Boat Cruise Safari on the River Nile in Murchison Falls National Park

murchison falls boat safari

I know, most of us get onto the popular Murchison Falls boat cruise knowing we will see the aquatic wild but, we still can’t fully predict in which manner we will find these beautiful creatures. That’s the beauty of a boat cruise at any day in Murchison falls national park!

Whether it’s the grey skies or the bright blue skies, it’s always an amazing journey and one like no another ….you can always be assured of safety as a life jacket is provided for everyone and a little briefing right before you begin the cruise on the waters of the Victoria Nile is done to give you precautions on safety.

There has never been any recorded tragedy during the so many cruises that have been done before. It has always been a good practice to make sure that tourists like you and i are safe during the boat cruise and therefore, great caution is always taken right before tourists get on board.

Cost & time of the Murchison Falls Boat Cruise to the bottom of the falls

The cost of the Murchison Falls boat cruise is between $30 – 35$ per person (for international tourists) & from UGX30000 per person (for East African citizens), refreshments are always available on the boat, which cost a very affordable fee. The cruises have a fixed schedule every day that is to say, you are free to choose between a morning or afternoon boat cruise. The morning boat cruise is at 8am while as the afternoon boat cruise is at 2pm.

The Murchison Falls boat cruises start at Paraa & are operated by Uganda Wildlife Authority (cheapest option) the managers of the park, Paraa Safari Lodge and Wildlife Frontiers

How long is the Murchison Falls boat cruise to the bottom of the falls and what do you expect to see along the Nile

The cruise is approximately 2hours or 3hours, all this time you will not know how the time will run so fast because you will be busy lost in the moment of beautiful pictures of Nile crocodiles, Hippos and most common on the shores drinking water, antelopes and at times even elephants. All the while, a tour guide will be explaining away the various animal habits of those that you see, how they feed, their weight, gestation period and so much more. The boat cruise is not only enjoyable but also an informative activity for all age groups. Above all, you will get to interact with other people from different parts of the world who are enjoying the boat cruise like you are and for me that’s the added excitement to this activity, meeting new people and being drawn under a common cause, tourism and more so cramped comfortably in one boat and just being able to share in the passion you both have for nature.

hippos in the nile in murchison falls national park

Another one, of the most interesting things about the boat cruise is the spot along the Victoria Nile where Ernest Hemingway, an American author of the time had two plane crushes with his wife. Having come with an intention of taking pictures of the Murchison falls, their plane crushed and another at their rescue, barely made it for takeoff when it crushed too. It’s an interesting story as the tour guide himself gives it to you in detail, you will be amazed.

The boat takes you closer to the spectacular Murchison falls, here you can get out with the help of the tour guide and take plenty of pictures with the falls in the background. That has got to be the most exciting memory to keep with you for years. Or, you can go on a hike to the top of the Murchison Falls, which is highly recommended as you will get to enjoy the best views of the spectacular waterfalls. However you must communicated with your tour driver who is supposed to pick you from the top of the falls since you do not go back with the boat cruise.

I don’t really know what you have heard or what your past experience was like but, I can assure of this, boat cruises in Murchison falls national park just get more and more interesting with every other new experience!

You can also do the Murchison Falls boat cruise to the Lake Albert Delta point

The most popular and done boat cruise safari in Murchison Falls National Park is the one up the river to the bottom of the Murchison Falls and is often combine with the hike to the top of the Murchison Falls.

However there is another boat cruise that goes the other way down the stream to the delta point where the Nile joins Lake Albert. A slow sail down the calm Nile after raging through the falls, is great for birding and watching several wildlife along the river bank. For bird lovers, the highlight is possibly spotting the Shoebill in the marshes at the Delta.

If you have been to Murchison Falls National Park and done the boat cruise safari to the bottom of the falls, you can opt for the boat cruise to the delta for a different experience.

The Murchison Falls boat cruise to the delta is operated by Wildlife Frontiers departing at 7am.

How to prepare for the Boat Cruises in Murchison Falls National Park

The boat cruises do not require much preparation. You can dress as casual as you wish. Depending on the weather (take note of weather patterns in Uganda) you can put on light clothing or warm clothing.

You may need shades.

If you have sensitive skin you can apply sunscreen.

If you will be going off the boat cruise at the bottom of the falls for the hike to the top of the falls you will need to wear closed shoes, and apply insect repellent as you will encounter tsetse flies.

Trips to Murchison Falls National Park

The boat cruise safari is done as part of a multi day safari in the Murchison Falls National Park. It is a highlight of our safari trips to Murchison Falls National Park;

Birding and nature walk at Mpanga Forest with the Bird Guides Club

On 28th May 2016 the Uganda Bird Guides Club members (me inclusive) set out for the weekly day birding trip, and we went to Mpanga Forest Reserve which is located 36 kilometers southwest of Kampala. This was the second time this year Mpanga Forest was hosting us and I was very eager for this trip as I had missed out on the previous one. This was also my first forest birding outing of the year and was looking to add to my list of forest species which is not so impressive. We set off from Kampala at about 7am and made it to Mpanga in only one hour. The weather was not the best though! It was cloudy and humid so bird activity was likely to be very low in the forest.

birding at mpanga forest

After the briefing of the day’s group of about 18 birders and enthusiasts by Prossy Nanyombi who is the base guide at Mpanga forest and is also a senior member of the Uganda bird guides club and the chairperson of the Uganda Women’s Birders, we set about to look for birds. An African Emerald Cuckoo (male) had been calling, “hello baby”, since we arrived.

African Emeral Cuckoo - my mega zoom (2100) was still not sufficient to capture its beauty!
African Emerald Cuckoo – my mega zoom (2100) was still not sufficient to capture its beauty!

It was perched on a leafless brunch in the top one of the highest rising trees near the edge of the forest. The views were very clear and the bird stayed long enough for all the group members to see its beautiful green and gold colors! We birded in the compound of the visitors’ center, observing the forest edge and spotted a number of birds including: Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher, Brown-backed Scrub-robin, Pied Wagtail, Vielloit’s Black Weaver, Black-and-white Casqued Hornbill, Little Greenbul, Yellow-throated Tinkerbird (heard), Green-throated, Little Green, Copper and Collared Sunbird, Yellow-mantled Weaver, White-breasted and Grey-headed Nigrofinch. A single Weyns’s Weaver showed itself briefly when it flew into forest. Didn’t get clear views! We also observed Purple Starlings flying from the forest. Looking to have exhausted visitors’ area we decided to enter the forest taking the wide trail which runs throughout the forest. As expected, because of the cloudy weather conditions, inside the forest was humid and cool and thus the birds were not out for now. We were only treated to different groups of the Black-and-white Casqued Hornbill calling noisily from different parts of the forest. The Blue-throated Roller displayed briefly from deeper in the canopy.

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The Black-and-white Casqued Hornbill had taken cover too, but their gigantic sizes helped reveal their cover!

I have been to Mpanga Forest a number of times before but this time proved to be the least productive ever! We enjoyed observing other wildlife such the different tree species, butterflies, red-tailed monkeys, and a huge green millipede!!

green millipede
Green millipede

before we opted to move out of and try the open cultivated areas near the forest and managed to spot quite a number of species including: Great Blue Turaco, African Pied Horbill (arriving into the Mpanga forest), Olive-bellied and Red-chested Sunbird, Plain-backed Pipit, Eastern Grey Plantain-eater, Common Bulbul, Crowned hornbill, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Western Citril, Bronze Mannikin, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Diederik Cuckoo, Pygmy Kingfisher, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Lizard Buzzard, African Blue Flycatcher, African Thrush, Angola Swallow.

At about 10.30am we saw a downpour approaching and so abandoned the birding and rushed to the visitor’s center and immediately we got there it started raining heavily, cutting short our birding excursion. Out of the 4 hours of birding we had had hoped for we did only 2 hour. Be we still managed to record about 50 bird species from Mpanga Forest and the cultivations.

We leave Mpanga for the downpour
We leave Mpanga for the downpour

We drove back to Kampala where found it hot, dry and dusty, without any sign of rain! The dry season was about to start in June when it’s most favorable to bird in Mpanga Forest, I think we shall return soon!

Would you like to do a day birding tour to Mpanga Forest? you can contact with organizing it and can even book our 1 day birding tour to Mabamba swamp and Mpanga forest