Geographically located conveniently near the highway that connects Kampala to the parks of western Uganda. Lake Mburo national park is the smallest of Uganda’s savanna national parks. Lake Mburo national park is located in the kiruhura district close to Mbarara city, The vegetation cover occupied by lake Mburo national park is savannah, marshland, and acacia woodlands this is due to elephants that consume this type of vegetation being absent in the park.

The Park that lies between 1200m and 1830 m above sea level was gazetted in 1933 as a hunting area eventually it turned into a game reserve in 1963 later and it was upgraded to a national park in 1983 after the Bahima Banyankole pastoralists were chased out of parking area. Since then it has been receiving several visitors to explore its beautiful features that are home to a variety of wildlife.

It occupies an area of about 260sq.km that is covered with wooded savanna vegetation, bush thickets, dry hills, swamps, and rocky outcrops. Lake Mburo national park receives between 500mm-800mm of rain since it lies within rain shadows between the Rwenzori Mountains and Lake Victoria

Lake Mburo national park contains 5 lakes within the park, Lake Mburo is the largest of all lakes and they form part of a 50-km long wetland system. Lake Mburo is unique for its giant bush rats that cannot be seen in any other lakes. These lakes are habitats for various wildlife including several bird species and animal species that prefer piling around swamps and water bodies.

Lake Mburo National Park’s attractions

Lake Mburo national park is best known for vast vegetation and a variety of wildlife ranging from topi, Oribis, reedbuck, Rothschild giraffe, and Burchell’s zebra that are endangered in this park and kidepo valley national park, buffaloes, leopard duikers, zebras, and many others, apart from elephants and rhinos that are absent in the park and rare lions that tend to visit the park occasionally including impalas that are found only in lake Mburo and elands and warthogs and hippos that are commonly seen in the park.

Lake Mburo national park contains 4 major lakes including the main lake Mburo that are attractive to view. It also contains other small lakes that make the lake Mburo national park. Here you stand in a position to observe hippos and crocodiles and a wide formation of birds amounting to 350 species some of which include water birds, forest, and savanna birds.

 Activities at Lake Mburo National  Park

Game Drives: Lake Mburo National park allows visitors to view a variety of wildlife on game drives. It’s the most popular activity in savannah game parks and among the best tour activities to do on a safari tour to Uganda. They are always carried out with park rangers and guides on vehicles to view various animals and birds that consider the park as their home. Various animals can be spotted while on a game drive including impala, zebra, waterbuck, topi, giraffes, buffalo, and several elands. The park experiences several species that can be spotted on game drives such as savanna birds. There are other captivating features to look at in the park such as the beautiful sceneries, the parent rocks, numerous lakes, and savanna woodland forest

Lake Mburo national park has a network of game drives, both night and day game drives offer an opportunity to view different animals and bird species, especially during the night drives are a wonderful time to spot nocturnal animals such as pottos, bush babies, hyenas, bush pigs, genet, mongoose, and leopards that tend to be active at night. These drives start around 6:30 pm and normally take about a 2-3 hour drive However, both day and night game drives offer a great chance to view the re-introduced giraffes that are commonly seen in Ruroko and Kazuma areas.

Boat Cruise: This is another interesting activity, taking to the water is always calming, and chilling, part of the safari. You experience a beautiful adventure out of the dust in the bush from another perspective. The cruise on the lake guarantees visitors to view the amazing flora and fauna at the national park such as zebras, crocodiles, hippos, and antelopes, and bird species such as African fish eagles, pelican, kingfishers, herons, cormorants, rare shoe bills, blue-headed weavers are very common.

A boat cruise usually starts in the early morning at around 8:00amtakes about 90 minutes and is commonly done on Lake Mburo. It’s the biggest lake in the park, this gives you a chance to spot various animals and birds that graze around water bodies such animals include buffalos, hippos, crocodiles, and birds such as hammerkops, kingfishers, green-necked doves, shoebill storks, and others. The Rwonyo areas are a good point to see pelicans, hippos, crocodiles, and many other types of wildlife that cannot be seen on foot.

Horse Riding:

Lake Mburo national park is the only park in Uganda where visitors can ride horses in a national park as part of the game activity. Another horse ride can be done at Kabwoya wildlife reserve alongside Lake Albert, it’s one of the most interesting activities since it allows tourists to experience the beautiful nature of the park while on a horseback. These horses look familiar to some animals like zebras, buffaloes, antelopes, and elands that allow visitors to take a close look at them although they keep a far distance from them as they look amused, these animals react in a different way to visitors on horses than on tour vehicles that allow them to tour wildlife in this park

Birding: Lake Mburo national park is the best place for birding for its wetlands, acacia woodlands, and savannah vegetation and its swampy areas around Miriti and Waruki provide the best view of bird species. This activity can be done on foot, by vehicle (on the roadsides), or by a horse which provides wonderful sighting platforms. Bird Species that can be seen include blue-billed barbet, brown parrots, Rufous-bellied heron, white-winged warbler, black-bellied bustard, southern red bishop, and the red-faced barbet yellow-throated long claw, African-gray hornbill, crested francolin, Nubian woodpecker including African fin foot and white backed heron that are rarely found in other parks

Bike Riding: Biking is another fascinating activity visitors should not dare miss if they like nature. Rwakobo Rock is a good selection of mountain biking, it offers guided rides through the savanna since there are few dangerous cats in the park. This is the perfect way to view the glaziers and a good to burn off some fats from the body while enjoying the wildlife and encountering the local community

Spot Fishing: Fishing in Lake Mburo national park is very possible for its beautiful 5 popular lakes including Lake Mburo the largest lake and other small lakes approximately 12 altogether. These lakes provide fishing grounds to almost 6 fish species, not forgetting tilapia as the most common fish caught.

The best place to carry out fishing activities is the Mazinga fishing area in Lake Mburo. There are no dangerous crocodiles and hippos and it provides shade for relaxation while spot fishing. Lake Mburo has more fish compared to other lakes around the park and that makes it the most frequently visited lake for fishing than other lakes. Other fish species found in Lake Mburo national park include mudfish, catfish, lungfish, barbell fish, tiger fish, haplochromines, and Angara fish. Visitors that engage in spot fishing activity should carry their own fishing equipment like hooks and baits because it’s not a guarantee for the park to provide, fishing permits to access these fishing grounds.

Nature Walks: These are always guided by either a guide or a park ranger that is arranged by park authorities (Uganda Wildlife Authority). Lake Mburo national park is always open to visitors that take part in guided nature walks and these take you to different park attractions. Starting from the park’s headquarters of Rwonyo, this trail leads you to salt lick which is the best sweetmeat place for various wildlife both animals and birds.

Visitors can take part in another walk on the side of lake Mburo, this hike normally starts in the morning and it requires proper preparation including the right hiking gear and carrying a bottle of drinking water, if possible even a lunch box since it involves hiking the ridges, this enables an amazing view and guarantees visitors to come across hyenas and hippos disengaged from the waters.

Rubaga forest is another amazing walk visitors may involve, the forest nests over 45 species of birds such as shoebill storks, double-toothed barbet, harrier hawks, pigeons, and others that attract the birders. Through Rubanga forest various mammals are accommodated and a variety of tree species such as fig trees, palm trees, acacia, platycladus, markhamia and so much more. While walking through the forest visitors can view the tops of amazing lakes found in the park.

Community Walks: These take you to different Banyakitara tribe communities such as Bakiga, Banyankole (bahima), and others. Lake Mburo national park created Igongo cultural center a few kilometers away from the park entrance. This center showcases most of the Ankole culture and customs, their day-to-day activities, their lifestyle, and how they graze their long-horned cows and milk them. There is also a small museum gallery where local people keep and display their traditional heritage and handmade crafts for visitors to purchase their crafts as a remembrance. Here visitors have a chance to know the background of their tribe and lifestyles.

Although park activities are carried out throughout the year, the best time to visit the park is during the dry season. During this season all roads in the park are more passable than in wet seasons when roads become rugged, muddy, and difficult to pass through. Book your 3 days to lake Mburo national park or a longer safari of 8 days wildlife tour in Uganda with Explore Uganda tours to enjoy all the fascinating wildlife in the park.