3 Days Murchison Falls Night Game Drive Safari

Most of the park’s predators and many of its more interesting smaller animals are nocturnal, and Murchison is one of the very few places in Uganda where a guided after-dark game drive is offered. Using a red-filtered spotlight and accompanied by an armed ranger, you look for the animals the day drives simply miss – leopard on the move, spotted hyena, side-striped jackal, white-tailed mongoose, African civet, large-spotted genet, bat-eared and pale foxes, and the bright eyeshine of bushbabies in the acacia. This itinerary keeps the falls, the launch cruise and a daytime drive, and adds the night drive on your first evening so you see the same country by day and by night.

Kampala to Murchison Falls, and the night drive

You drive north from Kampala with a mid-morning rhino-tracking stop at Ziwa, then continue into the park and check in near Paraa. After an early dinner you set out with a ranger for a two- to three-hour night drive on the northern tracks, the spotlight sweeping the grassland, the palm groves and the riverine strips. The atmosphere is completely different from the daytime – the temperature drops, the insects come up, nightjars flush off the track, and every pair of eyes in the beam is a small mystery until the guide names it. Leopard sightings here are far more likely at night than by day. Overnight near Paraa.

Daytime game drive and the launch cruise

A dawn game drive on the Buligi loop to compare the same ground by day – lions often still active in the first light, elephant and buffalo herds heading to the river, giraffe and antelope on the open grass. Back to the lodge for a late breakfast and a rest, then the afternoon launch cruise upstream past hippo and crocodile to the base of the falls. Overnight near Paraa.

The top of the falls and the drive home

The hike to the top of the falls after breakfast, then the drive south to Kampala or Entebbe with a lunch stop in Masindi.

The experiences on this safari

A daytime game drive on the northern tracks, a guided night drive with a spotlight and a ranger, the Victoria Nile launch cruise to the base of the falls, and the hike to the top.

Getting there and travel times

Murchison Falls is a five to six hour drive north of Kampala or Entebbe on good roads, and almost every trip breaks the journey with rhino tracking at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, roughly halfway. If you would rather not drive, scheduled and charter light aircraft reach the Pakuba and Bugungu airstrips inside the park in about an hour from Entebbe, and a fly-in works well for a short trip or as one leg of a longer route. We confirm all transfers, ferry timings and internal flights before you travel.

Where you stay

This itinerary runs at budget, mid-range or luxury lodge level and the price changes with your choice, not the wildlife. Budget trips use simple government rooms or value tented camps; mid-range uses comfortable lodges with pools, en-suite rooms and river or plains views; luxury uses the small lodges built out over the Nile, with better guiding ratios and the option to fly. Staying inside the northern sector puts you on the game tracks within minutes; the quieter south bank suits trips built around the top-of-the-falls hike and Budongo Forest. See our Murchison Falls accommodation guide for the properties we book most often, and tell us which matters more to you – the view, the food, the price – and we will match the lodge to it.

What it costs, as a guide

Because every trip is private and tailored there is no fixed price, but as a rough guide a mid-range-level version of this itinerary works out at around US$800 to US$1,150 per person, based on two people sharing and covering your private 4×4, fuel, driver-guide, all park entry fees, full-board accommodation and the activities in the plan. Solo travellers and very small groups pay more per head; four or more sharing pay less. Rates move with the season, so the figure in your quote is the real one, confirmed for your exact dates. The prices shown here are indicative and for planning only – always ask us for a firm quote.

What’s included

• A guided night game drive with a park ranger and a filtered spotlight (Murchison is one of the few Ugandan parks where this is permitted)
• A private 4×4 safari vehicle with a pop-up roof for photography, all fuel, and an experienced English-speaking Ugandan driver-guide who stays with you for the whole trip
• All national park and reserve entry fees for the days shown in the itinerary
• Every activity named in the day-by-day plan above – game drives, boat cruises, guided walks and any tracking permits listed
• Accommodation on a full-board basis: breakfast, lunch and dinner each day, plus a packed breakfast or lunch box whenever an early start means you miss a meal at the lodge
• Bottled drinking water in the vehicle throughout, all current government taxes, and our full planning, booking and 24-hour support service

What’s not included

• International flights to and from Entebbe, and the Uganda entry visa (easy to obtain online in advance)
• Comprehensive travel and medical insurance, which is a condition of booking
• Drinks with meals, and tips for your guide and the lodge staff
• Laundry, phone calls, curios and other items of a personal nature
• Optional extras not named in the itinerary, such as a hot air balloon flight, a nature walk, sport fishing, or additional trekking permits
• Anything arising from circumstances beyond our control, such as flight schedule changes, road closures or weather

Good to know before you travel

The park is rewarding all year. June to September and December to February are driest, with the firmest tracks and the most predictable game viewing; March to May and October to November are greener and quieter, with the best birding and lower lodge rates, in exchange for short heavy afternoon showers. Pack neutral-coloured layers for cool mornings and hot afternoons, a wide-brimmed hat and high-factor sunscreen, binoculars, a good insect repellent, a light rain jacket and a dry bag for boat trips. A yellow-fever certificate is required to enter Uganda, and malaria prophylaxis is strongly recommended for the whole country. The top-of-the-falls hike takes about 45 minutes on a steep path and needs closed shoes and reasonable fitness – it can always be skipped. Game drives and boat cruises have no minimum age. Uganda is a stable, welcoming country to travel in, and your guide carries a first-aid kit and stays in radio and phone contact throughout.

Request a quote for this safari

Every trip is private and built around your dates, your group and how you like to travel, so there is no fixed price and no set departure to fit around. Send us your rough dates and the lodge level you have in mind and a planner who has driven these tracks will reply within 24 hours with a tailored day-by-day itinerary and a clear, itemised quote – no deposit and no obligation to enquire. Read our full guide to Murchison Falls National Park for background on the wildlife and the falls, browse the rest of our Murchison Falls safaris, or get in touch now.