There are many Murchison Falls safari tracks in Murchison Falls National Park, which visitors can use while on safari game drives or guided nature walks. Murchison Falls is positioned in the northwestern part of Uganda, covering an area of 3,840 sqkm, that’s about 5-6 hours’ drive from Kampala, the capital of Uganda.
The Park is the country’s oldest and largest national park where you can spot the Big 4, leaving out the Rhinos that got extinct by 1983. Good news is that rhinos were re-introduced in nearby Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in 2005.
Murchison Falls National Park is bisected by the renowned River Nile into two parts thus forming the northern and the southern banks. Safari game drives are best done in the northern bank since that’s where you can find a large concentration of wildlife in the savannah plains, whereas the southern bank has a lesser number of antelope herds and few other wild animals.
Safari game drive is one of the most vibrant tourist activities within the park that almost every visitor does once they land in Murchison Falls National Park. Several Murchison Falls safari tracks are used while on a safari game drive, including Buligi game track, Victoria track, Albert track, and honeymoon track on the southern bank. Taking each of these tracks while on a safari game drive gives you a totally different experience because each of them is endowed with various ecosystems.
Northern Bank Murchison Falls Safari Tracks
Majority of the safaris are done on the northern side of Murchison Falls, where most of the animals are found. Safari tracks on this side include, Buligi track, Pakuba track, Queen’s track, Te’bito track, Chobe track, Victoria track and Albert track.
Buligi game track
The Buligi game track which is 7km north of Paraa Safari Lodge is known among the major game viewing safari tracks in Uganda. This area offers the most amazing and incredible game drive experiences in Murchison Falls, stretching over 160 km.
Buligi game track passes through different types of vegetation including savannah grasslands, acacia, riverine and woodland vegetation. The circuit takes one to the confluence of the Albert and Victoria Niles.
Buligi track is simply one of the finest of all the game tracks in Murchison Falls National Park, being widely dominated by acacia – which are greatly fed on by giraffes.
Chobe track runs for about 67 km and links Te’bito track junction and Karuma Falls, pasing via Chobe Safari Lodge. The track was mainly formed to link Chobe and Karuma Falls, because of a variety of wildlife that can be spotted on a drive along.
Victoria track runs between the Queen’s track and Buligi game tack, leading to and from the delta side. The track is roughly 17 km in length with a number of wildlife can also be spotted in this area.
Victoria track runs a circuit within the park, making it ideal for a round trip, interconnecting with other tracks. Many Rothschild’s giraffes and lions can easily be spotted along this track.
Queen’s game track
Queen’s track is short in length, because it is roughly 13 km long. It links up the Victoria track to the Albert track, making it very easy to interconnect the two tracks. However, a variety of wild animals and bird species can be sighted while on a game safari drive along the track.
Albert track, this is one of the amazing tracks that run parallel to the albert nile which gives you great chance to spot a number of animals that have come to drink water. This also give you the hence to view the neighboring country thus Congo from a distance. The track connects to Buligi track and Pakuba track and it is 11 km in length.
The Pakuba track runs 17 km parallel to the Albert nile, connecting the Buligi game track to Tangi gate. This track is ideal for those who might have had their accommodation booked outside the park because it can help them link into or out of the park, after or before a safari game drive. However, numerous animals and birds can be spotted along this track as one starts or ends his safari game drive. The track also leads you to the old Pakuba Safari Lodge which is known for sitting lions and leopards.
T’ebito track is located near and is the track that leads to the top of Murchison Falls. The track is usually used for pickup or drop-off of visitors coming to or from the top of the falls after or before the boat cruise. The track can connect to Chobe track or Wankar gate, with a number of wild animals that can be spotted on the side of this track.
Southern Bank Murchison Falls Safari Tracks
On the southern bank is a new track – the Honeymoon track, which was opened to boost the drive of the 15 giraffes that were translocated from the northern bank to this area in January 2016. The track is about 22 km in length, but lions are the only cats that can be found in the southern bank of Murchison Falls.
Besides, more new tracks are being constructed in different areas since the number of animals on the southern side are on an increase.
In Uganda, there are other national parks where visitors can spare time to check on amazing wildlife safari experiences. These include Queen Elizabeth National Park in western Uganda, which is famous for the tree-climbing lions and Kidepo Valley National Park which is far north-east, on Uganda-Sudan border. Don’t miss the authentic amazing gorilla trekking safaris in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park..