And the only one where all of the ‘Big Five’ are to be found; buffalo, elephant, lion and occasional leopard seen above the Nile while rhinos are being bred in a sanctuary south of the park – 40 to 50 of them are lined up for release into the wild by around 2040. Together with the adjacent 748 km² Bugungu Wildlife Reserve and the 720 km² Karuma Wildlife Reserve, the park is part of the greater, 5,308 km², Murchison Falls Conservation Area.
The park is bisected by the Victoria Nile, which plunges 45m over the remnant rift valley wall, creating the dramatic Murchison Falls, the center piece of the park and the final event in an 80km stretch of rapids. The mighty cascade drains the last of the river’s energy, transforming it into a broad, placid stream that flows quietly across the rift valley floor into Lake Albert. This stretch of river provides one of Uganda’s most remarkable wildlife spectacles. Regular visitors to the riverbanks include elephants, giraffes and buffaloes; while hippos, Nile crocodiles and aquatic birds including the world’s most accessible wild population of the rare shoebill stork are permanent residents.
In the southeast, Rabongo Forest is home to chimpanzees and other rainforest creatures.
Special activities include launch trips to the base of the falls, Boat trips to the Lake Albert delta, Chimpanzee tracking at Rabongo Forest and Budongo Forest en-route from Masindi plus regular game viewing drives.
Notable visitors to the park include Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway and several British royals