Lake Mburo National Park is situated in the great Mbarara district, at times called the “land of Milk”. It is a gem of a park conveniently located close to the western highway that connects Kampala to the parks of western Uganda. Though the park is just 370 sq km in size, its landscapes are varied and even a short drive is alive with interest and colour. You will pass gallery forest, open savanna, and acacia woodland, rock kopjes, seasonal and permanent swamp, and open water as you search for the wealth of wildlife they support. This includes species such as impala, Burchell’s Zebra, and eland that are not found elsewhere in western Uganda.
Accessibility
To get to Lake Mburo National Park, you have to travel to western Uganda, passing Masaka to the Mbarara district. From the capital of Uganda (Kampala), you expect to take approximately 31/2 hours’ drive.
There is a provision of two gates that lead you into the park. From Kampala, you pass through the Nsara gate, which is 13 km past Lyantonde. The alternative gate is in the Sanga trading center, where the Sanga gate is found.
Flora and fauna
Several habitats surround the open water of Lake Mburo. The lake’s western side is dominated by a grassy escarpment rising above a shoreline fringed with acacia, east, grassy valley floors made seasonally lush and soggy by rain drained between undulating hills. These seep through expanses of wetland into the lake. Rock kopjes are found along the eastern margin of the park.
This park is blessed with interesting animals like warthogs, buffalo, Oribi, defassa waterbuck, and reedbuck. What makes this park unique is the presence of the Burchell zebras and the Elands that are found only in this park in Uganda. As for aquatic life, crocodiles and hippos decorate the Mburo waters and shore. The park also hosts a variety of birds like tabora, great snipe, white winged warbler, Abyssinian ground hornbill, and white winged warbler
What to do
Game drive/s
When you embark on a game drive in this lake, you have a variety of things to see. The eastern hinterland of Lake Mburo National park is served by a network of game tracks along which a variety of savanna animals and birds can be sighted. Impala,s from which Kampala acquired its name, are most commonly seen along the impala track, while zebras frequent the grassy valley floors traversed by the zebra track. This connects to the Ruroko track, which passes rock kopjes that are home to the elusive Klipsinger.
In the south of the park, the lake side track passed through dense woodland home to bushbuck and bush duiker to Kigambira hill which provides a panoramic view of lake Mburo this lake and seven more can also be seen from the Kazuma Hill look out close to the Kzuma hill lookout close to the Kazuma Track.
Guided walks
The park has the salt lick area where several animals converge to lick some salty soil. It is frequented by wild animals that is why one takes a walk there. This activity is facilitated by a timber observation platform.
Boat ride
The park is the only one with a lake in its center. During the boat ride, you may get the chance of seeing a variety of birds like cattle egrets, crested cranes, African fin foot, saddle billed stork, tabora cisticola, great snipe, white winged warbler, and others.
Accommodations
Mantana Tented camp, Mihingo lodge, Arcadia cottages, Rwonyo bandas, UWA tents
