After 30 year of shutting down, the Uganda wildlife authority is set to charged to open up the northern gateway into Murchison falls national park. Since 1970 because of insecurity, Wangkwar and Chobe gates have been closed because of anarchy.
After the 27th of September as UWA will be celebrating its World Tourism Day, it will also declare the 7th of October a celebration day as it is when these gates of this biggest park in Uganda will be re-opened.
In a speech, excited UWA’s director for tourism, business development and planning Mr. Damian Akankwasa, was quoted saying “Although tourists mostly used these routes to enter the national park during the 1960s and the 1970s, these became inaccessible during the 1980s and have remained so until a few months ago,”
Expected at the ceremony will the general president of President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni. Akankwasa added that the gates, have been opened for some months now and the results are positive as the flock of the tourists towards the park is increasing as time goes on. He also proclaimed that about 200 visitors enter the park daily and as per now, the park was waiting for a group of 80 visitors from Israel.
In April 2004, a prominent South African travel magazine, Gateway, named Murchison Falls National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park the 7th ad 8th best places in Africa respectively.
During celebrations to mark 50 years of national parks in 2002, President Yoweri Museveni vowed to restore the glory of Murchison Falls National Park by guaranteeing security for tourists and communities neighbouring the park.
Akankwasa said this has been achieved and that during the past four years, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has worked closely with UWA to ensure safety for tourists who visit Murchison Falls National Park.UWA has also invited her honorary wardens to attend the functions in Murchison Falls.
The honorary wardens are senior citizens of this country who were appointed in 2002 to champion the wildlife issues among their constituents. The royal Kabaka of Buganda, the Omukama of Bunyoro and the Omukama of Tooro are among the honorary wardens who are being invited to attend the celebrations as President Museveni is honorary warden number 0001.
Meanwhile, on November 25, UWA will organize a gorilla naming ceremony that will take place in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
At least eight gorilla babies have been born since January 2004 when the last gorilla naming ceremony was organized.
The names of the baby gorillas, whose ages range between a few months old and two years, will be revealed during the ceremony.A baby gorilla from the Habinyanja group, which was given a new name by the Nabagereka (Queen) of Buganda in October last year, will also be part of the ceremony.
The naming ceremony will allow other members of the public to propose names but on a competitive basis as a strategy for raising funds for the conservation of these gorillas.
“Because gorillas are a critically endangered species and since their populations are very low, the birth of a single gorilla is very significant for those of us in conservation,” Akankwasa said.
Murchison Falls national Park derives it name from The Murchison falls where the Mighty river Nile explodes through a narrow gorge and flows down to become a placid river whose banks are thronged with Hippos, crocodiles, waterbuck, Buffaloes. Wild life in Murchison falls national park include lions , leopards, giraffes, hartebeests, lions, leopards, Uganda Kobs and many bird species including the rare shoebill stock.
Being the biggest national parks in Uganda with a great diversity of attractions in its ecosystem, reopening it will lead to an improvement in Uganda tourist arrivals.
By Tanah Hadijah
Uganda Travel News