Game Drives in Murchison Falls National Park
Game Drives in Murchison Falls National Park
Game Drives in Murchison Falls National Park : Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP) is the largest and oldest conservation area in Uganda and a great destination to visit for Uganda Game Viewing Safaris, the park famed for hosting huge population of wildlife including 4 of the Big Five (5) making it the best place to visit to see various species of animals.
Murchison Falls National Park covers an area of 3,840 square kilometers of land spreading inland from the shores of Lake Albert on the western side, along the Victoria Nile, up to the Karuma Falls on the eastern side. Together with Bugungu Wildlife Reserve of 748 square kilometers and Karuma Wildlife Reserve, they form the Murchison Falls Conservation Area (MFCA).
Location of Murchison Falls National Park
Murchison Falls National Park is located in northern Uganda, northwest of the capita Kampala and extends its boundaries to a number of districts within and beyond the Bunyoro escarpment including Nwoya, Masindi, Kiryandongo and Buyisa. The park is found on the northernmost reaches of the Albertine Rift Valley with its terrain bisected by the Victoria Nile.
Murchison Falls National Park is popular for offering some of the incredible and classic game drives in Uganda, the park is divided into two sectors where the game drives are done that is The Northern Section and The Southern Section.
Wildlife in Murchison Falls National Park
Murchison Falls National Park is one of the most fascinating places in Uganda to see wildlife with over 76 mammal species with four members of the Big Five (lions, leopards, buffaloes and elephants). Other wildlife species found in the park include Uganda kobs, waterbucks, warthogs, Rothschild giraffes, Bohor reedbucks, hartebeests, hyenas, duikers among others
Game drives in Murchison Falls National Park are done on several game drive tracks such as Albert, Victoria and Buligi tracks. Driving on these tracks while on game drive gives you a totally different experience as they are endowed with various eco-systems.
The Buligi is a 7 kilometers track north of Paraa and is among the most commonly used tracks for game viewing, other areas like Nyamsika gorge are home to a big number of water animals which come to get water and Nyamsika cliffs have a higher concentration of buffaloes, lions as well as different bird species like Egyptian plover and bee-eaters among others.
Travel Tip: game drives in Murchison Falls National Park are best done along the Northern banks since it is where you can find a large concentration of wildlife living in its savannah plains. The Southern bank has a smaller numbers of antelope herds and other wild animals.
Game Drives in The Northern Section
Game drives in Murchison Falls National Park are mainly done in the northern sector of the park “The Northern Sector” mainly because it is inhabited by almost 80% of the entire park’s animals, the sector contains savannah and Borassus palms.
The most popular game-viewing area in the northern sector is the circuit of tracks within the Buligi area which is located between the Victoria Nile and Albert Nile, the tracks pass through open savannah grassland and woodland and acacia and riverine vegetation with excellent views towards the western rift valley beyond Lake Albert into DR. Congo.
Most of the animals in Murchison Falls National Park are found in this region and the best time to view them is in the early morning and early evening hours. Animals to look out in the Northern Sector include duikers, olive baboon, Jackson’s hartebeests, olive baboons, buffalo, elephants, warthogs, giraffes, Uganda kobs, hippos, crocodiles, Patas Monkeys among others.
Game Drives in The Southern Section
In the Southern section of Murchison Falls National Park, game drives are done along the new Honeymoon Track where Uganda Kobs, Jackson’s Hartebeests, waterbucks, Anubis baboons and Oribi are plentiful. Also, you might see lions, elephants, buffaloes and giraffes.
Note: Game viewing in this sector is less prolific and more skittish than in the north so we recommend to conduct your game drive in the north of the river if seeing the Big Five is your priority
Game Drives in Murchison Falls National Park are done as morning, day game drive and night game drives
Best Time for Game Drive in Murchison Falls National Park
Game drives in Murchison Falls National Park are an all-year-round activity, however the best time is during the dry season where the vegetation cover is short offer unparalleled sights of the wildlife and the game viewing route are passable and less slippery.
Also, during the dry season. Animals congregate around the remaining waterholes in large numbers making them easy to see.
The dry season in Murchison Falls National Park is from June to August and from December to February.
Game Drive Schedules in Murchison Falls National Park
Game drives in Murchison Falls National Park are conducted in two main schedules that is early morning and evening game drives and these take between 2to 4 hours, however game viewing can best be done in the morning from 6.30 am.
If you are staying in the lodge at the southern bank, you are required to cross the river by the ferry at around 7:00 am. The evening game drive starts around 4.00 pm.
Note: Game drives in Murchison Falls National Park can be done only in the Northern bank of the River Nile in Murchison Falls National Park which is covered with savannah grassland.
How To Get to Murchison Falls National Park
Murchison Falls National Park can be reached either by road or by air.
By Road – it is a day’s drive from Kampala – the capital of Uganda through Masindi via Kichumnabyobo gate which connects to Paraa in about 5-hours drive. Alternatively, the park can be reached on a drive through Budongo Forest. This route boasts scenic views of Lake Albert and the Rift Valley Escarpment from above.
From the northern side, you can reach the park via Chobe Gate near Karuma Falls and Tangi Gate via Pakwach which is about 25 kilometers to Paraa Safari Lodge.
By road transport, you can use both private means (which are normally included in our safari packages” and public means of transport.
By Air: There are domestic and chartered flights available from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airstrip to either Pakuba or Bugungu Airstrip.
Where to stay in Murchison Falls National Park
The park has a variety of accommodation options ranging from budget lodges, mid-range lodges and luxury lodges. These accommodations include
- Chobe Safari Lodge
- Paraa Safari Lodge
- Nile Safari Lodge
- Pakuba Safari Lodge
- Murchison River Lodge
- Fort Muchison Safari Lodge
- The Boomu Women’s Group Bandaas
- Red Chilli Rest Camp
- Yebo Safari Camp
- Parkside Safari Lodge
