Murchison Falls National Park

The premier chimpanzee trekking experience in East Africa.

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Overview

This should be high on your bucket list. Here, the historic Murchison Falls coexist with amazing wildlife. Named after the dramatic Murchison Falls, Murchison Falls National Park is Uganda’s largest protected wildlife sanctuary with a wonderful artistry of natural landscapes awaiting visitors in the park.
You can make the best memories from this amazing destination with a perfect blend of rivers, great Savannah woodlands, grasslands, plains and forests making it an ideal place to view and appreciate nature and biodiversity. Here, the mighty Nile River bisects the flourishing vegetation before bursting through a chasm in the Rift Valley escarpment to form the raging Murchison Falls.
Murchison Falls is a waterfall found on the course of the great Nile breaking the stunning Victoria Nile from the vast Lake Victoria to the deep Lake Kyoga and continuing to the northern tip of Lake Albert within the western arm of the great East African Rift. Here, the waters of the Nile force their way through a small slit within the rocks, which is just 7 meters and topples to 43 meters with a thunderous roar forming a residual water spray forming a breathtaking beautiful rainbow as it continues westward, draining 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.

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Wildlife

The park is blessed with several attractions including over 76 mammal species with four members of the big five: lions, leopards, elephants, and buffaloes. Other species include bushbucks, Uganda kob, waterbucks, warthogs, giraffes, Jackson’s hartebeest, hyenas etc. As you make your way along the shores of the Nile, you are likely to spot hippos, crocodiles and many other resident creatures. There are also many primates in Murchison Falls National Park including baboons and several monkey species.
The park is Uganda’s largest national park and is home to over 450 recorded birds species including the rare shoebill stork with 23 Albertine Rift endemics given its location in the western arm of the east African Rift Valley.
The park is blessed with a range of bird species, with over 451 recorded species which include the rare shoe-bill stork that can be spotted at the banks of the Nile-Lake Albert Delta. Other birds that make their homes here are the Goliath Heron, elegant Grey Crowned Cranes Blue-headed Coucal, Swamp Flycatcher, Squacco Heron, African Jacana, Sandpiper, Denham’s Bustard, Abyssinian Ground-Horn-bill, Black-billed Barbet, Black-headed Gonolek, Eastern Grey Plantain-eater, Piapiac, Silver bird, Weaver Bird, Pied, Giant and Malachite Kingfishers, Red-throat Bee-eater, White-browed Sparrow Weaver, Speckle-fronted Weaver and African Quail-finch.

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Large JPG-20140228_Trade 151_0046.jpg — Classic Wildlife Safari

Chimpanzees are habituated for a period over 2 years before they become accustomed to humans. Once this happens, chimpanzee trekking can begin for these groups. Here along with the rangers and research staff, you watch chimpanzees leaving their overnight nests before they start their daily activities of feeding, hunting, copulating, breastfeeding, patrolling and resting until they break off for the night by building new nests at about 7pm.

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River Safari

This experience provides you with the opportunity to venture into the natural jungle and spend a number of hours tracking these gorgeous Chimpanzees. When you encounter the primates, you will be allowed an hour to observe them swinging from one tree to another, feeding, playing about or progressing speedily on the ground right in front of you.
Chimpanzees are the prime attraction for many visiting Kibale National Park. Before setting out on your trek, you will receive a briefing from the ranger guide, which covers the expectations while in the forest and information about the wildlife in the park.

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When To Go

The park is open year-round and can be visited anytime of the year with the best time to visit being during the hot/ dry months of January and February as well as June, July and August when animals will stay near the water.
However, during the rainy season, which runs from September to December and March to May, roads are difficult to use with the trails in the park likely to be muddy, slippery and impassible. But it will be still be possible to see the chimpanzees because the landscape is not mountainous.

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Other Activities

Birding

Bird watching in Kibale Forest is a rewarding experience and is home to a variety of birds including the Albertine Rift endemics including the Green breasted Pitta, Grey-throated Flycatcher, Grey-winged Robin, Crested Flycatcher, Blue shouldered Robin Chat, Yellow-spotted Barbet, Black-billed Turaco, White-napped Pigeon, Red-chested Fluff tail, White-collared Olive back, White-bellied, Masked Apalis, Nahan’s Francolin, Tiny Sunbird and many more.

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Night walks.

You can opt for night walks to see the nocturnal animals. When the other forest inhabitants rest, they are on the move searching for food. The rangers use powerful torches to seek nocturnal species such as the Bush Baby, Hyrax, Potto and occasionally Serval cat and Civet. The walk lasts 2.5hours beginning at 7 pm.

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Why Travel With Us?

At Safaris By Jon, we guarantee a seamless travel experience and premium service throughout your unforgettable journey to Uganda. We are a globally partnered travel company that provides expert travel advice before your trip and some of the best guides in the industry throughout the entire duration of your stay in Uganda. We have over 10 years experience working in the tourism industry in Uganda and strive to ensure that Uganda remains a viable.