Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda
Murchison Falls National Park, formerly known as Kabalega National Park, sits in northwestern Uganda and covers approximately 3,893 square kilometres, making it the country's largest national park. The park, Murchison Falls lies at the northern end of the Albertine Rift Valley, where the Bunyoro escarpment drops into wide, palm-dotted savanna. It spreads inland from the shores of Lake Albert, follows the Victoria Nile, and reaches as far as the Karuma Falls. Gazetted in 1952, it takes its name from the dramatic Murchison Falls, where the entire force of the Nile is squeezed through a narrow gorge before plunging into the gorge below. The Victoria Nile bisects the park from east to west for roughly 115 kilometres, splitting it into northern and southern sectors connected by the Paraa ferry.
The park borders the districts of Masindi to the south, Nwoya to the north, Buliisa to the west, and Kiryandongo to the east, which makes it accessible from several directions depending on a traveller's route. It is managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority, and together with the adjoining Bugungu Wildlife Reserve (about 748 square kilometres) and Karuma Wildlife Reserve (about 720 square kilometres), it forms the larger Murchison Falls Conservation Area.
Murchison Falls is known for its wildlife diversity. The park is home to over 450 recorded bird species, including the shoebill stork, dwarf kingfisher, and great blue turaco, alongside large mammal populations such as lions, elephants, buffaloes, and leopards, four of the traditional Big Five. Rhinos were hunted out of the wild park decades ago, but Uganda's conservation success story continues nearby at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, a short drive from the park, where white rhinos can be tracked on foot. Murchison Falls is also home to giraffes, zebras, hippos, waterbucks, warthogs, and chimpanzees in the adjacent Budongo Forest Reserve, along with Uganda's largest population of Nile crocodiles.
Visitors explore the park primarily through game drives across the savanna plains, but the experience extends well beyond that: boat cruises along the Nile, guided hikes to the top of the falls, chimpanzee tracking in Budongo Forest , sport fishing, birdwatching, and cultural visits to nearby communities all add different ways to experience the park. Whether the draw is the waterfall itself, the open savanna landscapes, or the chance to track chimpanzees in old-growth forest, Murchison Falls remains one of Uganda's defining safari destinations.
Murchison Falls Park Safari Packages | Uganda Safaris | Wildlife Tours
What to see in Murchison Falls National Park
Murchison Falls: The park's centerpiece. The Victoria Nile is forced through a gorge roughly 7–8 metres wide before plunging around 43–45 metres into the pool below, creating constant mist and one of the most powerful waterfalls, by force of water, in the world.
Travellers can experience it from the river by boat cruise to the base, or from above on a guided hike to the top of the falls.
Budongo Forest: Located on the way to Murchison Falls in northwestern Uganda, on the escarpment northeast of Lake Albert, Budongo Forest spans parts of Hoima and Kikuube districts. It is East Africa's largest mahogany forest and home to the country's biggest population of chimpanzees, over 600 individuals across
nine primate species. Guided nature walks here are a popular addition to a Murchison Falls itinerary.
Birds of Murchison Falls: With more than 450 recorded species, savanna birds, water birds, and several Albertine Rift endemics, Murchison Falls ranks among Uganda's best birding destinations. Standout species include the shoebill, African darter, giant kingfisher, grey crowned crane (Uganda's national bird),
osprey, long-toed plover, and martial eagle. The best birding windows are during game drives, boat cruises along the Nile and Lake Albert delta, and nature walks through the grasslands; the boat cruise in particular tends to turn up grey crowned cranes, goliath herons, and shoebills, while areas near Red Chilli and Paraa are reliable for weavers and kingfishers.
Karuma Falls: Sitting on the park's eastern boundary on the Victoria Nile, Karuma Falls is a series of natural rock formations that whip the river into white foam rather than a single sheer drop. The name comes from the Luo word for “great spirit.” It's a worthwhile stop for travellers entering or leaving the park via the eastern route.
Animals in Murchison Falls: The park supports a wide range of mammal species, including four of the Big Five: lions, elephants, buffaloes, and leopards. Buffaloes and elephants are seen in large numbers on most game drives, while lion sightings, though possible, are never guaranteed. Murchison Falls Park also holds
Uganda's largest crocodile population and is one of the few places to see Rothschild's giraffes, among the rarest giraffe subspecies. Other commonly spotted species include hartebeests, oribis, waterbucks, warthogs, Uganda kobs, bushbucks, and hyenas.
Buligi Game Tracks: Located in the park's northern sector, about 7 kilometres north of Paraa Safari Lodge, the Buligi peninsula is widely considered the best game-viewing circuit in Murchison Falls. Morning and evening drives here regularly turn up elephants, lions, giraffes, warthogs, bushbucks, buffaloes, hyenas, and leopards,
moving through a mix of riverine, acacia, savanna grassland, and woodland vegetation.
Paraa: Paraa, meaning “home of the hippos” in the Luo language, sits on the southern bank of the Victoria Nile and serves as the park's central hub, where most roads and tracks converge. Travellers coming from Kampala via Masindi typically enter through Kichumbanyobo Gate, while those on the northern route access Paraa via Tangi Gate.
River Nile: Murchison Falls is the only Ugandan national park bisected by the Nile, which splits it into northern and southern sectors. The river corridor supports a dense concentration of wildlife, hippos, crocodiles, and bird species including the African
openbill, African darter, Nile valley sunbird, marabou stork, and Egyptian goose are all regularly seen along its banks.
Nile Delta: It is situated on the southwestern side of Murchison Falls National Park. It is an expanse of lowland where the Nile River enters Lake Albert. It is an important significant area for birding in Murchison Falls National Park.It is a habitat to a variety of bird species which are over 75 water-related bird species; that is to say African fish eagles, Senegal thick knee, goliath herons, saddle-billed stork and many more. A number of animals can be spotted while on a boat cruise on the Nile lake Albert delta for example, the oribi, giraffes, buffalos, defassa waterbucks, Ugandan kobs and many more.
Kaniyo Pabidi Forest: Kaniyo Pabidi forest is situated in the south of Murchison Falls National Park in the Masindi district. It is in an area of about 28 square kilometres within the middle of Murchison Falls, Kichumbanyobo Gate. It is an eco-tourism site located in Budongo Forest, with large mahogany trees. Kaniyo Pabidi Forest harbours a variety of primates which include chimpanzees, red-tailed monkeys, galagos, pottos, blue monkeys, olive baboons, vervet monkey and many more. The forest is also a habitat of over 360 bird species; that is to say little greenbul, grey apalis, chestnut wattle eye, dwarf kingfisher,
narina trogon, great blue turacos and many more. There are also other wild animals in kaniyo pabidi forest which include antelopes, lions, leopards, buffalos, elephants, pangolins and many more.
