Location of Murchison falls national park
Location of Murchison falls national park: Want to visit Murchison falls national park but you would love to know where it is located? Well in this article we are going to see where Murchison falls national park is located. Knowing the location of Murchison falls national park will help you to plan your safari activities in a coherent manner. The location helps you to know the best starting points for the safari and how best you can move from one destination to the other without skipping any other destination based on your itinerary.
To answer the question, Murchison falls national park is located in the northwestern part of Uganda. The national park is found four districts Masindi, Buliisa, Nwoya, and Kiryandongo. Murchison falls national park is located 341 km by road from Kampala, 440km by road from Kibale forest national park a home to primates, and 340km by road from Kidepo valley national park the country’s remote area.
Murchison falls national park is located 85km away from Masindi town if tourists are to use Kichumbanyabo gate in the south of the park. From Masindi using Bugugu gate also in the south of the park is 135km and this route goes through Budongo forest home of chimpanzees. Using the gates on the northern side of the park, Wankar gate is 10km away from the Arua-Gulu highway.
Accessing Murchison falls national park
Accessing Murchison falls national park by road: One can reach Murchison falls from Entebbe/Kampala, 4-6 hours’ drive through Luwero, Nakasongola to Masindi and use the southern gates to access the park, or from Nakasongola one can proceed to Kiryandongo to Pakwach and access the national park using the northern gates. Accessing Murchison falls national park using road transport gives tourists an opportunity to see Karuma falls and rhinos at Ziwa sanctuary.
Accessing Murchison falls national park by air transport: These can be luxury travelers or those who hate traveling long distances. Flights to Murchison falls national park start at Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airstrip and they land at any of the three airstrips within the park depending on the region you are to visit. The airstrips in Murchison falls national park include Pakuba and Chobe in the north and Bugugu airstrip in the south. Flights take 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes and they are organized by Aerolink Uganda or bar aviation Uganda.
About Murchison falls national park
Murchison falls national park was in the begging called Kabalega national park and this was during the regime of Idi Amini dada. From Kabalega national park, the protected area was changed to Murchison falls national park after the visit of sir Samuel baker who discovered the Murchison falls named them after Sir Roderick Murchison and borrowed the name to the park.
Murchison falls national park became gazetted in 1952 by the government of Uganda to protect the vegetation and the wildlife that was finding the place as their home. People were evicted out of the park, and security increased to reduce on poaching which would in return save the animals. As of today, Murchison falls national park covers a total area of 3893 sq. km making it the largest protected area in the country.
Murchison falls national park is home to over 76 mammal species, 13 primate species, and 460 bird species which can be seen during the game drives, birding, nature walks, chimpanzee trekking, hot air balloon experience, and boat cruise at any time of the year.
Some of the animals in Murchison falls national park include lions, elephants, buffaloes, leopards, bushbucks, Jackson’s heart beast, Uganda kobs, duikers, waterbucks, warthogs, giant forest hogs, hyenas, oribis, topis, hippos, crocodiles, and giraffes. Primates include chimpanzees, pattas monkeys, grey-checked monkeys, olive baboons, red-tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, and grey-checked mangabeys among others.
Murchison falls national park has over 460 bird species that have been so far recorded within different areas of the park and these are well seen in during nature walks and birding activities. Some of these birds include double-toothed barbet, rock pratincole, white-fronted black chat, common teal, long-toed plover, veracious dove, black crake, malachite kingfisher, pied kingfisher, grey-headed bush shrike, and giant kingfisher among others.
When to visit Murchison falls national park
Murchison falls national park can be visited at any time of the year however there are months that are better than the rest. The dry season from June to September and December to February is the most appropriate time to visit Murchison falls national park and this is because there is little or no rainfall. The game tracks and roads leading to the park are in good condition and the vegetation is short and thin with good views of different attractions within the park.
Travelers can still visit Murchison falls national park in the rainy season of March to May and October to November and the park will be open. These months are good for budget travelers as the lodges are at a discount. The rainy season makes the game trucks and roads leading to the park muddy and slippery, the vegetation in the park is tall and thick with unclear views of the park animals.
