Travel Guide to Lake Mburo

Travel Guide to Lake Mburo – Best time to visit, where to stay, weather and climate and things to do in Lake Mburo National Park

Travel guide to Lake Mburo – Lake Mburo National Park is amazingly the closest national park to Kampala , it also doubles as the smallest national park. Situated between Masaka and Mbarara district   taking approximately 4 hours’ drive time to arrive. The park covers an area of 370km² including the lakes 5 lakes, Lake Mburo national park.

Wildlife of Lake Mburo national park

Lake Mburo national park is the only place in Uganda where the Impala still occurs in large herds, Eland (Africa’s largest antelope). Other antelope species that may be sighted in the park include Leopards, Topi, Bushbuck, Sitatunga, Common Duiker, Klipspringer, Oribi, Defassa Waterbuck, hyenas, porcupine, warthogs, white tailed mongoose, dwarf  mongoose, Banded mongoose, hippos, crocodiles  and Bohor Reedbuck,  monitor lizards and Vervet monkeys, olive Baboons and one male lion is hard at night and also a lot of aquatic wildlife like fish, frogs, toads can all be seen in lake Mburo national park

Lake Mburo is now also home to 15 endangered Rothschild’s giraffe, which were introduced in July 2015. It is exhilarating encountering them on one of our horse safaris.

Birds of Lake Mburo national park.

The best birding spots in Lake Mburo National Park include the swampy valleys of Warukiri and Miriti, and the roadsides between Rwonyo camp and the jetty. There are also ideally-situated viewing platforms at the salt lick, in Miriti Valley, and in Rubanga Forest. Species observed at these locations include the Rufous-bellied Heron, Bateleur, Coqui Francolin, Grey Crowned Crane, Black-bellied Bustard, Brown-chested Lapwing, Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove, Brown Parrot, Red-headed Lovebird, Ross’s Turaco, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Green Wood-hoopoe, Common Scimitarbill, White-headed Barbet, Red-faced Barbet, Nubian Woodpecker, Red-shouldered Cuckoo-shrike, Long-tailed Cisticola, Yellow-breasted Apalis, White-winged Tit and Finfoot among others.

Activities and attractions in Lake Mburo National Park

Walking safaris

Travel guide to Lake Mburo – The park is open to all visitors who intend to do guided nature walking safaris and is usually conducted along with an armed park ranger guide. From Rwonyo the park center, the guided walks take you to the salt lick presumably the best places for numerous wildlife.

Safari game drives

Lake Mburo hosts 68 mammal and 350 bird species in high concentration.  With a growing giraffe family and a healthy hippo population, you just might be surprised at all the wildlife this little park packs in. We highly recommend going for the optional boat ride so you don’t miss the crocodiles, and the prime bird viewing from the water. Please note that while we do not currently have a safari vehicle onsite, we can help arrange a car if you do not come with your own; this is subject to availability.

Night game drives

Lake Mburo is so far one of the best places for clients to search for nocturnal wildlife in the park such as the illusive leopard, porcupine, white tailed mongoose and not the forgetting the sounds of wild animals like hyenas, zebras, buffalos and bush babies.

Horse back riding safaris

Lake national park is the ability for one to carry out a game viewing exercise while riding a horse. The fascinating activity gives the park a distinction from the rest of the country’s national park as horse riding while viewing wildlife can only be done at lake Mburo national park The activity is done at Mihingo lodge under the guidance of trained staff in conjunction with the park rangers.  The horseback ride in Lake Mburo can take 1-3 hours as you explore the beauty of the national park savannah coupled by the view of the wild game.

Fishing safaris

Fishing is yet another tourism activity carried at Lake Mburo, The lake is endowed with 6 fish species, with the most commonly caught species being tilapia. Other species include: cat fish, lung fish, tiger fish, Angara fish and barbell. The most common fishing spot at the Mburo is Mazinga, for those tourist interested I doing a fish safari have to carry their own equipment and as access permits from Uganda wildlife Authority.

Rubanga forest walks

Rubanga forest is yet another relevant features and attraction situated with the confines of Lake Mburo national park, as part of the wide network of the ecosystem that the park holds. The forest exploration is also one the many arrays of activities that any of the visitors to this small but interesting park can engage in.

Community walks

One of the lodges near Lake Mburo national park is passionate about conserving the local traditions and cultures of the Bahima people. They therefore have partnered up with a local family, close to the lodge, that has opened their doors to give the guests staying at the lodge or near the lodge a small insight into the way of life of a Bahima. You will learn about how to make the local ghee while listening to some of the women talk about their traditions and the cultures. Depending on the time of the tour you may even have the opportunity to milk some of the Ankole cows.

Boat cruise on lake Mburo

Travel guide to Lake Mburo – Another rewarding activity one ought to look for, when they are in Lake Mburo national park is a boat cruise. The cruise on the lake equally  guarantees one a view of the amazing flora and fauna at the national park alongside wildlife such as crocodiles,  hippos and  bird species such as African fish eagles, pelican, king fishers, herons, cormorants, rare African finfoot and hammerkops. It’s also realized that during the dry seasons, some wildlife also are frequent habitants o the water areas some of which include buffaloes and antelopes.

Birding safaris

Another rewarding activity one ought to look for, when they are in Lake Mburo national park is a boat cruise. The cruise on the lake equally  guarantees one a view of the amazing flora and fauna at the national park alongside wildlife such as crocodiles,  hippos and  bird species such as African fish eagles, pelican, king fishers, herons, cormorants, rare shoe bills and hammerkops. It’s also realized that during the dry seasons, some wildlife also are frequent habitants o the water areas some of which include buffaloes and antelopes.

Biking safaris

Bicycle tours around park.  It’s a unique way of adventuring the park and its confines.  The bicycle rides at the park take a maximum of 1 hour and it guarantees you a view of zebras, elands, buffaloes, antelopes, bush bucks and many more.

All the bicycles tours and rides are well guided by Uganda wildlife Authority rangers, who know specific areas to venture in so as to have the best wildlife view. The few challenges encountered while on the bike trail is the nature of the terrain; some areas are hilly while others are sloppy. But all in all the   the bike trails guarantees one quit an amazing experience

Best time to visit Lake Mburo National park

Lake Mburo National Park lies in a rain shadow between Lake Victoria and the Rwenzori Mountains, and receives an average of 800 mm of rain a year. Being near the equator, the rainfall pattern is bimodal, with the long rains occurring from March to June, and the short rains from September to December. The rains are rather erratic and unpredictable, but most rain tends to fall in April and November.

How to get to Lake Mburo National Park

BY ROAD

FROM KAMPALA/ENTEBBE VIA MASAKA

Travellers driving from Kampala will take the Kampala-masaka -mbarara road which is 260 kms from the main capita city. This road will take you through the Equator line giving clients an excellent stop over for one of Uganda’s best coffee and souvenir shopping before continuing to Lwera swamp and masaka swamp where you might be lucky to see the critically endangered shoebill stork then you will proceed to Lyantonde which is the last big town for necessary shopping before turning on to the national park gate road at akagetti town. this trip will take 5-6 hours on Ugandan way of driving.

FROM MBARARA CITY

For those that coming from Bwindi impenetrable national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, Rwenzori national park or Mgahinga gorilla national park after arriving in mbarara town which is famous for delicious lunch stop will continue on the mbarara-masaka highway and drive for 37 kms before turning off in Sanga town which is approximately 10 kms to the park Gate.

BY AIR TO MBARARA AIRSTRIP

Local airline company Aerolink recently launched 45 minute flights to mbarara airstrip which is 37 kms to the park. Clients can fly to mbarara and take the 45 minutes’ drive to the park.

Where to stay on Lake Mburo National Park

Travel guide to Lake Mburo is a famous safari destination offering Luxury, mid-range and budget accommodation facilities they also have a student centre available and a well maintained campsite.

Some of the notable lodges include Mihingo Lodge, Rwakobo rock, kibla-mantana tented camp, arcadia cottages, Mburo safari lodge, Eagles nest, leopard rest camp and mpogo lodge. Great Adventure safaris can help you arrange a remarkable wildlife safari to Lake Mburo National Park.