Murchison Falls National Park Uganda – Largest and Oldest National Park of Uganda has a variety of tourists activities.

Murchison Falls National Park, is the best game park for vacation while in Uganda. It’s located in North Western Uganda in two Districts of Masindi district in west and Nwoya districts in northern Uganda. It’s the largest national park of Uganda covering 3,480 sq km. The park is 300km drive from Uganda’s capital city, Kampala. Murchison Falls conservation Area (MFCA) includes Murchison Falls National Park, Bugungu and Karuma Falls wildlife reserves.

Uganda’s largest park has untamed wilderness and savannah, split through the middle by the river Nile. MFNP has over 76 mammal species and 451 bird species; Nile river banks are a host to hippos, buffalos, waterbucks and crocodiles. The vegetation in Murchison is Savannah and woodland. Wildlife to be seen in this area includes; lions, giraffes, chimpanzees, hippos, leopards, elephants, antelopes and bird species. Murchison Falls is the name that was given to the point at which the world’s longest river, the river Nile, is channeled through a narrow gorge within the Rift Valley, descending almost 50metres below.

The park is named after Sir Roderick Murchison (1851–1853), who was President of the Royal Geographical Society. It was the catalyst for many explorations within ‘colonial’ Africa, most notably the search for the source of the river Nile. The national park is sometimes referred to as Kabalega National park. Kabalega was the Omukama of Bunyoro Kingdom from 1870 to 1899. He resisted colonization by the British. He was arrested and exiled by the British to the island nation of the Seychelles.

Murchison Falls National park has received well-known international visitors and movies have been shot in this place. These among others include Winston Churchill, Prince of Waless, Edward VII in 1930 and Queen Mother in 1959. In 1951, a movie was shot with background scenery of the Murchison falls that was Humphrey Bogart in John Huston’s prominent movie. Another movie was the African Queen which was shot on the vicinity of the Murchison Nile along with Lake Albert. The park is habitat to a diversity of wild animals such as the “big 5″ that include leopards, buffaloes, elephants plus lions. This park had rhinos which became extinct by 1983 due to poaching and wars which happened in Uganda back then.