Murchison Falls National Park Uganda

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Murchison Falls National Park “The Jewel of the Nile”

Location

Murchison Falls National Park is located in mid-western Uganda, with Masidi district to the the East, Bulisa district to the south, Nwoya district to the North and Nebbi district to the north west.

History

Murchison Falls National Park boundaries were gazetted in 1952 by the then British Colonial government after surveys and negotiations with the local district administrations of Bunyoro and Acholi. In August 1954, the Board of Trustees for the Uganda National Parks made decisions on the layout and the design of the park.

This was followed by the opening up of the tracks to more remote corners of the park such as Rabongo forest and the Chobe Sector.

In the 1970s during President Idi Amin’s tenure, Murchison Falls National Park’s name was briefly changed to Kabalega NP after Bunyoro Kingdom’s iron king, Omukama Kabalega

Besides the magnificent Nile River bisecting the park, Murchison Falls became famous for the abundance of wildlife populations in the lush Borassus grassland particularly on the northern banks of the River, including herds of Elephants, Buffalos, and Giraffes marauding the plains and woodlands.

In the 1960s, the estimated population of elephants was close to 16,000.

In 1951, the Murchison Falls provided a backdrop for Humphrey Bogart in John Huston’s famous movie, The African Queen which was filmed on location along the Murchison Nile and on Lake Albert.

British royals have also visited Murchison Falls National Park, the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) in 1930, and the Queen Mother in 1959 the fauna diversity of the park. The least happy celebrity visitor was Ernest Hemingway in 1954 who dropped in.

His intention was simply to overfly the waterfall but his plane clipped an old telegraph wire strung across the gorge and cartwheeled into the riverline forest.

Hemingway and his wife were rescued and taken to Butiaba where their rescue plane crashed on takeoff.

Between September 1972 and October 1973, the flourishing park suffered a setback when then-President Idi Amin imposed a ban on foreign visitors.

The Park was also renamed Kabalega Falls after the famous king of Bunyoro who resisted colonization efforts by the Ottoman Empire and the British.

In the mid-70s, most of the conservation activities came to a halt prompted by unabated poaching that rose to unprecedented proportions.

The park also suffered mass poaching and the wildlife population was largely threatened during the 20 years of insurgency by the rebel armies which had turned the park into a food basket and a shooting target with the herds of animals as their subject.

However, with the return of peace to the northern region, Wildlife populations have largely recovered.
During the popular game viewing drives, a variety of Antelopes, Elephants, Giraffes, Buffalos, and Lions are regularly encountered with increasing frequency.

Murchison Falls Conservation Area covering 5,072 square kilometers is one of Uganda’s largest and oldest protected areas lying at the northern end of the Albertine Rift Valley.
Murchison Falls National Park is named after the breathtaking spectacular waterfalls on the Great River Nile in 1864, a British explorer Sir Samuel Baker chose to name Murchison, in honor of the distinguished President of the Royal Geographical Society.

The dramatic waterfalls are the highlight of a visit to Murchison National Park where the Nile, the world’s longest river contracts from a grand stream to explode violently through a narrow six-meter gorge into the cauldron of turbulent water 40 meters below, popularly known as the Devil’s cauldron.

According to Samuel Baker, a British explorer at the time, the waterfalls are the most important object throughout the river.

Activities in Murchison Falls National Park/ Things To Do in Murchison Falls

Your Uganda Safari to the Murchison Falls National Park will be rewarded with the following activities that will make your safari a memorable one:

Nature and forest walks

Most of the nature walks at Murchison Falls National Park take place in the forests; Kaniyo Pabidi and Rabongo forests where you have opportunities to watch the primates such as Chimpanzees, black-and-white colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, and numerous bird life.

The Hike up the top of Murchison Falls is another exciting walk that everyone should take. Once on the boat trip from Paraa toward the ‘Devil’s cauldron’, stop a few meters from the bottom of the falls and take a hike through the vegetation to experience the top of the falls.

The hike is fulfilling as you watch the waters of the Nile be squeezed through a 7m gorge. This hike takes anything between 45 minutes to 1.5 hours depending on the interests of the people, fitness, and their speed at hiking.

Community walks and Cultural experiences

The Boomu Women’s Group right outside the park is a worthy visit for someone who wants to engage with the local community.

With this, you take the scenic village tour as you learn about the resident’s everyday lives, and farming, visit the blacksmith, demonstration of basket weaving, and cooking, and visit a local school.

You can choose to stay overnight in this place or just visit for a few hours and continue to the park or when leaving for Kampala. The activities will depend on how much time you have in the area.

How to get to Murchison Falls National Park

Getting there by Air

Murchison Falls National Park can be accessed by either taking scheduled or chartered flights from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airstrip.

Outback Adventure Safaris has a working relationship with Conservation Air and has also established partnerships with other Credible air charters like Aero Link and Bar Aviation which are certified by the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority, UCAA.

Accessing Murchison Falls NP by Road

Murchison Falls National Park can be accessed by driving from Kampala through Luwero and Masidi which takes approximately 5 hours.

Bubungu and Mubako access gates from the south are usually used by people coming in from the Hoima district and the Kichumbanyubo gate is for people traveling from Kampala through Masindi.

Murchison Falls NP also has access gates in the north sectors that are used by people traveling from Kampala via Karuma or those traveling from the Gulu district or Kidepo Valley National Park.