Safari activities in Murchison Falls National Park 2025
2024 safari activities in Murchison Falls National Park: Uganda’s greatest protected safari site is Murchison Falls National Park. It is located in the districts of Bulisa, Kiryadongo, and Nwoya in the northwest of the nation.
The park was one of Uganda’s first national parks, having been created in 1952. Its 3,840 square kilometer total area is composed of forest patches, riverine forests, savannah vegetation, and acacia trees, all of which provide as habitat for wildlife.
76 mammal species, including the big four of the big five-lions, elephants, buffaloes, and leopards-as well as other creatures like waterbucks, Uganda kobs, Oribi, Jackson’s hartebeest, giraffes, hippos, Nile crocodiles, primates like chimpanzees, red-tailed monkeys, and olive baboons, as well as more than 451 bird species are found in Murchison Falls National Park. In Murchison Falls National Park, you can engage in a variety of fascinating activities while on safari, such as
Things to do in the National Park of Murchison Falls.
Murchison Falls National Park offers game drives.
The primary safari activity at Murchison Falls National Park is game drives. In a cozy 4WD pop-up safari car, guests can explore the park with a qualified driver guide. Game drives in the park can take place in the late afternoon, when the animals are returning to their hiding places, or very early in the morning, when they are most active.
You will follow various game tracks, such as Buligi, Victoria, and Albert tracks, among others, during the four to five-hour game drive safari. If you are fortunate, you will be rewarded with amazing views of animals, including buffaloes, Jackson’s hartebeest, Uganda kobs, oribi, giraffes, warthogs, waterbucks, elephants, bushbucks, and predators like lions, leopards, hyenas, and jackals, as well as various bird species.
With spotlight torches and an armed park ranger, guests can go on nighttime game drives at Murchison Falls National Park to see species that are only visible at night. You can view nocturnal species including civets, lions, leopards, genets, porcupines, hyenas, night jars, bush infants, and hippos, as well as take in the stunning scenery beneath the stars, during the night game drive safari, which begins at around 8:00 pm after dinner.
Murchison Falls National Park boat cruise.
A boat tour is another thrilling Uganda safari experience that you shouldn’t miss when on safari at Murchison Falls National Park. There are two boat trips in the park: one that takes roughly two to three hours along the Victoria Nile to the base of the Murchison Falls, and another that takes roughly four to five hours along the Nile delta.
You can see large herds of hippos and Nile crocodiles in the water, as well as other animals like elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, waterbucks, and warthogs drinking water along the shores. You can also see water birds like the open-billed stork, saddle-billed stork, African jacana, papyrus gonolek, goliath heron, malachite kingfisher, red-throated bee-eater, and African jacana. The boat cruise in Murchison Falls National Park begins at the Paraa jetty landing site.
observing birds in the National Park of Murchison Falls.
One of the greatest locations in Uganda for a bird viewing safari is Murchison Falls National Park. More than 451 bird species call it home, including savannah birds, water birds, and birds unique to the Albertine Rift. During game drives, boat cruises, and nature walks, visitors can observe a wide variety of birds in Murchison Falls National Park.
These birds include the Abyssinian ground hornbill, the long-tailed nightjar, the veracious dove, the long-toed plover, the giant kingfisher, the yellow-billed stork, the black-headed lapwing, the yellow-fronted tinkerbird, the black-billed barbet, and many others.
Hiking and nature walks at the national park of Murchison Falls.
During a nature walk at Murchison Falls National Park, visitors exit their safari vehicle and stroll across the park accompanied by an armed park officer and an expert park guide. There are numerous hiking and nature walk trails in Murchison Falls National Park that pass through the Albert Delta, Rabongo Forest, Kaniyo Pabidi Forest, the top of the falls, and other locations.
You will see various bird species, take in the cool breeze, listen to the lovely sounds of bird species, take stunning photos, and get up close and personal with elephants, warthogs, primates like blue monkeys, olive baboons, red-tailed monkeys, and black and white colobus monkeys during the guided nature walk.
Trekking chimpanzees at Murchison Falls National Park’s Budongo Forest.
An fascinating activity is chimpanzee hiking safari, when participants explore the forest for habituated chimps and then spend an hour with them in their natural habitat. Budongo Forest is the setting for the chimpanzee trekking safari in Murchison Falls National Park. Very early in the morning, there is a briefing at the park headquarters before the action starts.
Following the briefing, a qualified park guide who is familiar with the best routes to spot chimpanzees will accompany you as you begin your jungle journey. Depending on the chimps’ location, chimpanzee trekking in Budongo Forest might take anywhere from thirty minutes to four hours.
Chimpanzees are frequently in multiple locations at the same time because they enjoy moving around in quest of food. Among other things, you will be able to observe several plant species, birds, and other primate species while walking.
After you locate the chimpanzees, you will have the opportunity to spend an hour with them in their natural environment, where you may observe them eating, nursing, hunting, fighting, playing, resting, grooming, and other behaviors.
The ideal time to explore the National Park of Murchison Falls.
The greatest time to visit Murchison Falls National Park is during the dry season, which runs from June to February. However, you can visit the park at any time of year. Another name for this is the peak season.
There won’t be as much greenery in the park during the dry season because there is less rainfall. This makes it simpler to witness a variety of wildlife, and as most animals congregate near water sources to drink, you can see a wide variety of wildlife.
The wet season, which runs from March to May and November, is another time to explore Murchison Falls National Park. When it comes to bird watching, now is the ideal season to witness migrating bird species.
Directions to the National Park of Murchison Falls.
It takes roughly five to six hours to drive from Kampala or Entebbe via Masindi to Murchison Falls National Park via one of the gates, such as Chobe, Wankar, Tangi, Kichumbanyobo, or Bugungu gate. Murchison Falls National Park is located in the northwest of Uganda.
A charter or scheduled flight with Aerolink Uganda from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airfield to Chobe, Pakuba, or Bugungu Airfields, followed by a road connection to the resort or park headquarters, is another way to get to Murchison Falls National Park.
Where to stay in Murchison Falls National Park when on safari.
During your Uganda wildlife safari, you can choose from a wide range of lodging options at Murchison Falls National Park. Nile Safari Lodge, Paraa Safari Lodge, Chobe Safari Lodge, Pakuba Safari Lodge, Fort Murchison Safari Lodge, Murchison River Lodge, Bwana Tembo Safari Camp, Heritage Safari Lodge, Kabalega Wilderness Lodge, Twiga Safari Lodge, Masindi Hotel, Parkside Safari Lodge, Red Chilli Rest Camp, and other accommodations range from luxury to midrange to budget and campsites.
Recommended Tours: 3 Days Chimpanzee Trekking in Kibale | 4 Days Kibale & Queen Elizabeth Safari
Chimpanzee Trekking in East Africa – Complete Guide
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are our closest living relatives, sharing approximately 98.7% of human DNA. Watching a habituated chimpanzee family in the wild – their complex social dynamics, tool use, and remarkable expressions – is one of the most intellectually and emotionally engaging wildlife experiences Africa has to offer.
East Africa’s premier chimpanzee destination is Kibale Forest National Park in western Uganda, home to over 1,500 chimpanzees – the highest density of primates in Africa. Rwanda’s Nyungwe Forest National Park offers another outstanding option within one of Africa’s largest montane rainforests.
Kibale Forest National Park – Uganda’s Chimpanzee Capital
Kibale Forest covers 776 km² of moist evergreen and semi-deciduous forest in the Rwenzori foothills of western Uganda. The park’s Kanyanchu tourism site is where chimpanzee trekking takes place, with several habituated communities accustomed to human observation.
A standard chimpanzee trekking permit in Kibale costs USD 250 per person and covers one hour with the chimps after tracking them through the forest. The Chimpanzee Habituation Experience (CHEX) costs USD 250 per person and runs from 6 AM to 6 PM, allowing a full day following a semi-habituated community – a far more intimate encounter. Permits are available through Uganda Wildlife Authority or licensed tour operators.
Beyond chimpanzees, Kibale is home to 12 other primate species including red-tailed monkeys, black-and-white colobus, grey-cheeked mangabeys, olive baboons, and the rare L’Hoest’s monkey. Over 375 bird species have been recorded, making it one of Uganda’s premier birding destinations.
