Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls, which National park is better for a safari?

Queen Elizabeth National Park and Murchison Falls National Park are the most popular and frequently visited national parks in Uganda. The national parks offer exceptional opportunities for tourists to witness the different wildlife species in their natural habitat. Both national parks offer different safari activities that include game drives, bird watching, boat rides, and cultural trips and guided game drives.

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We are going to make an effort in this article to aid you in deciding where to go and which of the two national parks best suits you. However, you should note that both national parks should ideally be visited to be able to make the right decision. Below are comparisons that will enlighten you about Queen Elizabeth National Park and Murchison Falls National Park.

Activities: Queen Elizabeth VS Murchison

Boat cruises:

Murchison Falls National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park offer boat cruises as an extra safari activity offering a unique way of spotting the different wildlife in both National Parks. The boat cruises in Murchison Falls National Park are done along the River Nile and Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The boat rides give you a chance to spot the different animal species along the river banks.

The boat ride in Murchison along the Nile takes about 3 hours spotting a wide range of animals but the biggest highlight about the boat ride is the ride towards the bottom of the biggest Murchison waterfalls. You can also join the waterfall ride with a hike up the waterfalls to top your safari.

The Kazinga channel boat ride in Queen Elizabeth National Park is a bit shorter and takes about 2 hours. The Kazinga channel separates Lake George and Lake Edward and some of the animals that you get to see while on the boat ride include crocodiles, hippos, buffaloes, elephants, antelopes and several bird species.

Game drives:

Game drives are the main activity that is carried out in both Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Park. Game drives in Murchsion Falls National Park are believed to be a better experience as compared to Queen Elizabeth and this is because Murchsion has longer game drive tracks and the drives last about 4 hours. You will also most likely be able to spot more animals on your game drive, especially during the morning drive. Note that Murchison Falls National Park is divided into two parts which are the north and south parts divided by the Nile River. The northern section has the largest concentration of wildlife because of the large quantities of savannah grasslands in the area and this is the main reason why most of the game drives are carried out in the northern part of the park.

Game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park are carried out in the Kasenyi plains and these last about 3 hours as compared to the 4 hours in Murchison. The drive tracks within the national park are still limited otherwise the park is rich in wildlife.

Some of the wildlife that is found in Murchison National Park include

The Nubian giraffes which are formerly known as the Rothschild’s giraffe and are not found in Queen Elizabeth

Elephants are found in both national parks however Queen Elizabeth has bigger elephant herds

Queen Elizabeth National Park has more hyenas as compared to Murchison Falls National Park.

The chances of seeing lions in both national parks are the same however Queen Elizabeth National Park is more famous for the climbing lions that are found in the Ishasha sector.

Chimpanzee trekking:

Chimp tracking is one of the top safari activities that are carried out in the country. Queen Elizabeth National Park and Murchison Falls National Park are some of the chimp tracking destinations in Uganda with habituated chimp families ready for tracking.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to a small population of habituated chimpanzees that are only found and tracked in the Kyambura Gorge. Spotting chimps in Kyambura Gorge is not guaranteed but the trek through the gorge is a chance to spot other wildlife like monkeys and bird species. In case you want to extend your chimpanzee trekking experience while visiting Queen Elizabeth, you can also extend the safari to Kalinzu forest which is close to the park as it is the second best chimpanzee trekking destination in Uganda.

Chimpanzee trekking in Murchison Falls National Park is carried out in Budongo forest and Kaniyo Pabidi and each of these has a small population of habituated gorilla families. About 100 chimpanzees are found in Kaniyo Pabidi though not all are habituated and Murchsion offers a better chance at tracking chimpanzees as compared to Queen Elizabeth. Chimpanzee habituation is also offered in Budongo forest and this is the process where trekkers get a chance to spend more time with chimpanzees that are still undergoing the habituation process.

The best time to go for chimpanzee trekking in Queen Elizabeth National Park and Murchison Falls National Park is during the dry season.

Bird watching:

Murchison Falls National Park is one of the national parks where you can go for bird watching in Uganda. The national park is home to over 350 bird species which can be spotted during a guided nature walk or game drive. The bird species in Murchison include migratory and endemic bird species and some of these include the yellow-footed flycatcher, African pied wagtail, Guinea Congo, Fork-tailed Drongo, Pygmy Woodpecker, Olive breasted Greenbul, Black and white casqued hornbill, yellow browed carmaroptera, forest robin, yellow spotted barbet, blue-throated roller, Ituri Batis and white spotted fluff tail among others. The best time to go for bird watching is during the rainy season however it can be carried out all year round.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is the best birding destination in Uganda with the highest number of bird species: 612 bird species including migratory and endemic birds. Birding in QENP is carried out in different sections which include the Katwe area where bird species like greater and lesser flamingos, sculpture-breasted bush shrike, white-breasted nigro-finch, black bishop and marsh Tchagra can be spotted, the Maragambo forest where you get to spot bird species including the African mustached warbler, brown Illadopsis, African finfoot, red-throated wryneck, blue shouldered Robin-chat and African Emerald Cuckoo among others.

Other sectors in Queen Elizabeth National Park where birding takes place include the Mweya Peninsular, Lake Kikorongo Area, Katuguru Bridge, Ishasha sector and Kasenyi Area. The best time to go for bird watching is from March to May and October to November.

Extra activities:

Murchison Falls National Park has a lot more to offer when it comes to safari activities and these include a trip to the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary where you can engage in rhino tracking, tick off spotting the big five, trek to the top of the Murchison water falls, bird watching, sport fishing and many more others.

Queen Elizabeth National on the other hand is a good safari destination for community activities, hiking, bird watching, and game drives.

The Scenery: Queen Elizabeth VS Murchison

Although Murchison Falls National Park has more wildlife species, Queen Elizabeth National Park has a wide and unrivalled scenery as compared to Murchison. The location of Queen Elizabeth National Park along the edge of the Albertine Rift Valley provides a wonderful backdrop to the national park with breathtaking landscapes, valleys and rolling hills that have different crater lakes. If you are looking at having an adventure past game drives and wildlife viewing, Queen Elizabeth National Park should be your preferred safari destination. Murchison Falls National Park also has beautiful scenery which includes the Nile River, the magnificent Murchison Falls and the unending plains.

Accommodation:

Murchison Falls National Park has several accommodation facilities that are categorized into three: basic, mid-range and luxury accommodation facilities. Some of the accommodation facilities that can be used in Murchison include Chobe Safari Lodge, Heritage Lodge, Murchison River Lodge, Pakuba Safari Lodge, Hornbill Lodge, Nile Safari Lodge, Bwana Tembo Safari Lodge and Fort Murchison Lodge among others.

Queen Elizabeth National Park has different accommodation facilities that you can use and these include Kazinga Wilderness Safari Camp, Aardvark Safari Lodge, Eshama Game lodge and Campsite, Topi Lodge, Little Elephant Lodge, Wild tracks Overland camp, Twin Lakes Safari lodge, Lake Munyanyange Cave Resort, Bush Camp, Marafiki Safari Lodge, Savannah Resort Hotel, Ishasha Jungle Lodge, Aramaga Rift Valley Lodge, and Irungi Forest safari Lodge among others.

Accessibility: Murchison VS Queen Elizabeth

Murchison Falls National Park is about 307 kilometres from Kampala or Entebbe and it will take you about 4 hours to get there. You can either fly or drive to the national park depending on your budget. Tourists can decide to fly from Kajjansi Airstrip or Entebbe International Airport to Bugungu Airstrip in the southern part of Murchison or Pakuba Airstrip in the northern sector. The flight to the two airstrips does not take more than two hours and each takes a minimum of 4 people. The flights have to be booked in advance for proper planning. Driving is the most used mode of transport and offers beautiful scenery.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is at least an 8 hours’ drive from Kampala using the Mbarara highway. In most cases, many tourists plan to have stopovers along the way instead of driving straight to Queen Elizabeth National Park and some of the spots include Kibale National Park.  You can also fly from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airstrip to Airstrips near the park and these include Mweya, Ishasha and Kasese. The flight will take about an hour and a half and has to be booked in advance.

Facts about Murchison Falls National Park

Murchison Falls National Park was gazetted off in 1952 and is the first and largest national park in the country.

• The national park is about 306 kilometres from Kampala
• Murchison was named after the majestic falls and it takes about 5-6 hours from Kampala or Entebbe
• The Greater Murchison Falls are to die for and a must-visit for every tourist
• The national park is home to two majestic forests which are the Kaniyo Pabidi forest and the Budongo forest.
• Murchison is also famous for the filming of the African Queen movie. Y Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn.
• The oldest hotel in Uganda is just 20 minutes away from the national park in Masindi town.
• The baboons are welcome for the guests visiting the national park.

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth is home to over 600 bird species, 10,000 buffaloes, 2500 elephants and 5000 hippos. The climbing lions in the Ishasha sector live in a pride and are headed by one male lion and these can be seen lazing around the trees. No one knows the real reason as to why there are climbing lions but according to research, the lions climb the trees to easily capture their prey without being seen and they also are believed to stay up in the trees as a way of resting after hunting.

Other animals that can be spotted in Queen Elizabeth National Park include crocodiles, hippos, antelopes, Serval cats, leopards, 10 primate species including chimpanzees that are found in the Kyambura Gorge

The big cats can be seen in the Mweya Peninsula but the best section to spot the big cats but the best section is in the Ishasha sector.

Facts about Queen Elizabeth National Park

• The park was opened in 1952
• QENP is sitting on over 2978 square kilometres of land
• It is home to the tree-climbing lions that are allocated in the Ishasha sector of the national park.
• QENP is a 380km drive from Kampala using the Masaka-Mbarara highway.
• It is home to the Kazinga channel that separates Lake Edwards and Lake George and is the best to use for wildlife viewing.
• Queen Elizabeth National Park is also home to chimpanzees which are found in the Kyambura Gorge and can be tracked all year round.
• Tourists also get a chance to cross the equator line when they visit QENP

Conclusion

The best choice ultimately depends on your personal preferences and the different activities that you wish to carry out on your safari in Uganda. Note that both National Parks have a lot to offer and have beautiful ecosystems that support the different wildlife species to enable you to have a memorable stay within both parks depending on your choice.

We hope that after reading through the above, you have an idea of what to expect when you visit either park. The best way to find out the best destination is by visiting the parks individually and evaluating them. We also believe that a trip to both Queen Elizabeth and Murchison enhances your safari experience.

Contact us for more information on where to go for your next safari in Uganda.