Game viewing in Murchison Falls National Park

Game viewing in Murchison Falls National Park : Murchison Falls National Park is among the best game viewing destinations in Uganda, the park is home to rich diversity of wildlife including 76 species of mammals including Buffaloes, Jackson hartebeests, Antelopes, Lions, Kobs, Giraffes, Hyenas, Bushbucks, and Warthogs among others and over 451 bird species.

Murchison Falls National Park is located in the Northwestern region of Uganda covering an area of 3,840 square kilometers and from Kampala, it is a drive of about 5-6 hours.

Murchison Falls National Park is the oldest and largest National Park in Uganda thus worthy visiting, game viewing/game drives are the highlight activity in do in the park and this article offers you all the information you need to know about this incredible Uganda safari experience.

Game Drives in Murchison Falls National Park

Day Game drives in Murchison Falls National Park

Game drives in Murchison Falls National Park can be done during day time that is either in the morning or in the afternoon.

Morning game drives in Murchison Falls National Park

Morning game drives in Murchison Falls National Park provide a perfect opportunity to spot various animals as the land is cool and animals are at their most active, the drives usually start at around 06:00 – 06: 30 am when the sun is starting to rise. The morning game drives can go up to 10 am.

Some of the animals to look out for on morning game drives include lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, hartebeests, oribis, bushbucks, giraffes, bush pigs among others.

Afternoon game drives in Murchison Falls National Park

Afternoon game drive provide a great opportunity to sight animals as they stroll across the plain savannah grasslands, the drives mostly start between 2 pm – 3 pm after lunch and go up to 5 pm.

During the game drive, you can spot giraffes, buffaloes, warthogs, lions, leopards and many birds such as Africa Jacana, Africa Quail Finch, Secretary bird among others.

Night Game drives in Murchison Falls National Park

Night Game Drives usually begin after 7 pm offering chances to spot nocturnal animals with a help of a spot light, some of the nocturnal animals to lookout for include Leopards, Aardvarks, Genets, Civet, Cats and Bush Babies.

Night Game drives last for 2 hours.

Types of Game Drives in Murchison Falls National Park

Self – Game Drives in Murchison Falls National Park

Self – game drives are the kind of game drives where the visitors is the one in charge of deciding where to go while on a safari in Murchison Falls National Park, to some visitors self-game drives are more adventurous as you be in the wild somewhere alone with no one other than you.

Self-game drives are more flexible as they are based on your liking as an individual, you decide when and where you want to go.

However, there are a few downsides of self – game drives as follows

Get stuck in the muddy trails – in this case, there is no one to help you. Some trails in Murchison Falls National park become terrible during wet season and very muddy as well.

Difficult to calculate time -when driving on long trails in Murchison Falls national park, it may be hard to tell the time as you are not familiar with park, this can lead penalties for overdriving.

Self – game drives are prohibited in Murchison Falls National Park during the game drives.

What you need during Self – Game Drives in Murchison Falls National Park

• When doing self – game drives in Murchison Falls national park, you are escorted by an armed ranger. The ranger is well conversant with the park and know where to locate particular animals.
• In case of any attack from the wild animals, he can shoot to scare away the animals thus providing safety during the game drives
• The vehicle to use during the self- game drives should have a GPS tracking system to know the route to follow, also you should carry a map that can work as a substitute.
• Aways carry a mobile working phone with a local network provider for calling your lodge or your travel agent for assistance.

Guided Safari Game Drives

Guided safari game drives are where the excursions are led by certified guides or driver guides or rangers by Uganda Wildlife Authority, the guides and rangers are well knowledgeable about the park’s history and wildlife.

Guided game drives in Murchison Falls National Park can be done as private safari to offer you a more exciting experience, rangers / guides offer you full detail information about animals and local culture which cannot be offered on self – game drives. The local guides and ranges know most of the behaviors of animals and the key spots to sight them.

Guided game drives offer visitors an opportunity to enjoy and learn about wildlife while in nature.

Where to Do Game Drives in Murchison Falls National Park

Safari game drives in Murchison Falls National Park are mostly done in the Northern and Southern Sectors of the park, these regions have several routes/tracks including Buligi Track, Victoria Track, Albert Track, Pakuba Track, Chobe Track, Tebito Track and Honeymoon Track.

Game Drives in Northern Sector of Murchison Falls National Park

Most game drives in Murchison Falls National Park take place in the northern sector because it is home to the highest concentration of wildlife, game drives in the northern sector are mostly in the Buligi area which divides the Victoria Nile and the Albert Nile on their couse in and out of Lake Albert.

The Buligi area consists of 170 kilometers tracks rolling through open savannah grasslands, acacia woodland and riverine vegetation, the area is home to many animals like lions, buffaloes, herds of elephants, giraffes, leopards and Uganda Kobs and several bird species such as oxpeckers, African Jacana, crested cranes among others.

Game tracks in Buligi area include Buligi track and the Delta Game viewing, Victoria Track, Pakuba Track, Chobe Track and Tebito Track.

Buligi track and the Delta Game viewing

Buligi Track is the most used track for safari game drives in Murchison Falls National Park, the track in 7 kilometers starting from the Paraa area passing through dense thickets, acacia forest patches, Borassus palms and savannah grasslands.

While on Buligi Track some of the animals to lookout for include herds of elephants, buffaloes, lions, Uganda Kobs, Elands, Bushbucks, warthogs, giraffes among others and many birds including secretary bird, Abyssinian group hornbill, Martial Eagle and many others.

Many tracks connect to the Buligi track from different directions leading to the Delta Game Viewing Circuit, the area is known for being a breeding ground of the Uganda Kobs, Defassa waterbucks, hartebeests and Oribis. The presence of preys attracts many predators including lions, the area has 2 lion prides and can been on the shores wrestling with each other. Other animals you will see on this trail include Rothschild’s Giraffe which over 50 individuals, herds of buffaloes and hippos.

Delta Circuit offers excellent bird – watching opportunities, some of the common birds around include the Abyssinian ground hornbill, Gray-crowned cranes, the Saddle-billed stork and the Denham among others.

Victoria Nile Track

The Victoria Nile Track is a 17 kilometers circuit running between the Buligi track nd Queen’s track leading to and from the Delta, this track inter – connects with other game tracks offering excellent wildlife viewing.

This track is mostly used for visitors interested in watching lions and their cubs, expect lionesses to come to the surrounding areas of the track and Queen’s track at any time.

Queens Track

This is the shortest game viewing track in Murchison Falls National Park though offers the most productive game viewing experience, this track is 10 kilometers. It is smooth and links up with the Albert Track and Victoria Track.

The Queen Tracks is good for bird watching more particularly woodland birds including swallow-tailed, northern carmine, blue-breasted and red – throated bee eaters. You will also watch herds of buffaloes often attended by flocks of cattle regrets, piapiac and red billed and yellow billed ox-peckers.

Other game viewing tracks in Murchison Falls National Park include

• Pakuba Track
• Chobe Track
• Tebito Track 

Best Time for game viewing in Murchison Falls National Park

Game drives in Murchison Falls National Park, however the best time to watch animals in the park is during the dry season is during the dry season from June to September and December to February.