A pure indulgence into a wide swath of untamed African savanna, a famous river with a spectacular water fall and its invaluable baggage of wild animals that cannot help but live their life enjoying the perfect wonders of nature is the gift that one would have to content with for a trip to Murchison Falls National Park.

The Park is located in the northern end of the Albertine Rift Valley, where the large Bunyoro escarpment blends into the vast plains of Acholiland.

Uganda’s largest national park, Murchison, named after Murchison Falls which in turn is named after the president of the Royal Geographical Society, lies astride the Victoria Nile and has Lake Albert, another piece of natural splendor that lends its attraction to the massive park.

The Falls, which provides one of Uganda’s most memorable wildlife spectacles drains the last of the river’s energy, transforming it into a broad, placid stream that flows quietly across the rift valley floor for 55km to Lake Albert.

This stretch of river provides the alluring attraction for elephant, giraffe and buffalo while hippopotamus and Nile crocodile are permanent residents.

The Murchison Falls is also where the River Nile hurls itself in appalling convulsions through a narrow crevice and then plunges 40 metres in one breathtaking leap.

The park, the only one in Uganda which hosts the ‘big five’ provides a habitat 76 mammal species and 450 bird species.

Large mammals include lion, leopard, elephant, hippopotamus, Rothschild’s giraffe, Cape buffalo, hartebeest, oribi, warthog, and Uganda kobo The Nile corridor provides year-round water for these animals as well as a plethora of water birds, including the rare shoebill stork and Uganda’s largest population of Nile crocodile.

The Kaniyo Pabidi forest provides refuges for chimpanzee and other primates as well as an impressive 360 species of bird.

As part of the package for guests, Regular launch trips to the base of the falls offer fine game-viewing and bird watching while Boat trips to the Lake Albert delta provide the best chance in Africa of sighting shoebills.

Chimp tracking at Rabongo Forest, and en route from Masindi, the last town on your way from Kampala to the park in the Budongo Forest are a bonus for a trip of a lifetime.

The park is approximately 300 kilometers by road, northwest of Kampala. A leisurely drive from the city can be done under a day with various breaks in towns on the way where one will enjoy rare delicious roasted cassava or meat to spice up the journey ahead of the park itself.

In between there is Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Nakasongola to view both black and white rhinos. You can stay at the Luxurious Paraa Safari Lodge, Sambiya River lodge, or Red Chili Camp.

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