Murchison Falls National Park lies at the northern end of the Albertine Rift Valley, where the sweeping Bunyoro escarpment tumbles into vast, palm-dotted savannah.  First gazetted as a game reserve in 1926, it is Uganda's largest and oldest conservation area, hosting 76 species of mammals and 451 species of birds.

The park is bisected by the Victoria Nile, which plunges 45 metres over the remnant rift valley wall, creating the dramatic Murchison Falls, the centrepiece of the park and the final event in an 80 metre stretch of rapids.  The mighty cascade drains the last of the river's energy, transforming it into a broad, placid stream that flows quietly across the rift valley floor into Lake Albert.  This stretch of river provides one of Uganda's most remarkable wildlife spectacles.  Regular visitors to the riverbanks include elephants, giraffes and buffaloes while hippos, Nile crocodiles and aquatic birds are permanent residents.