Ferry Crossing in Murchison Falls National Park
Ferry Crossing in Murchison Falls National Park is one of the inevitable activities that almost all travelers that visit the park engage in as they cross the Nile. Murchison falls National Park is the largest national park located in the northwestern part of Uganda. Murchison falls national park was gazetted in 1952 and is the most visited national park in Uganda due to abundant wildlife. Murchison falls national park is a home of 76 animal species including the big 4 mammals which include the elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards and they can be supplemented by rhinos which can be viewed on your way to Murchison falls national park. There are other animals in Murchison falls national park such as waterbucks, bushbucks, giraffes, Jackson’s hartebeest, warthogs, crocodiles, hippos, primates like chimpanzees, red tailed monkeys, vervet monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, baboons which can be found in Budongo forest, 450 bird species such as the rare shoebill stork, goliath heron, secretary bird, white-faced whistling duck, yellow billed stork, black-headed lapwing, grey-headed kingfisher, long-toed plover among others.
Murchison falls national park is the largest national park in Uganda and its crossed by River Nile which divides the park into two sectors the northern sector and the southern sector. In order to explore all the sectors in Murchison falls national park visitors will have to cross with a ferry from the southern sector to the northern sector.
Ferry crossing in Murchison falls National Park
Murchison falls national park is divided into two sectors with River Nile and visitors who want to cross from the southern sector to the northern sector or from the northern sector to the southern sector they will use a ferry to make transportation easy. Ferry crossing in Murchison falls national park is scheduled and takes all day starting from 7:00am, 9:00am, 11:00am, 12:00pm, 2:00pm, 6:00pm and 7:00pm. The ferry in Murchison falls national park carries a maximum of eight vehicles per trip and each vehicle is charged depending on the size or number of tonnes.
Prices for Ferry crossing in Murchison falls national park
Ferry crossing rates in Murchison falls national park are charged depending on the size and tonnes for example
- All passengers pay UGX 5,000 per trip
- Vehicles which weigh between 10 to 20 tonnes are charged UGX 150,000 per trip
- Vehicles which weigh between 5 to 10 tonnes are charged UGX 80,000 per trip
- Medium vehicles which weigh between 2 to 5 tonnes are charged UGX 40,000 per trip
- Small vehicles that weigh between 2 tonnes and less are charged UGX 20,000 per trip and school buses are not charged any amount during ferry crossing.
Ferry crossing in Murchison falls national park gives you an opportunity to engage in several fascinating activities in the park which can be carried out in both the northern and the southern sectors including
Chimpanzee trekking: chimpanzee trekking is an interesting activity in Murchison falls national park which is carried out in Budongo forest. Budondo forest is a large mahogany forest situated in the southern sector of Murchison falls national park, therefore, visitors who will be staying in accommodation facilities in the northern sector will have to cross River Nile with a ferry so as to participate in the adventurous and exciting chimpanzee trekking experience. Budongo forest is a habitat of the primate species like the chimpanzees, vervet monkeys, black and white monkeys, red tailed monkeys, baboons among others and chimpanzee trekking is the major activity carried out. Chimpanzee trekking in Budongo forest is done in two sessions that is the morning session and the evening session. Chimpanzee trekking in Murchison falls national park takes about 2 to 4 hours or even more depending on their location because they like to move from one destination to another in search of food. During chimpanzee trekking visitors will also view other primates like the black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys, baboons and once the chimpanzee family has been located visitors will spend one hour with the chimpanzees in their natural habitat recording the moments and taking plenty of photos with flashless cameras.
Game drive: Game drive is the most popular activity carried out in Murchison falls national park and it can either be done in the northern or southern sector but its best done in the southern sector of the park because the northern sector has high concentration of animals than the southern sector. During the game drive in Murchison falls national park you will follow different tracks such as Buligi, Nyamsika Gorge where you will be able to view various animal species like the elephants, buffaloes, lions, bushbucks, warthogs, waterbucks, giraffes, oribi, Jackson’s heartbeats, various bird species among others. game drive in Murchison falls national park can either be done in the morning or in the evening and visitors who want to participate in game drive in all the sectors of the park will cross River Nile and also participate in game drive of the southern sector where they will view large herds of antelopes and other small numbers of animals.
Boat cruise: Murchison falls national park offers two boat cruise trips where one is done at the bottom of the falls which takes about 2 to 3 hours and another boat cruise trip to the Victoria Nile Delta which takes about 4 to 5 hours. Boat cruise trips in Murchison falls give visitors extraordinary experiences on their safari as they enjoy beautiful views of the sunset, landscapes, animals species such as the elephants, buffaloes, hippos, crocodiles, aquatic bird species like the rare shoe bill stork, red-throated bee-eater, handsome francolin, malachite kingfisher, grey-headed heron among others. visitors who will be staying in the southern sector of Murchison falls national park will first cross-river Nile with a ferry to Paraa jetty in the northern sector which is the starting point for boat cruise trips in Murchison falls. Visitors can either hire private boats and cruise at their own time or cruise in the scheduled boats in which depart at 8:30 am, 11:00 am, 2:30 pm and sundowner boat trips at 3:30 pm.
Hiking and Nature walk: Nature walk in Murchison falls national park is an exciting activity where visitors explore the park on foot. Nature walks in Murchison falls national park can either be done in the northern sector or the southern sector depending on the lodge where you will be staying. Nature walk in Murchison falls national park can be done in Kaniyo Pabidi a natural forest in Budongo forest which is situated in the southern sector of Murchison falls national park. Kaniyo Pabidi forest is mainly known for chimpanzee trekking therefore during nature walks visitors will be able to view different tree species, primates, bird species like the kingfisher, hornbills among others. Hiking in Murchison falls national park can also be done at the top of the falls and visitors who want to hike to the top of the falls will first take a boat cruise at the bottom of the falls where the boat will leave you at the base and then start the guided hike to the falls which takes about 45 minutes. During the top of the falls hiking, you will have spectacular views of the vegetation, hills, bird species and also hear roaring sounds of the falls. Visitors on a safari in Murchison falls national park can either go for guided top of the falls hike in the northern sector or the nature walk in Kaniyo Pabidi forest in the southern sector and those who want to participate in both will first do the top of the falls hike and then cross River Nile to also participate in Kaniyo Pabidi forest walk.
Bird watching: Murchison falls national park is also known as the best birding destination in Uganda in that it harbors about 450 bird species. Birds in Murchison falls national park can be viewed during the game drive, nature walk in Kaniyo Pabidi forest, boat cruise at the bottom of the falls and the Victoria Nile delta. Bird species found in Murchison falls national park include the rare shoebill stork, grey crowned crane, black-headed lapwing, goliath heron, handsome francolin, yellow fronted tinkerbird, black billed barbet, long-tailed nightjar, long-toed plover, long-billed stork, martial eagle, malachite and pied kingfisher, secretary bird among others.
How to get to Murchison Falls National Park
Murchison falls National Park is located in the northwestern part of Uganda. Murchison falls national park has several gates which can be accessed by both road and air transport means.
- Road transport, when using road transport means to Murchison falls national park you can either use private or public means of transport whereby you will drive from Kampala City via Karuma-Pakwach road to the park headquarters which takes about 4 to 5 hours’ drive.
- Air transport, there are domestic airlines that operate scheduled and chartered flights to Murchison falls national park such as Aerolink therefore visitors who are not used to traveling long distances can opt for flying. The aircraft fly from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airfield to Pakuba airfield or Chobe airfield in the northern sector and Bugungu airfield in the southern sector.
Ferry crossing in Murchison Falls National Park acts as a short cut that connects the southern sector of the park with the northern sector, therefore, visitors can explore all the sectors of Murchison falls national park during their safari in Uganda.
