Murchison Falls National
Park is Uganda's largest National Park. It covers 3 840 sq kms of hills,
rainforest and savannah in the northwest of Uganda. The park is cut
in half by the River Nile as it flows towards Lake Albert, where it
has to squeeze itself through the famous Murchison Falls. This is an impossibly
narrow 7 metre gap in a cleft of rock and creates a powerful explosion
of white water into the deservedly named 'Boiling Pot' 40 metres below.
The thunderous force of the water is so intense that the rock actually
shakes. The falls are said to be the most powerful natural flow
of water anywhere on earth. The Nile gains momentum above the falls
thanks to the 23 kilometre Karuma Rapids before corkscrewing through
the Murchison Falls. It then widens and becomes placid again
with banks thronged with hippos, crocs, waterbuck and buffalo.
There’s a path from the top of Murchison Falls to the bottom
where you can experience the deafening roar and view the foaming waters.
If you are up for it, there’s a small eddy at the top where
you can swim. But the best way to see the falls is from the river
- a three-hour boat trip departs from park headquarters at Paraa going
upstream to the foot of the falls. You may catch a glimpse of a Nile
perch being spat out by the falls. These huge fish (50-100
kg) are strong enough to withstand the pressure of being forced through
the plunging water.
Some of Africa’s largest crocodiles are found at the base of
Murchison Falls. They grow to up to 4½ metres in length, thanks
to the ever-present menu of Nile Perch. The game viewing from the river
is superb, and the boat is steered from shore to shore through hippo
pods and past sandbanks where huge and contented crocodiles
bask in the sun.
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