Lake Mburo National Park Uganda

Lake Mburo national park Uganda is 370 square kilometers and is located in the Kiruhura district in the Western part of Uganda and is probably the closest national park to Uganda’s capital city Kampala. Its main vegetation is savannah and the park is under Uganda Wildlife Authority. This makes it easily accessible to tourists. Lake Mburo national park was originally gazetted as a park in 1933 as a controlled hunting area and was later upgraded as a game reserve in 1963.

Banyankore and Bahima were the original settlers in this particular area with the Ankole long-horned cattle and up to this time, they do still occupy this particular region. These Banyankore and Bahima pastoralists were later termed invaders and were chased from the area after it was upgraded to a national park in 1983.

There are locations in the park that are culturally being considered for example Rubanga is believed to be a location where sacrifices were made to the gods while Ruroko is a place that was occupied by the Bachwezi. Kigarama is also believed to be the place where the king’s servants stayed at the time. Lake Mburo’s 20% of revenue collected goes towards upgrading community projects like the construction of schools and health centers.

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Activities in Lake Mburo national park Uganda

Game drives

Game drives are a great deal in Lake Mburo national park because tourists get to see a lot of animals. The park is home to different animals for example zebra, warthog, impalas, African buffalo, common eland, leopards, hyenas, serval cats, civets, and jackals among others. These can be seen by tourists on a game drive around the park.

The Rothschild giraffes are also seen during the game drive and these were introduced in the park in 2015. Tourists may choose to take a morning, afternoon, evening, and night game drive while in Lake Mburo national park depending on their time and at their convenience.

Birding in Lake Mburo national park Uganda

Lake Mburo is home to more than 350 bird species and is the best place to do birding because of acacia. Forest bird species can also be spotted in the Rubanga forest as well as swamp dwellers.

Birds include papyrus gonolek, African wattled lapwing, black-bellied bastard, saddle-billed stork, bare-faced go-away bird, and blue-headed coucal, cormorant, and fish eagle among others. Migratory birds to Lake Mburo national park are also present from November. The park is accessible all year round and birding can take place at any time of the year.

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Boat ride

This is conducted on Lake Mburo and during this cruise, you get to see water animals like hippopotami and crocodiles. Crocodiles may be seen resting on the shores whereas hippos can be seen wallowing in the waters of Lake Mburo. During the boat ride on Lake Mburo, you can as well take good pictures because of the beautiful scenery of the surroundings.

Fishing in Lake Mburo national park

This is conducted by both the locals and tourists who come to Lake Mburo. Lake Mburo national park has five lakes and fishing can be conducted on any of these lakes the main fish caught is Tilapia which can be enjoyed by both the community and the tourists.

Horseback riding

This is organized and conducted by Mihingo lodge and is one of the adventurous activities for clients on a tour of Lake Mburo national park. This makes the tourist feel the presence of nature at its best. Horseback riding takes between 2-5hours and a maximum of six participants can be taken on a single safari.

Nature walks in Lake Mburo national park

This helps tourists to explore more and beyond the unknown feature of Lake Mburo national park. This national park is free from predators like lions and this gives the visitor the chance to enjoy this walk. The activity can be arranged by the Uganda Wildlife Authority(UWA) which allocates one of its game rangers to escort tourists on this nature walk.

This walk takes two hours and here you get a chance to see a lot of wildlife that you may have missed during a game drive. Day and night walks are conducted and during a night walk, you are provided with a high chance of spotting the leopard in Lake Mburo national park.

Wildlife Safari Experience in Uganda

Cycling

This is also an adventurous activity that takes place in Lake Mburo national park.

This is done both in the park as well as the nearby surrounding communities and here you get to connect more with the locals.

Cultural encounters

Get a chance to interact with the local community surrounding the national park. These long-horned cattle pastoralists have a unique history in this area and you will get to learn more about how they have managed to survive for a long over the years.

How to get to Lake Mburo national park?

The park is located 228 kilometers from Kampala and is approximately 3and a half hours’ drive. Lake Mburo national park has two gates which it can be accessed from. Driving from Kampala tourists can enter the park through the Nshara gate and from Mbarara, you can use the Sanga gate which leads you to the park headquarters at Rwonyo.

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Deks Safaris & Tours Ltd

Deks Safaris & Tours Ltd is a Uganda-based safaris tour operator. We operate with a high passion for taking you through the beautiful nation of Uganda – the Pearl of Africa. A destination that offers you the best jungle adventures in Africa. We will help you experience East Africa at large with insight from a local tour guide.