There are two Murchison Falls sections in Murchison Falls National Park which is divided by the Nile River. These are the northern and southern sections.
Southern section
The southern section was greatly poached down in 1980’s during Idi Amin’s regime and this led to great reduction in animal population. Currently, due to conservation efforts made by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and support from the government and other organizations, with efforts to conserve the biodiversity, the animal population has greatly increased.
There is a great remarkable increase in the animal population which led to the introduction of new safari tracks in the southern section, that stretches over 20km, called the Honeymoon track.
A variety of wildlife can be observed in the southern section such as the cape buffaloes, elephants, Jackson’s heartbeats, Ugandan kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks and a variety of bird species. The only cat in the southern section are the lions.
Northern section – Murchison Falls Sections
The northern section was not greatly affected by poaching and human population because of the presence of the Nile, which acted as a great barrier to poachers. Crossing over was difficult because there were no good transport means. As a result, this led to high presence of animal population in the northern side compared to the southern side.
So, most safari game drives are done in the northern side of the park where you can spot cats like the lions, leopards, and jackals. A variety of bird species and other Murchison Falls mammals such as elephants, buffaloes, bushbucks, dik-dik, giraffes, hartebeests and much more, can also be spotted.
Presence of variety of wildlife in the northern side also to creation of many safari tracks in the northern section which are used for game drives. Some of these tracks include, Chobe, Bugungu, and Delta track among others.
Currently, to access both sides of the park from either side, there is a ferry service that operates from 7:00am to 7:00pm, to help passengers access both sides of the park.
The 1951 film “The African Queen“ starring Humphrey Bogart was filmed on Lake Albert and the Nile in Murchison Falls National Park.
The northern section of the park contains savanna and Borassus palms, acacia trees and riverine woodland. The south is dominated by woodland and forest patches.