trek takes 30 minutes to 4 hours, depending on their movements as they keep moving from one place to another in search of food. Once located, visitors spend one hour with them observing and learning more about their behaviours. They will see how they feed, play, and take care of the young ones, which is an incredible experience. Primate lovers shouldn’t miss this once in a lifetime opportunity.
