Murchison falls National Park

Murchison Falls National Park, part of the greater Murchison Falls Conservation Area (MFCA), offers excellent wildlife viewing. The Victoria Nile bisects the park and boat trips to the spectacular Murchison Falls are a highlight – especially if you hike to the top where the immense power of the falls is best appreciated.

Although the wildlife viewing is excellent in this park, it is the scenery that really gets to me: the rolling grassy hills studded with borassus palms teeming with plains animals, the paparus swamps home to the sought after shoebill stork and forests inhabited by chimpanzees. But, the main feature in the park is the Victoria Nile. A highlight to any visit is a boat trip up the Nile to one of the most spectacular sights of water pushing through a cleft in the escarpment: Murchison Falls

The park is divided by the very scenic Victoria Nile. A boat trip takes you to the base of the Murchison Falls where you can see the Nile squeezing through a narrow gorge before dropping down into the ‘Devil’s Cauldron’. North of the river is a savannah habitat that’s dominated by grassland and dotted with borassus palms. South of the river, the habitat changes to woodland with forest patches.

Weather & Climate

Murchison Falls has a consistently hot climate. The minimal variation in temperature is due to the park’s equatorial setting. It does, however, get noticeably hotter during the relatively brief Dry season (December to February). Light rain is usual in the Wet season (March to November), with the occasional storm blowing through. Temperatures are also affected by the wide variation in altitude across the park.