Uganda is an amazing destination when it comes to wildlife viewing, and Murchison Falls NP is said to be one of the best safari spots in all of East Africa. It was gazetted in 1952 and is both the oldest and the largest national park in Uganda.

The park is named after the dramatic Murchison Falls, an impressive spot where the broad Nile River is squeezed through a super narrow rocky gorge, making it the most powerful waterfall in the world.

Going on a safari in Murchison Falls National Park was one of our most memorable experiences in the country. Here’s everything you need to know about exploring Uganda’s biggest national park.

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Geography and Wildlife of Murchison Falls NP

The park is located in the Albertine Rift Valley, which is a western arm of the East African Rift Valley. Here, the Nile River flows through the park from Lake Victoria to Lake Albert.

The Nile divides the park into two sections: the southern part is more wooded, and the northern part consists of open grassland that is ideal for wildlife viewing.

Murchison Falls National Park is home to 76 mammal species, including four of the Big Five (lions, elephants, leopards and buffalo), as well as over 450 species of birds.

Obviously, some animals tend to be more elusive than others. To get an idea which animals you’re likely to see, you can have a look at my description of our game drive and the launch cruise below.

Organized Safaris to the Park

The easiest way to visit the national park is to take part in an organized safari. Unless you’ve got an off-road vehicle at your disposal, it’s also the only way of visiting Murchison Falls National Park.

There are several companies in the nearby town of Masindi that can sort out a trip into the park for you, although the one we used unfortunately doesn’t seem to exist anymore. Alternatively, you can pre-book a tour online. Have a look at some different options below.

The Best Activities at Murchison Falls NP

We spent one activity-packed day exploring the National Park, which was possible because we arrived in camp the night before. On our busy day, we got up early for a game drive at dawn, then took the launch cruise on the Nile before hiking to the top of Murchison Falls.

I’m sure it’s worth spending a few days here, but if your time or money is limited, I suggest following the same itinerary, as we felt that this was a very good introduction to what the park has to offer. Here’s what you need to know about the activities.

Game Drives

Game drives through the open grassland to the north of the Nile are the most popular activity in the park. As is often the case, morning and evening drives offer the best chances to spot wildlife.

We started our drive at around 7am and managed to spot several lions, elephants and giraffes, plus countless hippos, buffaloes, antelope and warthogs.

Coming from the south, we used the ferry to cross the Nile during a beautiful sunrise, before setting off on a drive through the popular Delta Game Viewing Circuit in an open-top safari vehicle. We were surprised by how close the animals actually came to the tracks. I guess they really must be used to people.

We spotted most of the animals along the so-called Queen’s Track that runs between the Pakwach-Masindi road and the delta. These included elephants, Rothschild’s giraffes, buffalo, warthogs, Uganda kobs, Jackson’s hartebeest and black-backed jackals.

Close to the delta, we turned north into a side-track between the Queen’s Track and the Albert Nile Track, where we spotted a pride of young lions, before continuing along the Albert Nile Track. At the delta, where the Victoria Nile and Lake Albert meet, we saw dozens of hippos lying lazily in the water.

I have to admit that we mainly had eyes for the bigger animals, but the drive also offers plenty of opportunities if you’re into bird-watching. During our drive, we spotted lots of pied kingfishers and red-throated bee-eaters, as well as some enormous Denham’s bustards.

Launch Cruise on the Victoria Nile

Another massively popular activity in Murchison Falls National Park is a boat cruise on the Victoria Nile, which leads through a pretty area of meadows and woodland, where we spotted even more animals. Make sure to sit on the left-hand side of the boat, from where the views are best.

We started our cruise in the afternoon after our morning game drive and saw countless hippos, buffalo, hartebeest and warthogs along the river as well as some freakishly large Nile crocodiles, whose numbers seemed to increase the closer we got to Murchison Falls.

Again, there are great bird-viewing opportunities as well, and we saw some African fish eagles, saddle-billed storks as well as plenty of pied kingfishers hovering in the air before diving into the river for their prey. If you’re lucky, you might even see one of the elusive shoebills, although we didn’t succeed there.

The trip ends at the impressive Murchison Falls before returning the same way. If you’ve arranged for a driver to pick you up at the top of the falls, you can get off the boat here and have a closer look at the waterfall, which is what we did.

Boats leave from the Paraa Dock (where the ferries cross the Nile) at 8am and 2pm. You can double-check the current times here . The 17km (10mi) trip takes about 3 hours in total (2 hours on the way to the Falls and one hour on the way back).

If you’re taking a tour, it’s likely included in the price. Otherwise, the price is 120,000 shillings for foreign nationals and 30,000 shillings for Ugandan citizens.

Murchison Falls and the Top of the Falls

At 43m (141ft) the Park’s namesake waterfall might not be as tall as the impressive Sipi Falls in eastern Uganda, but what it lacks in height, it makes up in power.

Murchison Falls squeezes 300 cubic meters per second through a gap that’s only 7m (23ft) wide, which makes it the most powerful waterfall in the world. You can have a close look at the Falls from a picnic spot that’s fittingly called Top of the Falls.

It lies at the end of a side road that branches off the main Pakwach-Masindi Road near the Sambiya River Lodge. If you arrange transport in advance, you can also take the Nile Cruise to the falls, disembark and hike up the cliff to the top, like we did.

This gives you the opportunity to have a good look at the falls from below (albeit pretty far away) and to get up close at the top. I found the roaring spectacle of the water entering the gorge and the amazing view of the Nile below both equally impressive.

Look out for snakes in the trees on the way to the Top of the Falls. We spotted a Green tree snake, which is non-venomous, but apparently venomous boomslangs live here, too, so keep your eyes peeled.

Murchison Falls National Park Map

You can find all of the places that I mentioned above in this map of the national park.

Practicalities

How to Get to the Park

The small town of Masindi is the main gateway to Murchison Falls National Park. You can get there in about 4 hours by bus or matatu (shared taxi) from Kampala.

There is no public transport going into the park. Without your own car, your best option is to take an organized safari tour from Masindi (see the “Organized Safaris” section above).

Where to Stay in the Park

If you go with an organized tour, they will most likely also provide the accommodation. Otherwise, there are camps and lodges for different budgets in the park, including the cheapish Red Chili Rest Camp, the midrange Murchison Falls Bamboo Village and the luxury Twiga Safari Lodge.

Where to Go Next

Masindi, our favourite small town in Uganda

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, the only place to see wild Rhinos in Uganda