Lake Mburo National Park: All you need to know about the smallest safari park in Uganda.
Lake Mburo National Park is shared by western districts of Mbarara, Isingiro and Kiruhura. It is 4 hours’ drive from Kampala and compared to other national parks, it is the most accessible national park. This park was gazetted in 1933 as a controlled hunting area and then after, it was upgraded into a reserve in 1963 and in 1983 it was designated as a national park. Lake Mburo National Park derives its name from the scenic Lake Mburo and it features among Uganda’s smallest parks with an area coverage of 270 square kilometers.
Attractions in Lake Mburo National Park
Lake Mburo National Park is a home to diverse wildlife species and most significantly, a major habitat to 3 of the big five game; the African lions, buffaloes and leopards; as well as zebras, hippos, Rothschild giraffes, variety of antelope families (including the impalas, elands, jackals), warthogs.
For bird enthusiasts, there are over 330 bird species to look out from this park including the martial eagles and red-faced barbets in the acacia-wooded savannah, papyrus yellow warblers and African fin foots in the wetlands.
It also consists of 13 beautiful lakes including Lake Mburo; and not leave out its dotted savanna grassland and forested gorges plus some patches of papyrus swamp and narrow bands of lush riparian woodland line many lakes.
6 activities to do in Lake Mburo National Park
Game drives
The best way to explore and experience Lake Mburo National Park is by embarking on a game drive and you need a good 4×4 drive safari car.
A game drive at Lake Mburo National Park rewards you with amazing sights at diverse wildlife species including Rothschild giraffes, leopards, lions, buffaloes, Burchell’s Zebras, elands, impalas as well as bird species. You can decide to embark on this activity in the morning or in afternoon.
Boat ride
Boat rides/cruise in Lake Mburo National Park are done along Lake Mburo and gets you a chance to see huge concentration of hippos, crocodiles, water bird as well as antelopes, buffaloes and other wildlife species that come roaming around shores of the lake.
The birds to identify while on a boat ride include malachite kingfishers, African Fish eagles, blue headed weavers, Rufous long tailed starlings, the pied kingfishers, Hammer kop, Herons, pelicans, the rare shoebill and cormorants.
Bird watching
Lake Mburo National Park is an incredible birder’s paradise in Uganda. The birds to identify in this park include the Coqui Francolin, Emerald-spotted Wood, Rufous-bellied Heron, Bateleur, Brown-chested Lapwing, Grey Crowned Crane, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Red-faced Barbet and others.
Birding tours in this Lake Mburo National Park are best done at swampy valleys of Miriti and the Warukiri as well as the roadsides between Rwonyo camp and jetty. You can as well visit Rubanga forest for a nature walk which will reward you with incredible bird sight at the red-faced Barbet. Bird Watching Safari to Lake Mburo National park: 7 DAYS UGANDA BIRDING SAFARI
Sport fishing
For avid anglers, sport fishing is one amazing experience you need not to miss out while on safari in Lake Mburo National Park. There are 6 fish species and they include; Tilapia, lung fish, mud fish as well as the Haplochromes.
By using the hooks, the visitors can also spend some of their time as they catch this fish, a shade is also provided at the campsite in order to ensure the maximum relaxation for the visitors as they are at the lake. There is also an observation point which is located in a wooden hide out that offers a good chance to view the 4 different species of animals at any time as they lick the salty soil.
Horseback riding
Explore Lake Mburo National Park in a unique way by embarking on horseback riding tour. This will allow you to catch a glimpse at the elands, buffaloes, warthog, antelopes (such as topis, impala, duiker, bushbuck, waterbuck) and zebras.
Nature walks
Nature walks are in this park are conducted at Rwonyo and takes visitors about 2 hours. It offers a chance to explore different habitats in and around Lake Mburo National Park.
Accommodation at Lake Mburo National Park
The accommodations alternatives in this park include Mihingo safari lodge, Mantana tented camp, Lake Mburo safari Lodge. Eagle’s nest, Rwonyo rest camp is perfect for budget tourists.
Best time to visit Lake Mburo National Park
Lake Mburo National Park can be visited at anytime of the year. However, the dry season is the best time to visit this park and it starts from June to September and December to February.
This is ideal for game viewing since most of the wildlife species confine in the few sources of water thus offering incredible sight at variety. The wet or rainy season on the other hand is perfect for birding and it begins from March to May and October to November.
Getting to Lake Mburo National Park
Lake Mburo National Park is in western Uganda about 4 hours’ drive from Kampala. To get to this park, you need a good 4×4 drive safari car and your journey can start from Entebbe or Kampala via Masaka route with a chance to make a stopover at the equator for photo taking.