Lake Mburo National Park is one of the best safari destinations to visit on an African safari. It is located in western Uganda and is the smallest of Uganda’s savanna national parks.
The park is in the Mbarara region, about 371 kilometers from Kampala. It is known for its rich wildlife, large wetland, and beautiful surroundings. It is also the only national park in Uganda with a whole lake inside it.
A visit to this protected area is worth it for anyone who wants to experience African wildlife.
The park is surrounded by the districts of Mbarara, Kiruhura, and Isingiro. It is the most easily accessible park from Kampala, with a journey of about four hours.
Established in 1933 as a controlled hunting area, it became a reserve in 1963 and was later upgraded to a national park in 1983.
It covers an area of 270 square kilometers, making it one of Uganda’s smallest parks.
How to Get to Lake Mburo National Park
Lake Mburo National Park is 228 kilometers from Kampala, about a three-and-a-half-hour drive. It is located in western Uganda between Masaka and Mbarara. The park has two main entry gates from the Mbarara road.
The turn to Nshara Gate is 13 kilometers past Lyantonde when coming from Kampala. Sanga Gate is near Sanga Trading Center, which is 27 kilometers past Lyantonde. Both intersections have clear signs.
The drive from either gate to Rwonyo, the park headquarters, takes about twenty minutes.
Things to See in Lake Mburo National Park
The park is covered with open and forested savannas, lakes, and wetlands. It is home to many plants and animals. Predators in the park include jackals and hyenas, while herbivores include impalas, topis, zebras, giant elands, and antelopes.
There are many different birds in the park, including open water birds like the African finfoot, darter, brown-chested wattled plover, and white pelicans. The park also has woodland, grassland, and marshland birds.
Visitors can enjoy watching animals such as warthogs, zebras, waterbucks, bushbucks, and bush duikers while on game drives along different routes. The lake is home to hippos, crocodiles, and water birds, making it a great place for canoeing and boat trips.
Other activities include fishing, guided nature walks, and visiting the salt lick, where visitors can watch animals gather to lick the salty ground.
Some of the most notable wildlife in the park includes lions, leopards, zebras, giraffes, impalas, warthogs, elands, buffaloes, and jackals. The park is also home to over 330 bird species, such as the martial eagle, red-faced barbet in the acacia-wooded savanna, and papyrus yellow warbler, African finfoot in the wetlands.
In addition, visitors can explore 13 lakes within the park, including Lake Mburo. Many of these lakes are surrounded by riparian woodland, patches of papyrus swamp, savanna grassland, and forested gorges.
