Murchison Falls National Park History

Murchison Falls is not only the largest National Park of Uganda but also the oldest. The history of the park goes back to 1907 when the inhabitants of an area of about 13,000 km² were evacuated due to sleeping sickness spread by tsetse flies.

In 1910, the Bunyoro Game Reserve was created south of the River Nile. In 1928, the boundaries were extended north of the river into the modern-day Nwoya District.

In 1952, the British administration established the National Parks Act of Uganda. The area described above became Murchison Falls National Park.

Explorers John Speke and James Grant were the first Europeans to visit Murchison Falls Conservation Area in 1862. It was more thoroughly explored by Samuel and Florence Baker in 1863–4. Baker named the falls Murchison Falls after the geologist Roderick Murchison, then the president of the Royal Geographical Society.

However, the original name of Murchison Falls is “Pajok” a Luo word meaning the “place of spirits.” It is a place where sacrifices were offered to the gods of rain, wars, and to protect people from sickness.