8 Murchison Falls National Park facts. Murchison Falls National Park is one of the most beautiful and visited Uganda national parks. Most travelers who visit Uganda on Uganda safari tours do opt to visit Murchison Falls National Park for amazing game viewing safari experiences. Located in north western part of Uganda, Murchison Falls National park inhabits four of the African big 5 animals that are most sought after by visitors who visit Uganda on Uganda tours.
Murchison Falls National Park covers about 591 square kilometers, inhabiting a variety of wildlife species and the home to the most thunderous waterfalls in the world, the Murchison Falls from where the park derives her name. Most travelers who visit Uganda visit the Murchison Falls National Park and combine it with the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for gorilla trekking in Bwindi experiences, to see the endangered mountain gorillas.
As you look to visit Murchison Falls National Park for amazing game drives in the park, below are some of the top 8 Murchison Falls National Park facts that you may want to know;
- Murchison Falls which are the top attraction in the park gashes through the narrow gorge, making the most thunderous sound making the Murchison Falls the loudest waterfalls in the world, heard from meters away.
- Murchison Falls National Park was named by Sir Samuel Baker, in 1864. The Murchison Falls national park were named after Sir Roderick Murchison, the then president of the Britain’s Royal Geographical Society.
- Murchison Falls inhabits a variety of wildlife including four of the African big 5 animals namely the buffalos, elephants, lions and leopards. Rhinos which travelers cannot see in Murchison Falls National Park can see them en-route to Murchison Falls National Park at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary from where you get to track the rhinos on foot! In the 1960s, Murchison Falls National Park had an abundance of wildlife population including about 26,000 buffalos, 14,000 hippos and so much more which have reduced in population over the years especially due to the environmental damage.
- Whilst the Murchison Falls National Park covers only about 591 square kilometers, the Murchison Falls Conservation Area covering 5072 square kilometers is the largest protected area in Uganda. The Murchison Falls Conservation Area encompasses the Bugungu Wildlife Reserve, Karuma Wildlife Reserve, inhabiting a variety of wildlife s well.
- Murchison Falls National Park was visited by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother in 1959 staying at the Queen’s Cottage at Paraa Lodge. She cruised upriver to view the Murchison Falls, a sight to behold whilst on Murchison Falls National Park safaris. Queen Elizabeth had earlier visited Uganda in 1925 as a young Duchess of York with her husband the Duke of York on a hunting safari in Semuliki Valley.
- The united States of America President Theodore Roosevelt visited Murchison Falls National Park in 1909 on a hunting safari, on the most expensive hunting safari rated at 1.8m$. During his tour of East Africa during which he also visited Murchison Falls National park, President Roosevelt collected a variety of wildlife specimen for the Smithsonian Institute. His visit resulted into leaving the East Africa rather empty, having taken back with home 4900 mammals, 4000 birds, 2000 reptiles, 5 northern White Rhinos, 8 elephants, 10 Uganda kobs, and a Shoebill Stork.
- Winston Churchill is another of the most prominent visitors who visited Murchison Falls in 1907, having travelled on the then new railway from Mombasa to Kisumu and then took a boat across Lake Victoria to visit Entebbe and Jinja. He hiked from the Source of the Nile, boated and cycled to Murchison Falls on a footbridge which eventually got washed away by the floods two years later.
- It is a fact that the Murchison Falls have been used as a backdrop in John Huston’s famous movie The African Queen, having been filmed around the Lake Albert.
Murchison Falls National Park is a beautiful Uganda national park that travelers can visit on Uganda safari tours, and enjoy the various wildlife and nature in the park. you may book a 3 Days Murchison Falls National Park safari for an opportunity to explore the Murchison Falls National Park sighting various attractions in Murchison Falls National Park like the Murchison Falls, various animals, birds, amazing scenery, and so much more. Get in touch with a reputable tour operator to help you pitch together an amazing Murchison Falls National Park safari.
