Murchison falls national park best time to visit

Murchison falls national park best time to visit : Murchison Falls National Park is a special Uganda wildlife safari destination loved by many travelers from all over the world, this beautiful park is loved because of the magnificent Murchison Falls, abundant wildlife and spectacular landscape dominated by varied habitants (vegetation types).

Murchison Falls National Park is the largest national park in Uganda located in the west of the country, the park lies within the East African Rift and shares a border with Lake Albert.

Murchison Falls national park offers the most exciting game drives, covering an area of 3,893 square kilometers, the Victoria Nile through the middle of the park bisecting it into two. Victoria Nile empties into Lake Albert creating a delta and also the river hurtles over Murchison Falls creating the greatest natural water force on earth.

Murchison Falls National park is a true gem with a perfect mixture of rivers, great savannah woodlands, grasslands, plains and forest which makes it an ideal place to visit if your purposes is to appreciate nature and biodiversity.

The most asked question by tourists planning a safari to Murchison Falls National Park is “when is the best time to visit Murchison Falls national park”, to provide an answer to this question, the focus is more on the different seasons in Murchison Falls National Park and Uganda at large.

Uganda as a country is located within the equatorial region and is blessed with a relatively stable climate throughout the year, this implies that Uganda and Murchison Falls National Park as well can be visited all year-round.

Like most countries situated within the equator, Uganda has two rainy seasons and two dry seasons. The wet and dry seasons dictate events within Murchison Falls National Park leading to what to do, in the Uganda Tourism Industry the seasons are referred to as the low and high/peak seasons respectively.

In this article, we are going to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each season in order to come up with a firm recommendation for the best time to visit Murchison Falls National Park.

HIGH/PEAK SEASON

This season falls between the dry months of December to February and June to September, this is the time most tourists flock to Uganda and Murchison Falls National Park in particular.

In this season, the prices for accommodations are hiked because of the high demand, more popular and luxury lodges are fully booked in this season and travelers may have to reserve their accommodations months before their safari or opt for less known lodges. The dry season is also the time when mosquitoes are most activie and back into buildings after breeding in the bushes during the rainy season.

There are many advantages of visit Murchison Falls National Park during the dry season as below

The vegetation in and around the park is not to overgrown hence allowing tourists to spot animals from a far , tour vans can go anywhere in the park using any of the roads.
During the dry seasons, animals face difficulty finding water and will gather at specific water points making it easier to spot them in one place on the remaining watering holes
In this season, it is easier to spot elusive animals in Murchison Falls National Park including lions
It is a perfect season to take wildlife photos and watch predators like lions making a kill in the open savannah
Mosquitoes are few in this season and the chances of getting Malaria are significantly reduced.

Low Season

This season coincides with the rainy seasons of March to May and October to November, during the low season in Uganda and Murchison Falls National Park as well, the rains can go on for most of the day making the park’s roads muddy, slippery and sometimes impassable even for the best 4×4 vehicles.

There is overgrown vegetation in the park which makes it difficult to access and spot animals which take shelter during the wet season unlike in the dry season where they can be seen looking for good pasture and water thus affecting the quality of gam drives.

Expect to drive through the mud filled routes and dense vegetation, in return this makes the experience more adventurous and even refreshing.

The advantage of visiting Murchison Falls National Park in the low season are as follows

There are few clients/travelers so the prices of accommodation facilities are reduced.
There are fewer tourist in the park which allows visitors time to really reflect and enjoy themselves in a park with less crowd.
If you are afraid of the heat or wish to see the animals in the park in perfect green with a lot of beautiful plants, trees, flowers and newly born babies then the low season is the perfect time to visit.
In the rainy season, the Nile River increases in volume leading to higher pressure as it passes through the narrow gorge that forms Murchison Falls. The falls becomes more intense and breathing
The rainy season is a breeding season for birders, food is in plenty which causes a lot of bird activity and sounds everywhere. Also migratory birds gather in the park more especially along the river Nile during this period.

Our recommendation

Putting the advantages and disadvantages of each season in consideration, the best time to visit Murchison Falls National park is just after the rains have started and after it has ended which is in early March, late May and late November.

During these months, the park still green, the rains are not as intense and temperatures still low. There is a lot of activity among the park animals as they prepare for the changing seasons.

Note

The dry season particularly December and February are the best months to visit the park to spot the game, the late dry season of January, February and August is hot and dusty with a lot of heat making it difficult to bear during certain times of the day. The quality of game drive in Murchison Falls is excellent around this time.