LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK

August 10, 2020
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LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK

Lake Mburo National Park

At a size of 370 square kilometers, Lake Mburo National Park is a smallest savanna wildlife reserve in Uganda located in western Uganda. This beautiful park is dominated by a chain of 13 lakes with Lake Mburu as the biggest lake, the shores of lake are fringed with forests, hemmed in by rolling green hills.

Lake Mburo National Park is the closest Uganda Safari National Park to Kampala – the capital and it is an ideal stopover on the long drive to Uganda key safari destination in the western circuit such as Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park and Semuliki National Park among others.

Lake Mburo National Park is famous for being the only home for impalas in Uganda and a huge population of burchell’s zebras, the park is part of a 50 kilometers long wetland system linked by a swamp. With a chain of 13 lakes, five of the lakes lie inside the park.

Location of Lake Mburo National Park

Lake Mburo National Park is located in Western Uganda about 240 kilometers from Kampala, from Entebbe International Airport to Lake Mburo National Park it is approximately 290 kilometers. From Kampala or Entebbe, it is a drive of approximately 3-4 hours.

Lake Mburo National Park stretches in 4 districts of Uganda including Mbarara, Lyantonde , Isingiro North and Kiruhuru.

History of Lake Mburo National Park

Lake Mburo National Park was initially gazetted as a controlled hunting area in 1933, later in 1963 it was upgraded to a game drives and finally to a national park in 1983.

The name of the park is derived from a story about two brothers – Mburo and Kigarama who lived in the low -lying savannah plains thus making this region historically known as Kaaro Karungi. On one night, Kigarama dreamed that they were going to have a lot of rain which would bring floods and ruin their property, Kigarama informed his brother – Mburo about his dream who dismissed it.

Because dreams were revered in African tradition, Kigarama decided to leave the place and headed to the overlooking hills leaving his brother behind. Finally, the dream came true when the region was ravaged by rain resulting into floods and the drowning of Mburo and his property, thus the name Mburo and the hills were named after his brother.

While on a Lake Mburo Safari, this safari will be narrated to you by your guide.

Wildlife in Lake Mburo National Park

Despite its small size, Lake Mburo National Park is home to a diverse range of game with over 68 animal species recorded. The park is home to Uganda’s largest zebra population and is the only national park in the country where you can see the impalas.

Other wildlife in Lake Mburo National Park several antelope species such as Topis, waterbucks, bushbucks, reedbucks, oribi, sitatungas and Klipspringers. There are also large herds of common elands – the second largest antelope in the world, hippos, crocodiles, buffaloes, warthogs, bushpigs, Rothschild’s giraffes which were introduced in the park, leopards and only two diurnal primate species – vervet monkeys and olive baboons.

Lake Mburo National Park is also one of the very few places in Uganda where you can see the nocturnal Greater galago /bush baby, the spotted hyena which are often heard during the night gam drive.

Birdlife in Lake Mburo National Park

Lake Mburo National Park is home to over 350 species of birds recorded in the park including the localized Red-faced barbet which is the most sought bird specie in the park, 8 of the 12 species of the Lake Victoria Basin biome that occur in Uganda, and the pre-historic looking shoebill.

Birds in Lake Mburo National Park include Crested, Coqui, and the Red-winged Francolins, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Brown Parrot, Barefaced Go-away bird, Harlequin and Blue Quails, Common Button Quail, White-headed and Black-billed Barbet, Greenwood Hoopoe, Common Scimitarbill, Blue-napped Mousebird, Blue-breasted and Shining-blue Kingfishers, Lilac-breasted Roller, African-grey Hornbill, the Nubian, Buff-spotted, Brown-eared, and the Grey Woodpeckers, Trilling, Stout, and Wing-snapping Cisticolas, Red-necked Spurfowl, Black-bellied Bustard, Temminck’s Courser, African-wattled Plover, Rufous napped and Flappet larks, Rufous-chested Swallow ,Yellow-throated Longclaw, Black-winged Bishop, Chubb’s, Carruther’s and a number of other Cisticolas, the Lesser and Great Swamp Warblers, among others.

Safari Activities to Do in Lake Mburo National Park

Game Viewing

Lake Mburo National Park is a great destination for game viewing experience, the park allows you explore the park and spot most of the park’s animals and birds. Game drives are led by an armed ranger from the Uganda Wildlife Authority who helps identify the different species of animal and birds.

lake mburo national park game drive

The leopard rock is a popular place in the park to spot leopards most especially during the night game drive and early in the morning. Some of the animals to lookout for during game drives including impalas, zebras, giraffes, waterbucks, topis, buffaloes among others.

Night game drive lasting 2 hours allows you to see several nocturnal animals including leopards, genet, bush pigs, mongooses and white tailed mongooses.

Bird watching

Lake Mburo National Park is one of the best places for birding in Uganda, the park is home to over 350 species which makes it a paradise for birders. Birding in Lake Mburo National Park is mainly done along the swamps of Warukiri and Miriti, some of the birds to look out for include African grey hornbill, barefaced go-way bird, black-billed barbet, blue-napped mousebird, brown parrot, common quails, crested francolin, emerald spotted wood Dove, greenwood hoopoe, Lilac-breasted Roller, Nubian woodpecker, Rednecked Spur, trilling cisticola, white-winged warbler and the Shoebill stork among others.

Guided Nature Walks

Lake Mburo National Park is one of the parks in Uganda where guided nature walks are done, this activity can be taken in any part of the park under the arrangement and guidance of an armed guided from the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

During this activity, you will get to see various antelopes, zebras, buffaloes and giraffe grazing, birds and colorful butterflies among others.

During the morning walks, you might encounter hyenas going to their dens after the nights hunt or hippos heading to the water after grazing on land.

The lakeside track is one of the amazing tracks for guided natural walks in Lake Mburo National Park situated in the southern part of the park, this track allows visitors to spot bush duiker and marvel at the dense woodland. This track leads up to the Kigarama summit which boasts great views of Lake Mburo and the whole national park.

Fishing

Lake Mburo’s numerous lake provide incredible spots for fishing adventure, the Mazinga fishing spot is located in a safe section of Lake Mburo with no crocodiles or hippos. Visitors on this safari experience get to catch species like the Tilapia, Haplochromes, mud fish, lung fish and mud fish.

All visitors who wish to take park in fishing have to acquire a fishing license.

Horseback riding

Horseback riding is one of the most fascinating eco-friendly safari activity to do in Uganda and Lake Mburo National Park is one of the two parks you can do this activity. Horse back riding safari offers visitors a chance to get a close encounter with wildlife such as giraffes, zebras, even the shy Eland from the back of a horse.

Boat Cruise

A boat cruise along the beautiful Lake Mburo is a thrilling experience on which visitors can spot zebras, antelopes, crocodiles, hippos, otters and buffaloes. The boat cruise is also great for bird lovers and the commonest birds you will spot include African Fish Eagles, Blue-headed Weavers, Cormorants, Green-necked Doves, Hammerkops, Herons, Malachite Kingfishers, Pelicans, Pied Kingfishers, Rufous Long-tailed Starlings and Shoebill Storks among others.

How to Get To Lake Mburo National Park

Lake Mburo National Park is situated closest to Uganda’s capital – Kampala, between Kampala and Mbarara City, the park is accessed by road and air.

By Road – from Kampala, the park can be accessed through two gates. If you are travelling from Kampala the first branch off on the left leads you to the Nshara Gate for a distance of about 5 kilometers, the second Gate is at Sanga Trading Center for a distance of about 13 kilometers to the park’s Sanga Gate.

Both gates are only about 2 kilometers from the park’s headquarters at Rwonyo.

By Air – there are charter flights from either Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airstrip to Mbarara airstrip using of the domestic carriers such as Aerolink, Bar Aviation among others. The flight is approximately 1 ½ hours, from the airstrip you transfer to the park by a vehicle on a short drive.

Where to stay in Lake Mburo National Park

There are several accommodation options in Lake Mburo National Park ranging from luxury, midrange and budget. These include