What to do / Activities to do Murchison Falls National Park

Activities to do in Murchison Falls National Park: There is a lot to discover in Murchison Falls National park through engaging in Uganda safari activities in the park. Whether you’re on a short holiday or long stay, there is so much to do in the park. The activities to do in Murchison Falls National Park include the following:

Game Drives

This is one of the most adventurous activities to take part in. Game Drives in Murchison falls national park are done in the morning and evening.

Morning game lets travelers spot the early risers, as well as evening game drives allow tourists to enjoy wildlife as they are going back to their hiding places.

Rewarding game viewing excursions can be enjoyed on a game drive on the largest scale land in different designated game drive areas, including Buligi game tracks. To note, Murchison Falls National park comprises savannah grassland, woodland, and wetland as well as the tropical forest, which are habitats for different bird species and animals.

While on game drives, wildlife that can be seen include; Lions, Rothschild’s giraffes, warthogs, Cape buffalo, Uganda kobs, elephants, hippos, Jackson’s hartebeest, Uganda kobs, dik-dik and many more.

Apart from animals, there are a number of birds to sight including Denham’s bustard, marital eagle, saddle-billed stork, red-throated bee eater, malachite kingfishers, secretary bird, silverback, grey-crowned crane, Abyssinian ground hornbill, open-billed stork, grey heron, verreaux eagle owl, papyrus gonolek, lesser flamingo, black-billed bustards, yellow-fronted tinkerbird, and African darter

Top of the Falls Hike

Hiking to the top of Murchison Falls is also one of the most famous activities done by anyone who visits Murchison Falls National Park.

Hiking to the Top of the Falls takes 45 minutes and is one of the most energetic and challenging activities but is very unforgettable in the long run.

As you hike to the top of the falls, you’re accompanied by a ranger who guides you through the entire hike from the bottom to the top. A tour guide is always provided for the hike to explain certain features and answer all your questions.

Boat Cruise

Boat Cruise in Murchison falls start upstream from the Paraa landing site and takes you to the bottom of the falls.

As sailing slowly on the waters of the Victoria Nile, there is a lot to see, including water species such as hippos, crocodiles, and waterbucks and other animals along the banks of the river such as elephants and buffaloes. As you’re heading downstream, tourists can also enjoy bird species such as shoebills, ducks, kingfishers, bee-eaters, cormorants, fish eagles, and many more.

Boat cruise in Murchison falls national park starts in the morning hours at around 9:00 am and evening hours begin at 2:00 pm on a daily basis and it takes about 3 to 4 hours to go and return. Exceptional schedules can be arranged with the park management.

Bird Watching

Another activity to thrive in is birding. Bird watching is among the most done activities in Murchison falls national park. The park  is one of the top birding destinations in Uganda, thus favoring birders.

The park is home to over 451 species of birds, which can be seen during game drives, nature walks and Launch trips / boat cruises.

The birding activities are in most cases guided if one is going for nature walks and this is because the ranger must protect you from dangerous wild animals and show you the best birding spots.

Some of the birds to spot include African darter, shoebill, grey-headed kingfisher, rock pratincole, long-tailed nightjar, Abyssinian ground hornbill, long-toed plover, yellow-fronted tinkerbird, sandpipers, grey-crowned crane, blue-headed coucal, Denham’s bustard, marital eagle, saddle-billed stork, etc.

Community visits

The Park is surrounded by a diverse range of communities that have a tribe of Uganda. The tribes include Banyoro in the South, the Alur in the Northwest, and Acholi in the Northeast.

Boomu Village offers unique cultural experiences for visitors in Murchison Falls National Park.  Here you can visit an African village for a few hours and learn more about their culture as well as participate in their traditional dances and other cultural activities.

Chimpanzee trekking

This is one of the best primate tours offered in the park.

Chimpanzee tracking in Murchison Falls National Park is offered in Budongo Forest, which starts at 8:00 am. And 2:00pm.

Chimpanzee Trekking in Budongo forest national park begins with a briefing about the rules and regulations of the trekking. Then trekkers are accompanied with Armed ranger guides who lead them into the jungle, where they take 30 minutes to 4 hours in search for the chimpanzees.

Chimp trekking in Budongo Forest

Upon meeting the chimpanzees, trekkers are able to be around them for 1 hour. During chimpanzee trekking, you are able to learn about their habits; take photos; record videos; and watch the members do daily activities such as mating, nesting, hunting, eating, breastfeeding and playing, among others.

Other animals to see while trekking include blue monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, olive baboons, buffaloes, elephants, and birds such as African pied wagtail, black kite, crested guineafowl, olive-breasted greenbuls, fork-tailed drongo, crowned eagles, brown twinspots, etc.

Fishing

This is one of the exciting adrenaline activities to do in Murchison Falls National Park.

Fishing in Murchison Falls National Park starts at 9:00 am in the morning and 4:00 pm in the evening. There are a number of fish species to catch, including Nile perch, Tilapia, Catfish, Tigerfish, mudfish and many more.

Guided Nature walks

Nature walks in Murchison falls national parks help tourists who want to discover the national park on foot and are fit to walk in the bush tracks.

 The nature walks in Murchison falls national park are done by armed ranger guides who guard you from wild animals as well as show you the best routes to take.

These are mostly done in Budongo Forest and Kaniyo Pabidi forest where tourists get close encounters with wild animals like chimpanzees, red-tailed monkeys, olive baboons, mammals, and birds.