Uganda's largest park is split by the Victoria Nile and crowned by the world's most powerful waterfall. Game drives, boat cruises, and the hike to the top.
The World's Most Powerful Waterfall
At Murchison Falls, the entire Victoria Nile forces itself through a rock cleft just seven metres wide before plunging 43 metres in a permanent thunder of spray. The park around it — Uganda's largest at 3,893 km² — is classic savannah safari country.
Game Drives on the Northern Bank
The grasslands north of the river deliver some of East Africa's best game viewing: elephants, Rothschild's giraffes, lions, leopards, buffalo, and huge herds of Uganda kob. Early morning drives along the Buligi tracks, with the Albert Nile shimmering in the distance, are unforgettable.
Wildlife on the savannah of Murchison Falls National Park
The Boat Cruise to the Base of the Falls
The afternoon launch cruise from Paraa motors upstream past one of the world's densest hippo and Nile crocodile populations, with elephants drinking at the banks. The finale is the falls themselves, framed in a permanent rainbow. Keen birders can continue downstream instead to the papyrus delta in search of the shoebill.
Hike to the Top of the Falls
Disembark below the falls and hike 45 minutes to the top, where you stand metres from the deafening gorge. It is one of the most dramatic short walks in Africa and pairs perfectly with the cruise.
The top of Murchison Falls where the Nile squeezes through the gorge
Planning Your Visit
Murchison is a five-to-six-hour drive from Kampala, ideally broken with a rhino tracking stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary — the only place in Uganda to see wild rhinos. Two nights is the minimum; three lets you add the delta cruise and a second game drive.
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