Lake Mburo National Park

Lake Mburo National Park is the smallest savannah national park in Uganda that covers an area of approximately 260 square kilometers and is located in Kiruhura district on a high way approximately 228 kilometers from Kampala by road. The park is situated in western Uganda and is 30 kilometers by road East of Mbarara which is the largest city in the sub-region. On your way to Lake Mburo national park, you will have a stopover at the equator which is found at Kayabwe where you will take some photographs, visit the craft shops and another stopover is at Mpabire trading center where they make traditional drums. The whole journey from Kampala to Lake Mburo national park takes around 3 to 5 hours to drive on road.

Lake Mburo national park lies in the shadow areas between Lake Victoria and Mount Rwenzori, and therefore it experiences both the rainy and dry seasons throughout the year which makes its climate favorable for a wide range of wildlife species including 68 mammal species like zebras, impala, buffaloes, giraffes, 350 bird species, primate species among others. Lake Mburo is the only national park in Uganda with a whole lake inside the park which makes it a unique from other national parks, the park is covered with shrubs, wetlands, acacia trees, wood valleys, dry hillside, rocky outcrops, thicket bushes, open and wood savannah forests, lakes, seasonal and permanent swamps among others. Lake Mburo national park offers various activities that the visitors on a safari in Uganda can engage in so as to make the Uganda safari tour more interesting.

How to get to Lake Mburo National Park

There are two park entrances that lead to Lake Mburo National Park, for example, the Nshara gate which can be accessed when you are coming from Kampala as you turn off the main road 20km past Lyantonde trading center and 50km to Mbarara town. The second entrance is the Sanga gate which is the first gate when you are coming from Mbarara as you turn off left from the main road at Sanga trading center about 35km before Mbarara town and is two kilometers from each gate to arrive at the park headquarters.

Activities done in Lake Mburo National Park

Game drives: The Day game drive in Lake Mburo national park starts in the morning at around 8 am and in the evening at around 4 pm and lasts 3 to 4 hours. The morning is the best game drive and it is done in the savannah landscapes with a number of tracks to follow like the zebra track that connects to Ruroko track junction passes through the wetland and the thick acacia woodland with euphorbia tree species and olive trees. During the game drive on the zebra track, you will be able to view a number of Burchells Zebras along the roadsides and other animals like Bushbucks, Reedbucks, Topi, Warthogs, Oribi, Eland among others. There are other tracks used during the game drive in Lake Mburo national park-like Kazuma track which passes through the grasslands with wood vegetation to Kazuma hill which offers you an opportunity to explore the five lakes in Lake Mburo National Park and the lakeside track which allows you to explore the water environment with swamps that surround Lake Mburo. You will view water birds like black billed bustards, pelicans, herons, fish eagle, cormorant among others.

Lake Mburo national park also offers the Night / Nocturnal game drive to visitors who are interested in viewing nocturnal animals and the beautiful park at night. The nocturnal game drive is one of the memorable and most enjoyed activities in Lake Mburo as you enjoy your Uganda Safari Tour to the west where you will be driven around the park at night after dinner at your lodge with spotlights which will help you to view animals like bush babies, leopards, porcupines, hyenas, jackals among others.

Bird watching: Lake Mburo national park is a home of about 350 bird species which can be found in the swamps of Marokiri and Miriti along the Rwonyo area, which can also be seen in the forest of Rubanga, along the lakes during the boat cruise of Lake Mburo among others. Bird lovers will find Lake Mburo national park an interesting destination for bird watching because they will be able to view the sought after prehistoric shoebill stork, the rare white-winged warbler and other different bird species including crested francolin, greenwood hoope, brown parrot, common quail, black billed barbet, black billed bustard, African grey hornbill, southern red bishop, crowned crane, bronze tailed starling, Nubian woodpecker, yellow-throated longclaw, emerald spotted wood dove, red-necked spur, African wattled plover, blue napped mouse bird among others which make bird watching tour in Lake Mburo national park exciting.

Boat cruise: Lake Mburo national park offers boat cruise activity to visitors so as to cruise meters away from the animals and vegetation in the park which gives you an incredible experience while on your safari. Boat cruise in Lake Mburo national park is done on Lake Mburo which is a whole lake found within the national park with calm water and a swamp that adjoins the lake, the boats set off from Rwonyo jetty and the boat trip takes around 2 hours. During the boat cruise you will be able to view animals along the water banks especially in the dry season like the hippos, crocodiles, buffaloes, otters, antelopes among others and bird species like the rare shoebill stork, African fish eagles, blue-headed weavers, malachite kingfisher, pied kingfisher, hammerkop, Rufuos long-tailed starling, herons, pelicans among others.

Nature walks: this is one of the activities in Lake Mburo that give you lifetime memories on your Uganda Tour. Nature walk is an activity where the visitors move around the park with an armed park ranger guide on foot to explore nature in the park through viewing vegetation and wildlife at a close range. During the nature walks in Lake Mburo, you follow different trails including to the top of Kazuma hill where you will have a clear panoramic view of Lake Mburo, other lakes found around the area, seeing acacia vegetation, savannah plains, walk to the salt lick where you will view different animals that come to lick salt, walk to Rubanga forest where you will be able to view interesting bird species like black billed bustard, red bishop, woodpeckers, bronze tailed starling among others and animals like hippos which will be grazing, zebras along the roadsides, giraffes, hyenas going to their hiding places, antelopes, monkeys, bushbucks, warthogs among others which gives you a memorable experience in the wilderness on your safari in Lake Mburo.

Sport Fishing, fishing is another activity in the park that is carried out in the thirteen lakes where five of these lakes are found inside the park and others around the park where lake Mburo is the largest lake with a large number of fishermen. Visitors who want to take part in sport fishing on Lake Mburo are supposed to acquire a fishing permit from UWA which can be acquired by the tour operator which can plan the safari tours to Lake Mburo national park and other national parks. You are also requested to possess your own fishing equipment which includes the hooks so as to enjoy fishing on the lake. Lake Mburo is a home of six fish species including tilapia which is the main species, mudfish, lungfish, haplochromines among others and sport fishing is done on Mazinga shore of Lake Mburo. The park together with Murchison falls national park and Lake Victoria are the destinations in Uganda that offer sport fishing activity to the visitors hence giving them a fascinating and wonderful experience on the Uganda Tour.

Horse riding, this is the most interesting activity in Lake Mburo national park that is organized by Mihingo safari lodge which has about seven horses and four ponies. Horse riding in lake Mburo national park is done with the help of a trained guide and each horseback trip can have a maximum of six riders and takes about 4 to 5 hours as you explore in the savannah vegetation. Here you will be able to view the beautiful hills, lakes that are in the park and those around the park, wildlife species including the Elands, Topi, Impala, Duikers, Burchell Zebras, Waterbucks, Bushbucks, Warthogs among others, birds species and have a great experience on the horseback during your safari in Uganda.

Cultural encounters: this is an activity where the visitors have an opportunity to interact with the local communities around the park and learn their different cultural practices. There are about thirteen local community groups around Lake Mburo national park which include the Ankore cultural community group, Igongo cultural institute, Rwabarata drama group, Shara community tourism group, Rubale fishing community among others who offer entertainment performances to the visitors through cultural dances, songs, sell craft products, and teach them about fishing on Lake Mburo. Visitors also get an opportunity to have an encounter with the Banyankore people in their homesteads where they participate in traditional hand milking, grazing, treating sick animals, farming, weeding, harvesting, traditional food preparation among others hence gaining a lot of experience from the local communities.

Bicycle tours: this is a unique and adventurous activity in Lake Mburo national park where the visitors explore the park and its surrounding areas on guided bicycle tours, bicycle tours in the park are done with the guide who shows you the trails to follow and answers any question that you might want to ask, during the bicycle tours you will view different animals including antelopes, zebras, buffaloes, elands, bushbucks, warthogs, jackals among others and some bird species along the savannah grasslands which make your bicycle tour enjoyable and exciting. While going for a bicycle tour in the park you need to carry along the biking gears, gloves, and helmets among others to offer protection while cycling which takes about one to two hours.

The park offers numerous luxury and upmarket accommodation facilities which offer quality services like comfortable shelter, meals, drinks, conducive environment for visitors to relax after a game drive activity in the park among others to visitors on a safari, the accommodations include Eagles Nest lodge, Mburo safari lodge, Rwakobo rock, Mihingo lodge, arcadia cottages Lake Mburo, Mantana tented camp, Rwonyo rest camp, Conservation education center in Sanga among others.

Lake Mburo national park is a small national park but rich in biodiversity and with unique animal species like the zebras, rare bird species like the shoebill stork and enjoyable and adventurous activities like horse riding and cycling tours which make it a unique national park that offers memorable and lifetime experiences on your Uganda safari Tours.