Boat cruise at Murchison falls national park
Boat cruise at Murchison falls national park is the most exciting activity carried out in the park where you will get an opportunity to cruise close to the animals, feel the cool breeze, views of various bird species among others. Murchison falls national park is the most visited national park in Uganda located in north western region harboring about 76 animal species such as elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, giraffes, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, hippos, over 450 bird species like the pre-historic shoebill stork, primates like chimpanzees, baboons, monkeys in Budongo forest, reptiles, vegetation types and many others. The park offers two boat cruise trips that is the boat cruise upstream to the bottom of falls or Murchison falls which is the main attraction in the park and also the most powerful waterfalls in the world and the boat cruise to the Victoria Nile Delta.
Boat cruise to the bottom of the falls, boat cruise upstream to the bottom of the falls operates on schedules that is the boat cruise in the morning which departs at 9:00am and another one in the afternoon departing at 2:00pm. Boat cruise trips to the bottom of the falls depart from Paraa jetty and each session takes about 2 to 3 hours depending on the speed of the boat. During the bottom of the falls boat cruise you will be able to view herds of hippos and crocodiles in water and other animals like elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks which will be drinking water on the water banks, bird species like malachite king fisher, grey heron, red throated bee-eater, hornbills among others. during the boat cruise upstream to the bottom of the falls the boat will leave you at a point where you will participate in hiking to the top of the falls which is a 45 minutes hike with great moments as you enjoy water splashes, roars of the water, feel the cool breeze, have spectacular views of the waterfall among others to make your boat cruise safari complete.
Boat cruise to the Nile Delta, the Victoria Nile Delta is a 20km voyage stretch of the river towards Lake Albert and the boat cruise to the Nile Delta starts from Paraa jetty at 7:00am. There are schedules of the Nile Delta boat cruise for example boat cruise in the morning and in the afternoon and take about 4 to 5 hours. Nile delta boat cruise is good for birding especially during the morning session and you will be able to view bird species like the elusive shoebill stork, malachite and pied kingfisher, African jacana, African skimmer, saddle bellied bustard, papyrus gonolek, goliath heron, open billed stork, yellow footed kingfisher, African fish eagle, great egreat. During the Nile Delta boat cruise you will also be able to enjoy views of mountain ranges in Democratic Republic of Congo, fishermen catching fish, people drawing water from the river among others which gives you fascinating and exciting memories.
For visitors who don’t want to use the scheduled boat cruise in Murchison falls national park there are boats for hire at Paraa jetty where you can cruise at your own time.
Cost of Murchison falls national park boat cruise
Boat cruise upstream to the bottom of the falls and downstream to the Victoria Nile Delta costs $30 for foreign non-residents, foreign resident and UGX 30,000 for East African citizens and the boat takes a maximum number of 45 people each session.
Best time to go for Murchison falls national park boat cruise
Boat cruise can be done anytime therefore visitors can visit the park anytime throughout the year though the best time to go for the boat cruise is during the dry season in the months of June to September and December to February. During the dry season there is less rainfall in the park and scarcity of water therefore the animals such as elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, antelopes among others will be gathered along the water banks to drink water hence giving you the best experience as you enjoy wildlife viewing, cruising near the animals and taking plenty of pictures.
How to get to Murchison falls national park
Road transport, Murchison falls National Park is located 305km from Kampala therefore you will drive from Kampala via Masindi to the park which takes about 4 to 5 hours’ drive. You can also use public means of transport where you will board a bus from Kampala Bus Park to Masindi town and then hire a private car to transfer you to the park headquarters.
Air transport, the park can also be accessed by domestic airlines which operate scheduled and chartered flights from Entebbe international airport or Kajansi airfield to either Pakuba airstrip, Chobe airstrip in northern sector or Bugungu airstrip in southern sector.
Murchison falls national park boat cruise gives you fascinating and lifetime experience as you cruise on the most powerful waterfall in the world enjoying beautiful scenery, landscape, wildlife among others which gives you unforgettable memories on your safari in Uganda.
