Lake Mburo national park is the smallest savannah park in Uganda. It’s located along the Kampala-Mbarara highway, making it a great daycation safari destination for tourists who don’t have much time in the country, but still desire to explore the savannah wild.
This park is the only one with Impalas from which the capital city’s name ‘Kampala’ was derived. It is also home to thousands of Burchell’s Zebras, crocodiles, and hippos that can be found along the five lakes in L. Mburo Park.
Other animals that you can find here include Leopards, buffalos, side-striped jackals, warthogs, bushpigs, and smaller predators like the white-tailed mongoose.
The L. Mburo landscape is peppered with narrow lines of woodland along the lakes, forested gorges, and rocky ridges in the western part.
The woodland keeps growing in the park because it lacks elephants, which are good at taming the vegetation.
And it has a mild climate with it raining throughout the year. Temperatures average 27°C/81°F during the day and 14°C/57°F at night.
Activities to Do
Day Game Drives
Game drives along a wide range of trails in this small gem will avail sightings of zebras, giraffes, buffalo, impalas, hyenas, reedbucks, oribis, klipspringers, and a variety of antelopes, among others in the savannah and along Lake Mburo. As you drive through the park, you will also get to enjoy its diverse landscape and lake views.
Night Game Drives
These enable you to see the nocturnal and elusive animals that are easier to encounter under the cover of darkness. Expect to see leopards, bushbabies, spotted hyenas, genets, porcupines, and other hard-to-see mammals with the help of a spotlight that your ranger guide will have on them.
Boat Cruises
Boat rides on Lake Mburo allow you to sit back and relax while you delight in views of lots of crocodiles, hippos, and a variety of birds, such as the endemic African finfoot, kingfishers, and the African fish eagle. The cruises depart every two hours daily and take up to 2 hours, ensuring you max out the trip.
Birding
Lake Mburo boasts over 350 birds and is arguably the best place for viewing the acacia-associated birds, forest and wetland birds, which include the Abyssinian ground hornbill, Papyrus gonolek, Red-faced Barbet, Saddle-billed stork, Verreaux’s eagle, and the White-winged Warbler. You can enjoy bird safaris in the comfort of your car, during the boat cruise, and on foot.
Nature Walks
Nature walks in Lake Mburo can be taken along the popular Eland trail where you can see herds of eland, giraffes, and other game.
You can also walk through the Rubanga forest and along the lake shores. A range guide will take you on a foot safari to view the animals without them catching wind of you being around so that they might run away.
Community Visits
Lake Mburo national park is surrounded by Ankole people settlements so, a trip to one of their farms can offer you a rich experience of their culture and way of living.
You can tour a farm, listen to entertaining stories about the Banyankole people and even partake in milking the legendary long-horned Ankole cows.
Sport Fishing
The sport can be carried out on any of the five lakes in the park, but the best place is at Mazinga shore on Lake Mburo. Here you can enjoy the thrill of hooking huge Tilapia, the most popular and common fish as well as catch several other species.
Horse Riding
Horseback safaris offer a unique and exciting way to get close to the different wildlife in the park. For your safety, two guides accompany you while you ride through the wilderness on well-trained horses.
Cycling Safaris
Cycling trips can last as long as you want, and you can ride to different parts of the park depending on your capabilities.
Riding in the flat valleys is more desirable because it is less strenuous and you can find plenty of wildlife there. A range guide always leads the safari to ensure you stay safe throughout the expedition.
