Lake Mburo National Park is Uganda’s smallest savannah conservation area it is one of the nearest places to see wildlife from the Kampala city or Entebbe. Over the years, Lake Mburo National Park has faced quite a number of times of animal elimination due to Tsetse fly infection and human population pressure, what is currently Lake Mburo National Park was first gazette in the 1933 as a controlled hunting area and upgraded into a game reserve in the 1963 by the 1983 it was named a national park during the regime of Uganda’s president Obote, the origins of the park started with a story of 2 brothers one called Mburo and the other Kigarama these are said to have been living in the area for quite some time, one day the elder brother Kigarama dreamt that there would be heavy rains which he told him about but he did not listen, it is said that he went to the place where floods found him and he could not make it home, it is the place water filled that is the present day Lake Mburo after which it is named.
Most of the parking area is covered in water bodies connecting to form a large water ecosystem, the region has been identified as an important birding area, it is underlined by Precambrian rocks dating up to 25 million years ago, above which a growing vegetation of a vast savannah is dotted with short bushes, shrubs, rocky ridges, woodlands, the Lake Mburo is a scenic intimate place. It harbors 68 mammal species, the fact that there are no big cats like Lions and large mammals like elephants makes it a supreme destination for wildlife nature walks and safe to go on bicycle riding it has many animals including Zebras, hippos, waterbucks, Jackson hartebeests, topi, elands, to mention a few, these live within the ecosystem and over 250 species of birds are present in the national park including the critically endangered shoe bill stock and the African fin foot.
Things to do while in Lake Mburo National Park include game drives which are conducted through the well-distributed game tracks of the park, you will have a chance to see the wildlife of the park, the drives are conducted in sessions in the morning, and afternoon evening and night time, this is one of the few places of the country where doing night game drives is allowed, it is accompanied by the Uganda Wildlife Authority team member. Boat cruise along Lake Mburo, this one thing to do while in the park it takes 2-3 hours while view the mammals of the park, horseback riding in Lake Mburo National Park is conducted by Mihingo Lodge, it is an initiative of the facility, this will get you closer to wildlife species, the horses can be ridden by both beginners and seniors as well, Bicycle riding is safe to do in the Lake Mburo national park dueto the absence of large mammal, it is a great destination to go birding.
The park is located in the western part of Uganda tucked along the Masaka-Mbarara highway it takes approximately 6 hours’ drive to reach the destination, there is available accommodation in the park and Mbarara city ranging from the best budget to luxury example facilities include Mihingo Lodge, Rwakobo Rock, to mention a few.