Why Murchison Fall National Park should be on Your Bucket List as a Budget Safari Destination?

Murchison falls National Park, the oldest and largest National Park in Uganda has a lot to offer to safari-goers. Being the country’s premier safari destination, travellers who explore this treasure trove always leave with their breath taken away. Spanning over 3840 square kilometres between its borders, this Protected Area is a haven to four of the big five animals (African bush elephants, Cape buffaloes, lions and leopards) as well as beautiful waterfalls (Murchison and Uhuru fall), antelopes, primates and plethora of birds.

Dotted through different landscapes of Murchison Falls National Park are Safari Lodges, Tented Camps and Camping grounds, which are equipped with dining areas and some even feature gift shops. Several places of Lodging within this safari destination are popular for their significant game concentrations. For instance, the Buligi area on the northern banks of the Nile River between Albert and Victoria Nile has high concentrations of four of the big five animals, Nile crocodiles, jackals, Defassa waterbucks and Rothschild giraffes among others.

When it comes to the ideal number of days for exploring Murchison falls National Park, we recommend at least 5 days. The first day being for travelling to the safari destination, then spend the next 3 days in exploring it via game drives, walking safaris, boat cruises, community visits and chimpanzee trekking then travel back to the Capital on the last day of the trip. Talking of Uganda safaris, some travellers feel their costs are out of their budget range but you will be surprised at how possible it is to go on a budget safari. This is one of the beauties of Murchison falls National Park. Therefore, the following are the reasons why you should add Murchison National Park on your bucket list as budget safari destination.

Perfect safari destination for self-drives

Murchison falls National Park is one of the most outstanding places for self-drives and with this option, travellers can get behind the wheels and drive through its game tracks looking for African bush elephants, bushbucks, lions, Cape buffaloes, Topis, Defassa waterbucks, Jackson’s hartebeests, warthogs, duikers, Uganda Kobs, spotted hyenas and leopards among others. The roads here are gravel but well-maintained and comfortable. With self-drive tours, you will be saving on cost of hiring a driver while you will be covering costs of fuel and hiring the safari vehicle. However, travellers ate cautioned against getting out of the vehicle and driving off-track.  You will see lots of Rothschild giraffes, Olive baboons, Uganda Kobs, Cape buffaloes, African bush elephants, vervet monkeys, duikers and waterbucks during these self-drives.

Murchison Falls National Park offers undisputed game drives

If one of your wishes for game viewing in Uganda has always been to see nocturnal wildlife species, then you should consider the early morning or evening game drives through Murchison Falls National Park. These drives cost $30 per foreign non-resident adult and $25 per person for adult foreign residents, in addition to Park entrance fees of $45 per person for foreign non-residents and $35 per person for foreign residents. For a total of three to four hours, you will be able to explore and fully understand the Park’s exceptional landscapes aboard a 4X4 Safari vehicle via some of its game tracks. The climax is seeing a pride of lions, leopards, jackals and serval cats as well as clans or cackles of spotted hyenas.

Beautiful budget accommodation facilities within Murchison National Park

Besides the activities, spending overnight/s inside Murchison Falls National Park is also quite cheaper, although this depends on the chosen accommodation options. For travellers who desire exclusive and swanky safari experiences, it is very possible in Uganda’s premier safari destination. For budget safaris in Murchison falls National Park, travellers can stay at any of the Safari Lodges or Tents/Camps that boast breathtaking views, clean rooms, nice food and basic room amenities. These accommodation facilities cost about $30 to $50 per night.