Background Information

Murchison Falls National Park formerly known as Kabalega National Park a name it inherited from one of the former kings of Bunyoro Kingdom is Uganda’s largest protected area covering an area of 3,893 square kilometres. Wildlife in Murchison Falls is under threat due to the discovery of Oil in the Albertine lift valley since government has place priority on oil exploration and extraction instead of conserving and protecting wildlife. Located in Northern Uganda, Murchison Falls was first gazetted in 1926 as a game reserve and later graduating to Uganda’s first National Park in 1952. It protects so many wildlife and is home to approximately 76 species of mammals and about 451 species of birds including the rare shoebill stock that can be spotted in the delta region. You can access Murchison Falls National Park through the south by driving from Kampala through Masindi and then to the Park. The other alternative is through the Bungugu gate for those coming from Kibale National Park. This route is very scenic as it takes you through rift valley escarpments and Lake Albert. For those interested in flying to Murchison Falls National Park, there two airfields here. Bugungu Airfield is in the south while Pakuba Airfield in the northern sector. Aerolink operates daily afternoon flights to Murchison Falls National Park while fly Uganda operates charter flights to this park.

What to see and do

Murchison Falls National Park is popular for its game drives in the northern sector known as Paraa where you get a chance of spotting the big five. The high light of activities in this National Park is the 2 hour boat cruise to the bottom of the falls where River Nile squizes itself into a narrow gorge. For kin birder, Mruchison falls National park id one of the places where yuo can spot the rare shoebill stork and bird the royal miles as well. There is chimp trekking in Budongo Forest which has the highest number of chimps in Uganda.