Getting to Murchison falls national park
Getting to Murchison falls national park
Murchison falls national park is the most visited national park located in northwestern Uganda and was gazetted in 1952 which makes it the oldest national park. The park covers a total land area of 3840 square kilometers which makes it the largest protected area in Uganda. Murchison falls national park is managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority a tourism body in Uganda and harbors a wide range of wildlife including vegetation types, animal species like the big five mammals including lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes plus rhinos which can be viewed in Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary on your way to the park. other animals in the park include giraffes, warthogs, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, Jackson’s hartebeest, hippos, Oribi, crocodiles, primates like red tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, chimpanzees in Budongo forest, bird species such as the pre-historic shoebill stork, silver bird, black billed barbet, yellow fronted tinker bird, pied kingfisher, blue napped moosebird, long tailed nightjar, black billed wood dove, black headed plover, speckle fronted weaver, black crake, grey headed bush shrike, saddle billed stork, chestnut crowned sparrow weaver, black faced waxbill, double toothed barbet, sulphur breasted bush shrike among others.
Getting to Murchison falls National Park
The national park is located in northwestern Uganda 305 km from Kampala city and it can be accessed by road and air transport means
Road transport
Murchison falls National Park is bisected by Victoria Nile into two sectors that is the northern and the southern sector where each sector has several gates that can be used. The northern sector is the most visited sector in that it harbors high concentration of animals than the southern sector. When using road transport you can either use private means by self-drive, a tour company safari vehicle or public means that is by use of a bus.
Northern entrance gates
Tangi gate, this is located in the northern sector 110 kilometers west of Karuma bridge, Tangi gate can be accessed by visitors in Paraa.
Chobe gate, this gate is also located in the northern sector of the park near pakwach 2 kilometers north of Karuma Bridge. Chobe gate can be accessed from Paraa and Karuma falls.
Wankar gate, this is located near Purongo 10kilometres off the main road on Arua-Gulu highway in the northern sector
Mubako gate, this gate is located in the northern sector of the park and visitors can access it by crossing the Nile river from Karuma falls bridge along Kampala- Pakwach road.
Southern entrance gates
Kichumbayobo gate, this gate is located in the southern sector heading to Kaniyo Pabidi forest hence can be accessed from Masindi town which takes about 85kilometres.
Bugungu gate, Bugungu gate can be accessed through Budongo forest in the southern sector 135 kilometers from Masindi town.
When using the northern entrance gates you can either enter via Chobe, Mubako, Tangi or Wankwar gate by driving from Kampala using Pakwach road which crosses the Nile at Karuma bridge and the journey takes about 4 to 5 hours’ drive and from Entebbe airport it takes about 6 hours’ drive.
The northern gates can also be used by visitors travelling from Gulu and Kidepo valley national park in north eastern Uganda. Though using road transport is tiresome you will have spectacular views on the way such as
Murchison falls national park can also be accessed by public means of transport in that there are buses that travel from Kampala to Masindi daily therefore when using public means of transport you will board a bus in the bus station from Kampala to Masindi town and then hire a private taxi to the park headquarters. Public means of transport is however not advisable because it takes more time and you can be cheated when hiring a private taxi.
Air transport
There are domestic airlines in Uganda that operate scheduled and chartered flights to Murchison falls national park such as Aerolink Uganda limited. Aerolink organizes flights on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday to Murchison falls national park. when travelling from Entebbe international airport /Kajjansi airfield the helicopter departs at 12:30pm and arrives at 13:30pm at either Pakuba airstrip in the north Chobe airstrip in the east or Bugungu air strip in the south and when travelling from the park the helicopter departs at 13:45pm and arrives in Entebbe airport at 16:30pm hence taking one hour.
How to book a flight to Murchison falls national park
When booking a domestic flight to Murchison falls national park, you can either contact Aerolink offices directly through email, telephone calls or contact Achieve Global Safaris with the dates and month when you want to travel to Murchison falls national park and we will check for availability of the flights matching your date. Visitors are advised to book 2 days in advance before the actual day.
Flying to Murchison falls national park is the best option because it’s fast, less tiresome and convenient for visitors who do not like travelling long distances.
Murchison falls national park can also be accessed from other destination like Kibale forest national park which takes about 9 hours’ drive and when using the flying option you can connect to Kidepo valley national park, Bwindi impenetrable national park, Queen Elizabeth national park and these connecting flights are only available on a charter basis because there are no connecting flights that are scheduled.
Murchison falls national park offers a wide range of activities which visitors can engage in upon arrival in the park such as game drive, birding, nature walk, boat cruise to the bottom of the falls and Victoria Nile Delta, chimpanzee trekking in Kaniyo Pabidi forest, sport fishing, hot air balloon which give you thrilling and breathtaking experiences on your safari in Murchison falls national park.
