Murchison Falls or Queen Elizabeth?
The two parks side by side on what you will see, what you can do, what it costs, how you get there and the health picture, with the facts behind every rating.
Our verdict
Murchison Falls is the stronger park for classic big-mammal viewing; Queen Elizabeth offers more variety in one place. Pick Murchison Falls for a shorter drive, 305 km and 4 to 5 hours from Kampala on tar, about 2,250 Nubian giraffe, Uganda's best lion odds and a launch to the foot of the falls. Pick Queen Elizabeth for Uganda's largest elephant population, the country's longest bird list at over 600 species, chimpanzees in Kyambura Gorge, the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha and the Kazinga Channel cruise. A standard day of park fees runs about $48 there against $60 at Murchison, though Queen Elizabeth is 410 km and, on the park authority's own estimate, 7 to 8 hours from Kampala. Neither park has zebra, and neither closes. The two are 440 km apart by road and combine comfortably on one trip through Fort Portal and Kibale.
Best for big game Murchison FallsBest for birding Queen ElizabethBest for walking Murchison FallsBest for on the water Murchison FallsBest for self-drive Murchison FallsBest for low budget Murchison FallsBest for families Murchison FallsBest for a first safari Murchison FallsBest for wilderness Murchison Falls
Tap a row label to see the reasoning behind a rating.
| Compare | Murchison Falls3,840 km² | Queen Elizabeth1,978 km² |
|---|---|---|
| 4Late Dec to Feb | 3No dry season | |
4bestLate Dec to Feb; second window June to SeptemberNubian giraffe: About 2,250; Lions: 240 (2022 survey); Leopard density: 14.1 per 100 km² | 3No dry season; drier windows Jun to Jul and Dec to FebHippos: About 6,950; Elephants: 4,711 ± 1,106 (2018 survey); Lions, park-wide: 93 or under 40 | |
| Elephant | Likely | Likely |
| Lion | Likely | Fair chance |
| Leopard | Rare | Rare |
| Buffalo | Guaranteed | Guaranteed |
| Wild dog | Absent | Absent |
| Cheetah | Absent | Absent |
| Hippo | Guaranteed | Guaranteed |
| Giraffe | Guaranteed | Absent |
4450 speciesAbout 450 bird species listed on the wildlife page. | 5best600 speciesAbout 600 bird species listed on the wildlife page. | |
| 5Water | 4Water | |
3A ranger-escorted hike to the Top of the Falls at $15, birding and nature walks at $25, and chimpanzee tracking at Kaniyo Pabidi from age 12. | 3Birding and nature walks at $25, chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge at $100 from age 12, and mongoose tracking on Mweya at $30. | |
3Night drives cost $40 per person with a UWA guide and are sold only to guests sleeping inside the park; night nature walks cost $50. | 3Night drives cost $30 per person with a compulsory UWA guide and are sold only to visitors sleeping inside the park; night nature walks cost $50. | |
5bestThe launch to the foot of the falls at $30 and the delta cruise for shoebill leave the same jetty, and sport fishing below the falls targets Nile perch. | 4The two-hour Kazinga Channel cruise from Mweya at $30 is the signature, with sport-fishing permits sold separately. | |
4bestSelf-driving is allowed and reasonably common: 305 km of tar from Kampala in 4 to 5 h, a bridge at Paraa and $10 a vehicle for a self-guided drive, with a 4x4 for the game tracks. | 3A self-guided drive is $10 a vehicle and Mweya is 8 km from tar, but Kampala is 410 km and 7 to 8 h away and the murram to Ishasha needs a 4x4. | |
| $8cheapest bed | $10cheapest bed | |
$45International adult per day ({'name': 'UWA Conservation Tariff, July 2024 to June 2026 (official PDF)', 'url': 'https://ugandawildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/UWA-Conservation-Tariff-July-2024-June-2026.pdf'}, 2026-08-17). | $40bestInternational adult per day ({'name': 'UWA Conservation Tariff July 2024 to June 2026 (official PDF)', 'url': 'https://ugandawildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/UWA-Conservation-Tariff-July-2024-June-2026.pdf'}, 2026-09-18). | |
$8bestLowest listed rate per person per night across 20 places; 6 are budget tier. | $10Lowest listed rate per person per night across 42 places; 17 are budget tier. | |
$60bestMedian of 9 priced places; top end $780. | $120Median of 23 priced places; top end $990. | |
4Cheapest listed bed $8, 6 of 20 places in the budget tier, park fee $45 a day. | 4Cheapest listed bed $10, 17 of 42 places in the budget tier, park fee $40 a day. | |
| $1,470mid-range | $1,080mid-range | |
$870Budget one: self-drive camping, the trip most people take | $660bestBudget one: self-drive camping, the trip most people take | |
$1,470Budget two: a mid-range lodge stay at Murchison River Lodge | $1,080bestBudget two: a lodge inside the park, with the chimpanzees added | |
$5,070Budget three: fly-in and top-end | $2,400bestBudget three: fly-in and top-end in Ishasha | |
| Entebbe, about 1 h by Aerolinknearest airport | Kasese airstrip (Aerolink from En…nearest airport | |
Entebbe, about 1 h by Aerolink; Kampala 305 km, 4 to 5 h by roadFrom the getting-there and flights pages. | Kasese airstrip (Aerolink from Entebbe), then 1.5 to 2 h to MweyaFrom the getting-there and flights pages. | |
Needed for the game tracksFrom the getting-there page. | Advised for Ishasha; 2WD to Mweya in the dry seasonFrom the getting-there page. | |
| Late Dec to Febpeak game viewing | No dry seasonpeak game viewing | |
Late Dec to Feb; second window June to SeptemberFrom the best-time page. | No dry season; drier windows Jun to Jul and Dec to FebFrom the best-time page. | |
Open all year; no scheduled flights Mar, Apr, May, NovFrom the best-time page. | Open all year; one flight a day in Mar, Apr, May and NovFrom the best-time page. | |
| High, all year (NaTHNaC)malaria | High, all year (NaTHNaC)malaria | |
High, all year (NaTHNaC)From the health page. | High, all year (NaTHNaC)From the health page. | |
PresentDocumented and current on the Nile corridor, with government control and tsetse traps visible in the park; still rare in visitors. | Not publishedNo published park-specific record of tsetse density or sleeping sickness; the guide advises dressing for the fly anyway. | |
February, 33.9°C mean daily maxMean daily maximum of the hottest month, from the health page. | February, 29.4°C mean daily maxMean daily maximum of the hottest month, from the health page. | |
Masindi General, district-level; real backstop KampalaFrom the health page. | Kilembe Mines Hospital, Kasese, about 60 km from MweyaFrom the health page. | |
| 4First safari | 3First safari | |
3Murchison River Lodge has a pool, childcare and published child rates and Pakuba a family room, but malaria is high all year, tsetse is documented on the Nile corridor and serious care means Kampala. | 3Many lodges publish child policies and family cottages, Engiri and Katara among them, but malaria is high all year, the guide says to stay out of all fresh water and Kampala is 7 to 8 h away. | |
4bestGiraffe, hippo, crocodile and buffalo are guaranteed and lion and elephant likely, 4 to 5 h on tar from Kampala or about 1 h by Aerolink from Entebbe. | 3Hippo, buffalo and Uganda kob are guaranteed and elephant likely, but lion is only a chance and Ishasha needs its own night, half a day's drive from Mweya. | |
3bestUganda's busiest park, where 38 per cent of recorded visitors are in transit on the public road; January to March brings the fewest vehicles on the Buligi tracks. | 2A public highway runs through the park, eleven fishing villages sit in and against it, and the guide lists 42 places to stay. |
Compare all of Uganda's parks on the comparison page. Queen Elizabeth has its own guide at visitqueenelizabeth.com.
How the ratings work
- Big game is calculated from each park's sightings table on its wildlife page: guaranteed counts 3, likely 2, a fair chance 1, rare 0.5 and absent 0, across elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, wild dog, cheetah, hippo and giraffe, scaled so that 16 points is 5 out of 5. We do not rate or locate rhino anywhere in this guide network.
- Birding follows the species count on the wildlife page. Low-budget safari follows the cheapest listed bed, the share of budget places and the daily park fee.
- Walking, night drives, water, self-drive, families, first safari and wilderness are our ratings, whole numbers from 1 to 5. Press "Why?" on any row to read the facts each one rests on, with the page they come from. Where a rule is not published we say so rather than guess.
- Prices are per person per night in US dollars as listed on the lodges pages, before park fees; the three-night totals come from each park's costs page and use the dated rates there. Fees are the international adult rate per day.