Game viewing safaris in Murchison falls national park: Would you want to go game watching in Uganda’s Murchison Falls National Park? The largest national park in Uganda, located in the northwest of the country. The Ugandan government gazette the national park in 1952, and it currently has an area of around 3983 square kilometers. 76 animal species, 451 bird species, and around 13 primate species call the national park home.
A popular activity in Murchison Falls National Park is game drives, which are mostly conducted in the park’s northern region, which is home to the majority of the park’s species. There is a fee for not using the designed game trucks that are used for the game drives. Cars with pop-up windows are the ideal for seeing wildlife at Murchison Falls National Park.
The best approach to see the majority of the park’s wild species is to go on a game drive in Murchison Falls National Park. For those who wish to see nocturnal animals, Murchison Falls National Park offers game drives twice a day and at night. All you have to do to participate in game drives at Murchison Falls National Park is pay the park entrance fee, which is UGX25,000 for East African natives and $45 for international non-residents and $35 for foreign residents.
Day game drive safaris in Murchison falls national park
Morning and evening are the day game drives held in Murchison Falls National Park. There are regular game drives where your driver guide will lead you through the park, and guided game drives where visitors can hire UWA ranger guides. The northern part of Murchison Falls National Park, where a high concentration of animals reside, is where most game viewing activities take place.
Using binoculars, you will be able to spot both approaching and distant animals during the game drives. Lions, buffaloes, leopards, giraffes, olive baboons, warthogs, bushbucks, hippos, hartebeests, hyenas, bushbabies, topis, dik-dik, oribis, red-tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, and Uganda kobs are among the various park animals that visitors can see during the game drives.
The African dwarf kingfisher, standard winged nightjar, cassin’s hawk-eagle, puvel’s illadopsis, whistling cisticola, crowned eagle, goliath heron, ituri batis, and little green sunbird are just a few of the birds that birdwatchers can see during the game drives. During game drives, you may also enjoy breathtaking views of the park’s natural features, such as the River Nile, which runs through the park from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea. During the game drive, many plant types will also be seen.
Night game drives
One of the national parks in the country that where tourists see nocturnal wildlife is Murchison Falls National Park, where night game drives are held. When darkness comes, the night game drives begin, and UWA armed ranger guides are required to lead them. In addition to taking you to places where nocturnal creatures are found, these also serve to keep you safe from potentially harmful wild animals.
Tourists use spotlight torches to watch the animals, which even approach the cars, during nighttime game drives. Among the nocturnal creatures found at Murchison Falls National Park are jackals, hippos, nightjars, lions, leopards, and bush babies.
When to go game viewing in Murchison falls
Although game drives in Murchison Falls National Park are possible throughout the year, some months are considered to be better as compared to others. The best times to see game in Murchison are during the dry moths, which take place from June to September and December to February. The roads leading to the park are in good shape, the foliage is short and dispersed, and the game trucks are dry and passable due to the little to no rainfall. These factors are what make them good.
Because Murchison Falls National Park is always open, visitors may still come for wildlife viewing activities throughout the rainy seasons of March through May and October through November. Travelers benefit from reduced lodging costs during the rainy season, but they should be aware that there is a lot of rainfall, which makes game trucks muddy and slippery, slowing down activities; the vegetation is dense and tall, making it difficult to see the park animals; and the roads leading to the park are impassable.
Where to lodge in Murchison
There are a number of lodging options available to those who want to stay overnight or longer in Murchison Falls National Park while participating in game drive activities. Depending on a traveler’s budget, there are cheap, mid-range, and luxury lodging choices available in various park sections.
Chobe Safari Lodge, Paraa Safari Lodge, Red Chilli Rest Camp, Nile Safari Lodge, Budongo Eco Lodge, Heritage Safari Lodge, Murchison River Lodge, Baker’s Lodge, Twiga Safari Lodge, Sambiya River Lodge, Kabalega Wilderness Lodge, Amuika Safari Lodge, Parkside Safari Lodge, Boomu Women’s Group Bandas, and Murchison Tree House are just a few of the lodging options available in Murchison Falls National Park.