Lake Mburo National Park
Whispers Of The Wild
Lake Mburo National Park
Lake Mburo National Park may be one of Uganda’s smallest parks, but it offers more than enough delights to give it a high ranking on the Uganda safari circuit. Lake Mburo National Park is located in Southwest Uganda and is used as a gateway to the National Parks in Western Uganda. It was first gazetted as a controlled hunting area in 1933, upgraded to a game reserve in 1963 and finally to a national park in 1983.
Lake Mburo National Park has the most extensive acacia woodland of any of Uganda’s parks. Lake Mburo, the largest of the five lakes found inside the park is part of a 50km-long wetland system that is linked by swamps. Unique to Lake Mburo National Park is the availability of both horseback and quad bike safaris, which allow for closer viewing and exceptional photographs of the abundant plains game.
Lake Mburo National Park is one of the only park in Uganda where you can see Eland and Impala and also has the largest population of Zebras. Other animals of note are, topi, oribi, reedbuck, warthog, and the mighty buffalo. 15 Rothschild Giraffe that was introduced from Murchison Falls National Park in 2015 adds to the diversity of the park, as do leopards, of which Lake Mburo has the highest concentration in Uganda.
The park is also famous for boat rides on Lake Mburo where you can see plenty of Hippos, as well as King Fishers, Fish Eagles, Crocodiles as well as rare birds such as the African Finfoot
Game Drives
Lake Mburo National Park has a good diversity of game considering its size. The park has plenty of Zebra, Waterbuck, Bushbuck and newly introduced Rothschild Giraffe. Lake Mburo National Park is also home to elusive Leopards and shy Eland. Night drives in the park with an UWA guide is also possible and gives clients another opportunity to see Leopards as well as nocturnal birds and the wide eyed Bush Baby
Boat Cruise
Hippo, crocodile and swamp birds are common sightings on the Lake Mburo Boat Trip. Despite being a relatively small lake the amount of wildlife it pretty spectacular.
The boat trip lasts around 2 hours and during the dry season, you can see Buffalo and Antelope on lakeshores as they converge for drink.
Bird Watching
The park is home to over 350 bird species that birders can explore on guided nature walks or by boat. The closed canopy of the Rubanga Forest located west of the lake is home to a variety of bird species including White-winged Warbler, Crested Francolin, Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, Greenwood Hoopoe, Brown Parrot, Blue-napped Mousebird, Red-necked Spur, Black-billed Barbet, Lilac-breasted Roller, African-grey Hornbill and the Nubian Woodpecker. The Lake Mburo lakeshore is especially good for birding, particularly for those interested in the pre-historic looking and extremely rare Shoebill Stork, and the African Finfoot.
Uganda has over 50% of all the birds species in Africa, making Birdwatching in Uganda an incredible experience.
Culture
Lake Mburo National Park is located at the heart of the ancestral home of the Bahima, the famed cattle herders who rear the beautiful and iconic long-horned cattle that can be seen grazing on the drive to the park. On community tours by bike or on foot, visitors cross the grazing land where wildlife and livestock mingle and can learn about their culture and traditions and even have a go at milking the cows or making some cow’s ghee. The Igongo Cultural Centre is located a few kilometres from the park and tells the story of the history and traditions of the Ankole Kingdom. At the Conservation Education Center located inside the park, visitors can learn about the park, its flora and fauna.
