Murchison Falls
the nile bursting through a rock gap, with savannah and shoebills below
About Murchison Falls
Murchison Falls is Uganda's largest national park, built around one violent moment in the course of the Nile. On its way to Lake Albert, the river is forced through a cleft in the rock about seven metres wide and plunges into a churning pool, throwing spray and a constant roar into the gorge. Downstream the Nile runs broad and calm through savannah dotted with borassus palms.
A launch trip upstream from Paraa passes hippos, huge Nile crocodiles, buffalo and elephants at the water's edge, ending below the foaming falls; a trail then climbs to the top, where you stand in the spray beside the cleft. Downstream, the papyrus of the Nile delta is one of the best places in Uganda to find the shoebill, a tall grey bird with a bill like a clog. North of the river, game drives cross open plains with Rothschild's giraffes, Uganda kob, Jackson's hartebeest and lions.
The dry months from December to February and June to September give the best game viewing. Murchison is a long day's drive from Kampala or Entebbe, best broken at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary to track white rhinos on foot, or you can fly to Pakuba airstrip. Chimpanzees can be tracked in nearby Budongo Forest, and the park combines well with Kibale and Queen Elizabeth on a longer loop through western Uganda.