Murchison Falls National Park

300km north west of Kampala (6 hour drive). The sight of the Nile River, the world’s longest river, winding its way through the park and plunging through a narrow gap into a placid river whose banks are thronged with hippos, water bucks, crocodiles, and buffaloes is unforgettable. The falls are stunning, notable not so much for their size as for their immense power, caused by the 50m-wide Nile being funnelled through a narrow cleft (7m-wide) in the rocks before falling into a pool 43m below. The park is vast and beautiful. Predominantly wooded savannah, the 4,000km² area is home to many of Africa’s best-known plains animals including giraffe, lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, hartebeests, Uganda kobs, chimpanzees, and many bird species including the rare shoebill. Fishing beneath the falls is quite an experience where Nile perch and tiger-fish provide an exciting challenge to anglers.

It is named after the dramatic Murchison Falls, where the world’s longest river explodes violently through a narrow cleft in the Rift Valley escarpment to plunge into a frothing pool 43m below. Murchison Falls Conservation Area is the largest protected region in Uganda, 5.025kms, including Murchison Falls National Park, Bugungu Wildlife Reserve, Karuma and, in the Southern part, Budongo Forest. The elevation range from 619m at the delta on Lake Albert and 1.292 m at Rabongo hill. The field is cut across by the river Victoria Nile, which connects Lake Kyoga with Albert.

Activities: Launch trip from Paraa by the Nile up to the Murchison Falls (17 km), to see elephants, buffaloes, waterbuck, hippos, crocodiles, water birds similar cormorants, pelicans, herons, fish eagle, shoebill stork. Hike to “top of the falls”, to see closer from the top the charging and spectacular Murchison Falls. Game drives North of river Nile and at Lake Albert Delta (Buligi, Albert and Queen’s tracks). Sport fishing (Nile Perch and tiger fish), in the river Uganda National Parks Nile above and down the Falls. “Chimpanzee trekkking” and birding in Budongo Forest and Kanyiyo Pabidi Forest Reserve.