Murchison Falls National Park Uganda

Murchison Falls National Park Uganda, The biggest and most popular national park in Uganda is Murchison Falls National Park, which is on the northern side of the Albertine Rift Valley. The national park was created in 1952, making it the oldest. It is home to many animal species, including 76 mammal species (like lions, leopards, buffaloes, and elephants) and other animals (like warthogs, bushbucks, waterbucks, giraffes, Jackson’s hartebeest, Oribi, crocodiles, hippos), 450 bird species (like the rare shoe bill stork), and primates in Budongo forest and Kaniyo Pabidi, such as chimpanzees, olive baboons, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, and others.

It takes about 5 hours to drive from Kampala, which is 305 kilometers north, to Murchison Falls National Park. People who want to go on a birding tour in the park can do so by car or by plane. The flight from Entebbe to Pakuba, Chobe, or Bugungu Airfield takes about an hour.

Going to Murchison Falls National Park to watch birds.

Animal drives, nature walks through savannah fields, and boat rides down the Nile and on Lake Albert Delta are the best ways to see birds in Murchison Falls National Park. On the way to the top of the falls, you can also watch birds. Adventure guides will know where to find birds and will show you rare types. From November to April, which is the low season. The park gets a lot of new guests in the winter when birds migrate from Europe to Africa.

The sights in Murchison Falls National Park are very important to the park. Its plants have gotten a lot better since fewer animals are grazing on them, and its bird and small animal populations are bigger than ever. You can see the silver bird, the chestnut-crowned sparrow weaver, the blue-napped mousebird, and other species if you walk through the dry thorn scrub between Red Chilli and the ferry crossing from the park offices at Paraa on the southern side of the Victoria Nile. The white-eyed seedeater is most likely to be seen here than in any other place.

You can see spotted Verreaux’s eagle owls and many beautiful nightjars, such as the plain, long-tailed, and pennant-winged, along Paraa’s main road. Birdwatchers who take a boat ride on the Nile at night to look for the Pel’s fishing owl and the white-bellied night heron have a unique time on the world’s longest river. The birds that stay hidden are common in the lush area upstream of Paraa, even though you rarely see them during the day because they sleep in the deep plants near the water.

Birds that are important to Murchison Falls National Park

The Shoebill Stork
Muriel African Darter Giant Bird of Prey
Bird of prey Long-toed Plover Grey-headed Bird of Prey
Beautiful Black-Headed Dove The Lapwing Abyssinian Ground The Hornbill Rock Pratincole with a yellow front Little Tinkerbird Little Black-billed Barbet Long-tailed Nightjar bird
Weaver Birds: Silver bird, Mayan eagle, and yellow-billed stork

Seeing birds in Murchison Falls National Park

Crane with a gray cap
Sandpipers
Pied Birds of prey
Wings that stand out Nightjar
Kingfishers in malachite
Heads blue Coucal
Birding with Denham’s Bustard Swamp Bird of prey
Big Heron
African Secret Bird of the Jacana
Hearty throated Bee-eater
The saddle-billed stork
Tunisia Red-winged Thick-Knee The Grey Warbler

How do you watch birds in Murchison Falls National Park?

There are about 451 kinds of birds in the park, making it a great place for bird lovers. There are water birds, woodland birds, migratory birds, and birds that only live in the Albertine Rift. You might see birds in the park during events like

Game drives

You can go on game drives in the savannah grassland in the morning or evening. There are a number of different tracks you can take, such as Queen’s track, Albert track, and Buligi game track. The open-billed stork, the black-bellied bustard, the marabou stork, the weaver birds, and the secretary bird are some of the birds that can be seen on the game drive.

Boat tour.

There are two boat trips in Murchison Falls National Park. One goes upstream to the base of the falls, and the other goes downstream to the Victoria Nile Delta. You can see many kinds of birds on the boat ride, including the rare prehistoric shoebill stork and other water birds like the goliath heron, black-headed lapwing, great blue turaco, African black crake, dwarf kingfisher, blue-spotted doves, African jacana, African skimmer, malachite kingfisher, saddle-billed stork, fish eagle, Blue-headed Coucal, Squacco heron, and many more.

The Shoebill stork is an amazing bird that you are sure to see on a trip on the Nile Safari Lodge’s boat. It lives on the island with other birds like Goliath herons, Grey-Cheeked cranes, and long-toed plovers. In the thick plants along the river near the Nile Safari Lodge, you can find the rare red-winged grey warbler and the yellow-throated leaf love. From the decks of the luxury tents that face the river, you can see these birds.

Nature walks

An interesting thing to do is a nature walk, where you get out of the safari car and walk around the park, taking in the scenery, plants, cool air, and different kinds of birds. The marsh path, the Nile trail, the top of the falls, the Budongo forest, the Kaniyo Pabidi woods, and the Rubongo forest are all great places to go for a nature walk in the park.

Many kinds of birds can be seen on the guided nature walk, such as the blue-naped mouse bird, the black kite, the Fork-tailed Drongo, the Western Greenbul, the Olive-breasted Greenbul, the yellow-footed flycatcher, the Guinea Congo, the Pygmy Crake, the chocolate-backed kingfisher, Cassin’s hawk eagle, the yellow-crested woodpecker, the African shrike flycatcher, the swamp flycatcher, the black and white casqued hornbill, the speckled tinker bird, the yellow-spotted barbet, the forest robin, the white-spotted fluff tail, the Ituri Batis, and the blue-throated roller.

When is Murchison Falls National Park the best place to see birds?

You can go birding in Murchison Falls National Park at any time of the year, but the best time is from January to March, during the dry season. There will be more bird species and the trails will be easier to navigate. The wet season, on the other hand, will make your birding safari in Murchison Falls National Park difficult. Birds at Murchison Falls National Park breed during the dry season in June. This means that birdwatchers will be able to see many different kinds of colorful birds on their tour.

Between April and May and August and October, it rains a lot, making it hard to watch birds because the roads and paths are slippery and hard to get to.

Chimpanzee trekking in the national park of Murchison Falls

When you go on safari to Murchison Falls National Parks, one of the most memorable and exciting things you can do is go chimpanzee hunting with several families in the Kaniyo Pabidi woodland along the Rabongo forest. It takes about three hours to follow chimpanzees, and the first hour is spent watching these close-knit animals.

It starts at the Kaniyo Pabidi eco site with a briefing from ranger guides. Next, you’ll be taken into the forest to look for chimps. Along the way, you may also see a red-tailed monkey, an olive baboon, a black-and-white colobus, and a blue monkey. Potto and some other types of woodland galago are nocturnal monkeys.

Before going on a Budongo chimpanzee walk, people usually get information from the information center at the Budongo Eco Lodge. Trails through the forest make it easy for people to see chimps and other small monkeys, birds, and animals. There are two shifts for trekking with chimpanzees: in the morning and in the afternoon.

Most days of the year, there are a lot of chimpanzees around the Budongo Eco Lodge. But there are times of the year when they will go look for food and water. People who want to go monkey trekking must be in good health and not have any diseases like the flu or tuberculosis. It is possible for chimpanzees to get human diseases. You also need to be at least 15 years old to track chimps. The price of a chimpanzee pass in Budongo has gone up to $130 since Amos Wekesa took over as manager.

Where Chimpanzees Live

A chimpanzee gets used to having people around them through a process called chimpanzee habituation. It takes about two years to finish the process. For those who go to Budongo Park, especially during low-visitation times, they can also help the chimps get used to people. Following a group of chimps and learning about how they behave while being watched by experienced experts and trackers is part of the Chimpanzee Habituation Experience. It’s not the same as regular chimp hiking because it happens during the day.

People can spend a lot more time with the monkeys. If you want to get used to being around chimpanzees, you should wear good hiking boots, hand gloves, long-sleeved shirts or pants, sunglasses, and a cap. It takes $230 to get used to being around Budongo forest monkeys in Murchison Falls National Park. This costs less than what Kibale National Park charges.

Sport fishing in the National Park of Murchison Falls

There is great spot fishing in Murchison Falls National Park, especially near the base of the falls. The fisherman or guide will be with you the whole time you are fishing. Along with fishing gear and food, like worms, the guide will give you what you need to catch fish.

You can catch the huge Nile Perch, which is also called the Mputa or the Cat-Fish (Semutundu) if you fish the Avid fisher. There are also tiger fish, electric catfish, and tilapia (Ngara). The biggest Nile Perch caught was 113 kgs at the water gauge across from the crocodile pool. The biggest catfish caught was 45 kgs at the Nyamusika rocks.

In Murchison Falls National Park, you can hike and take nature walks.

There are many ways to go hiking and on outdoor walks in Murchison Falls National Park. On the northern bank, there are great trails for nature walks, especially along the Victoria Nile to the bottom of the falls, which is a great place to see elephants and other animals up close. You can also see many kinds of birds and primates along the walks in Kaniyo Pabidi and Rabongo Forest.

For the best view of Murchison Falls, don’t forget to climb to the top of the falls. People can also see Uhuru Falls, which means “freedom” and was given that name when Uganda got its independence. The falls can only be seen from the very top. There is a breeze or cool wind in Murchison Falls National Park that you may feel and remember. It’s a whole universe by itself.

Where can I stay in Murchison Falls National Park while I bird?

If you want to stay in Murchison Falls National Park for one night or more, there are a variety of places to stay, ranging from cheap to high-end. These include the Murchison River Lodge, the Twiga Safari Lodge, the Nile Safari Lodge, the Parkside Safari Lodge, the Heritage Lodge, the Pakuba Safari Lodge, the Paraa Safari Lodge, the Chobe Safari Lodge, the Fort Murchison Lodge, the Bwana Tembo Safari Lodge, and the Hornbill Lodge.

How to Get to National Park Murchison Falls

There are many ways to get to Murchison Falls National Park from either the Southern bank or the Northern bank.

Where to go in Murchison Falls National Park to get to the Southern Sector.
From Kampala, the trip goes through Masindi and takes five hours. For the Masindi-Paraa stretch of the road, you should have a four-wheel drive car. It takes about 297 kilometers to get to the ferry crossing site at Kichumbanyabo gate.

You can also get to the park through the Bugungu gate, which goes from Hoima to Buliisa and goes by Lake Albert, the Albertine Escapement, and the Bugungu Wildlife Reserve. It takes more than 35 minutes and 11 kilometers to get to the ferry crossing spot.

In Murchison Falls National Park, how to get to the Northern Sector.
Another way to get to Murchison Falls National Park is to take the Kampala, Gulu, or Pakwach roads and turn left at Karuma Falls. Tangi gate leads to the Mubako tourist center or office. The road trip takes 6 hours and 397 kilometers.

It can also be reached by going to Wangkwar gate from Purongo in Nwoya district, which splits off before reaching Pakwach district. From there, it takes an hour and 36 kilometers to get to the Paraa ferry crossing site, which is where most events start.

By Air: People can fly from Entebbe International Airport to either the Pakuba airstrip in the north or the Bugungu airstrip in the south of Murchison Falls National Park. Flights can’t last longer than two hours, and there must be at least four people on board.

At 1200 hours, it leaves Entebbe Airport and gets to Murchison Falls National Park at 1300 hours. The plane leaves from the park at 13:15 and lands at Entebbe Airport at 16:15.