MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK
Murchison Falls National Park lies at the northern end of the Albert Rift Valley, where the sweeping Bunyoro escarpment tumbles into vast, palm-dotted savanna. The first gazette as a game reserve in 1926, it is Uganda’s largest and oldest conservation area, hosting 76 species of mammals and 451 birds.
The park is bisected by the Victoria Nile, which plunges 45m over the remnant rift valley wall, creating the dramatic Murchison Falls, the centerpiece of the park and the final event in an 80km stretch of rapids. The mighty cascade drains the last of the river's energy, transforming it into a broad, placid stream that flows quietly across the rift valley floor into Lake Albert. This stretch of river provides one of Uganda's most remarkable wildlife spectacles. Regular visitors to the riverbanks include elephants, giraffes, and buffaloes; while hippos, Nile crocodiles, and aquatic birds are permanent residents. Notable visitors to the park include Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway, and several British royals.
The park supports four of the "Big Five", only the Rhino being absent. Buffalo and Elephants are particularly common. There is a very healthy population of lions that like to prey on the abundantly available Uganda kob. Hyena is present. The Victoria Nile is a magnet for wildlife and it teems with crocodiles and hippos. Chimpanzees can be tracked in the neighboring Budongo Forest Reserve. Large herds of the localized Rothschild's giraffe are found in the park. The rare Patas monkey can sometimes be spotted on the grassy plains.
Getting there:
Southern Entrance Gate: Two southerly approaches to Paraa lead out of Masindi town, which is a 4 hour drive (305km) from Kampala.
Northern Entrance Gate: Murchison Falls National Park can also be entered via the Chobe, Wankwar, and Tangi gates north of the Nile. These are reached from the Kampala-Pakwach Road which crosses the Nile at Karuma Falls Bridge in the northeastern corner of the park.
By Air: Pakuba Airfield, 19km from North Paraa, can be reached using chartered aircraft or scheduled flights from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi airfield near Kampala. Other airfields in the park include Chobe to the east and Bugungu near Murchison Falls to the south.
