Lake Mburo National Park
Found in Kiruhura district, in the western Uganda, about 3O km away from Mbarara town recently upgraded to a city status. Approximately 4.5 hours’ drive, westwards of the Kampala the capital and the largest in Uganda. Lake Mburo is the smallest savannah park in Uganda. It’s location along a highway leading to Uganda’s major game parks like Bwindi, Kibale, Mgahinga and Queen Elizabeth, makes it an appropriate stop as you begin or end you wildlife adventure. On most occasions, tourists coming back from Bwindi and Queen Elizabeth National Parks usually make a stopover for a day before proceeding to Entebbe international airport for departure.
Lake Mburo National Park has the highest concentration Zebras given its size, great numbers of zebras in a relatively small expense of land. It is also the best place in Uganda to spot Leopards and Impala because of the high concentration in a small area. Lake Mburo National Park is also the only place where one can go to watch game on back of a horse of by just walking through sections of the park. Being the closest Wildlife park to Kampala city, Lake Mburo is perfect destination for those that are in Uganda for a short stay be it a workshop, seminar or business trip in Kampala and would like to have a short Uganda’s wildlife adventure before going back to their respective countries and plan a proper safari.
The earlier elimination of elephants in the park by poachers has led to the growth of vast woodlands in the park. Lake Mburo National Park lies in the rain shadow between the Rwenzori Mountains and Lake Victoria giving it an average rainfall of 798 mm per year. It is located conveniently along a. This strategic location makes it appealing to tourists who wish to make stopovers during the long drives to see gorillas in Bwindi or Chimpanzees in Kibale forest National Park. Its close proximity to Kampala makes it the most easily accessible game park for someone desiring to see Uganda’s wildlife after a seminar or conference in the capital.
The extensive swamp system gives the park other attractive activities in like bird watching, for the swamp, water and land bird species, the lake offers the opportunity for spot fishing, boat cruises and nature walks which make you experience nature to your nearest proximity.
Lake Mburo has some wildlife species rarely found in other parks of Uganda. Some of the species include the Eland, Klipspringer, Impala, Zebra (5,000 in number) and giant bush rats. Lake Mburo national park is the best place to spot Leopards, a spot commonly known as “Leopard Rock” in Uganda because of their high numbers per square kilometer.
There is this Ankole legend, told about the two brothers Kigarama and Mburo that once lived in a big valley around the park. Kigarama had a dream whose revelation warned him of danger that would befall them if they continued staying in the valley. He shared his dream with Mburo who never believed him. Kigarama migrated from the valley for safety to the hills. One day the valley got flooded with water that eventually drowned Mburo. The lake was named Mburo and the nearby hills Kigarama.
This relatively flat landscape is beautified by the kopjes scattered around the park, some standing alone in the grasslands, others heightening the hills tops, Lake Mburo has an eye landscape that consists of flat grasslands, rolling hills, forests, bush thickets, Lakes and swamps.
Lake Mburo National Park has had an unstable past that led to nearly total elimination of wildlife through poaching and encroachment by the community members in the surrounding area. The park started as a controlled hunting area in 1933 before it was turned into a game reserve in 1963. In 1983, the reserve was upgraded into a game park with an intention of removing away the local Banyankole pastoralists who were accused of supporting government rebels (Led by the current president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni) opposed to the regime of Milton Obote. Following the fall Obote regime. The pastoralists raided the park and re-occupied it after chasing away the park staff. The park never regained its former size because the new government could only reclaim half of the park land for fear of hurting the locals.
Things have changed now and the Uganda Wildlife Authority works closely with the local tribes living around the park to help protect the animals in the park. Lake Mburo National Park has now become an example of how human communities around the park can co-exist with wildlife in Uganda. The collaboration between the government authority and locals has not only led to the successful reintroduction of lions, but also giraffe, eland, baboons and other wildlife. The park is a Lion Conservation unit.
Attractions in Lake Mburo National Park
Visitors to the park have plenty of choices when it comes to activities as you will learn from our 3 Days Wildlife Safari in Lake Mburo National Park package. Besides lions the park has got animals like buffalo, eland, hippos, impala, jackals, leopards, Oribi, reedbuck, Topi, warthog, waterbucks, zebras and the recently reintroduced giraffes from Murchison Falls National Park. One is required to pay an entrance fee to enter the park. 20% of the fee is channeled to funding nearby community projects (clinics, schools and buildings). The main activities in Lake Mburo are game drives (night and day), walking safaris/nature walks, sport fishing, horseback riding, boat trips and birding among others. A tour operator can help advise you on how best to spend your time at the park and go about with booking each of the following activities: –
Birdwatching:
Lake Mburo National Park is one those places, that should not miss on a birder list of sites. Birding in Lake Mburo is mainly done along the swamps of Warukiri and Miriti. Some of the species include the 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, Red-necked Spur, trilling cisticola, white-winged warbler and the rare Shoebill stork. While at the Rwonyo camp, birders can also spot the African-wattled plover Rufous, Black Bellied Bustard, Coqui francolin, Flappet larks, red-necked spur fowl, Rufous chested Swallow, southern Red Bishop, temminck’s courser and yellow-throated long claw. Lake Mburo is a great place to spot the rare white backed heron and African fin foot.
Guided Nature Walks: Unlike in the other park in Uganda, nature walks can be taken in any part of the park under the arrangement and guidance of an armed guard from the Uganda Wildlife Authority. While on the nature walk you will get to see the various antelopes, Zebras, buffaloes and giraffes grazing. Watch out for the butterflies and birds too. During the morning walks, you might even encounter hyenas going to their dens after the nights hunt or hippos heading to the water after grazing on land.
The Lakeside Track: Related to the nature walk is the walk through the established Lakeside Track in the southern part of Lake Mburo. This track allows visitors spot bush duiker and marvel at the dense woodland. The track leads up to the Kigarama summit which allows for great views of Lake Mburo and the greater national park.
Fishing:
With more than 13 other lakes, with gazetted sport fishing areas such as Mazinga offer very high chances of successful fishing, there are six known fish species, common in the order Tilapia, Haplochromes, mud fish, lung fish and mud fish. Mazinga fishing spot is located in a safe section of Lake Mburo with no crocodiles or hippos. Visitors can guests can comfortably relax as they do fishing, visitors should arrange with the lodge to fry for them their catch. There are shades near the fishing pints that ensure relaxation in-between fishing session. Mission Africa Safaris can help arrange gear (hooks and bait) and acquire fishing licenses for travelers before they arrive for their safari.
Day and Night Game Drives: Game drives in Lake Mburo National park allow you to spot most of the parks animal and birds that call the park home. The game drives are led by an armed ranger from the Uganda Wild Life Authority (UWA) who helps identify the different species of animal and birds. The “leopard rock” is a popular place to spot leopards during the night safari or early in the morning. Hyenas exist in the park but are not as many as in some of the other major game parks in Uganda. The night game drives take 2 hours and are perfect for spotting genet, leopards, bush pigs, mongooses and white tailed mongooses.
Boat Cruise: A boat cruise along the Lake Mburo will help unlock all that is beautiful about the Park. This is more so during the dry season when most of the animals come for a drink. During the boat cruise visitors can spot zebras, antelopes, crocodiles, hippos, otters and buffaloes. The commonest birds during the boat cruise 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. The duration of the boat cruise is not fixed and is open to negotiation.
Rubanga Forest Walk: The forest walk is usually arranged by the Uganda Wild Life Authority in advance and starts from Western shores of Lake Mburo. Rubanga forest is a great place for birding and over 42 species can be spotted during the forest walk. Some of the tree species to look out for while in Rubanga forest are Acacia, Fig Trees, Markhamia, Palm and Platycaluz among others. The bird species include the double-toothed barbet, green pigeon, Grey-backed Cameroptera, harrier hawk, Narina trogon and the much sought out Shoebill Stork.
The Salt Lick: An armed ranger can lead you for the guided walk to the Salt lick where animals lick the salty soil found in this area. Observation points have been identified by the Uganda Wildlife Authority to allow visitors view all the different species of animals that come to lick the salt like zebras and antelopes. The activity usually starts in the morning and takes at most two hours.
Horseback Riding: Lake Mburo is one of the two parks in Uganda where visitors can go out to watch game from the back of a horse. Kabwoya wildlife reserve along Lake Albert is the other place where horse riding safaris can be done in Uganda. Horseback safaris allow visitors get very close to the animals. The horses appear familiar to the Zebras and even shy Eland. Though they still keep their distance, they do not run away like they do in the presence of safari cars.
Visiting the Igongo Cultural Center: The Igongo cultural Center is located 4 kilometers away from the Sanga gate. The Banyakitara use the Center to showcase their cultural heritage and traditions. The Banyakitara tribes include the Bakiga, Banyoro, Batooro and Banyankole. There is a small museum where local art crafts and items related to their ancient cultural traditions are kept. Visitors have an opportunity to learn about the history and way of life of the tribes with the help of guides. The traditional huts made of grass and local food are all on show among many other items. Visitors can buy souvenirs like locally made crafts and other art pieces.
Walking/Cycling in the Park:
Given her low big cats population, Lake Mburo is one park where walking is safe and highly recommended, walking around the Kazuma hill will enrich your experience in the park, as it offers perfectly unique sightings of the park. While on Kazuma hill one can see the 14 Lakes in the, rolling hills with contesting heights and surrounding areas of the park. Walking and cycling alone in the park is not allowed especially because the park has buffaloes and leopards. Threats can also come from hyenas and hippos that go to graze outside the Lakes at night. A ranger must be along.
Quad biking for game sighting:
Because there are few big cats, biking is one of the best experiences to spot game in Lake Mburo National Park. While on the bike rides take you in the middle of grazing zebra and surrounding areas to spot the local Banyankole tribe graze their long horned cattle, Quad Biking offers a satisfying taste of your safari because, of the narrowed proximity to nature. One needs to pack water and bites while on their Quad biking trip, due to its exhaustion
All these tourism activities are carried out all through the year, however. The best time to exhaustively enjoy you trip to Lake Mburo National Park is during the dry season. The roads in the park become muddy and difficult to pass through during the rainy season.
Navigation to Lake Mburo National Park
Lake Mburo National Park is usually visited on a tour, possibly as an overnight stop when driving between Kampala and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and vice versa. Lake Mburo is located in western Uganda, 228km/142mi from Kampala and 250km to 300km, from Bwindi, depending on which gorilla trekking sector you are headed to or from. The drive from Kampala takes about 5 hours and the drive on to Bwindi about 6 to 7 hours.
There are Schedule flights from Entebbe International, morning and Afternoon, which take less than an hour to land at Mbarara airstrip, where you’re picked by your tour operator or Lodge representative.