Murchison Falls National Park is Uganda’s largest protected area, and it is home to dense populations of lion, hippo, buffalo, elephant, Rothschild’s giraffe, Uganda Kob, and patas monkey, as well as leopard, chimpanzee, civet, hyena, and crocodile.

The source of the Falls is the Nile River, which follows from the rapids of the Karuma Falls in the east, and bursts out here through a narrow cleft in the Rift Valley escarpment. In the southeast part of the park, the Rabongo Forest houses several chimpanzee and other rainforest creatures. The waterbirds of this area are especially spectacular, including the wild population of the rare shoebill stork.