Attractions in Lake Mburo national park
Attractions in Lake Mburo national park: Attractions in Lake Mburo national park are those things that make tourists visit the protected area. The national park is located in the western part of the country in Nyabushozi country of Kiruhura district. Lake Mburo national park is found on Kampala Mbarara highway and it’s one of the stopover areas for tourists visiting the western and southwestern parts of the country.
Lake Mburo national park is the smallest savannah park covering an area of 260 sq. km with plenty of animals. Lake Mburo national park is known for having over 68 mammal species, and 350 bird species. The national park is home to zebras which are only found in three places others being Kidepo Valley national park and Pian Upe game reserve.
Lake Mburo national park is also one of the three areas to find impalas with a few others found in Katonga wildlife reserve and Pian Upe game reserve. Lake Mburo national park has been listed as one of the best areas to visit while on a safari in Uganda. Below are some of the attractions that tourists can see while in Lake Mburo national park.
Attractions in Lake Mburo national park
Mammals
Lake Mburo national park is home to over 68 mammals that can even be seen on a walking safari and game drives because there are no dangerous animals in the park like the elephants. The mammals within Lake Mburo national park live within the forest area, wetlands, and savannah green valleys where they have found comfortable homes and food.
Mammals of Lake Mburo national park include Burchell’s zebra, lion, bohor reedbuck, leopard, defassa waterbuck, spotted hyena, topi, warthog, Rothschild’s giraffe, bush pig, giant forest hog, bush pig, Uganda kob, hippopotamus, cape buffalo, klipspringer, side stripped jackal, eland, and sitatunga among others. Lake Mburo national park is the only park to see impalas in the whole country.
Primates
Lake Mburo national park is not only home to mammals but also a few primate species. The national park is home to only three primate species which are black and white colobus, olive baboons, and vervet monkeys. These primates in seen during nature walk activities in Lake Mburo park or sometimes game drives in forest areas and swamps.
Birds
Another activities in Lake Mburo national park are the birding. There are about 350 species of birds in Lake Mburo national park 40 of which are seen in Rubanga forest which is part of the park. Some of the bird species in Lake Mburo national park include African finfoot, papyrus yellow warblers, blue-breasted kingfisher, white-winged warbler, African wattled lapwing, shoebill, black-bellied bustard, colored papyrus gonolek among others.
Lake Mburo
Lake Mburo national park gets its name from a lake that is found inside the park. Lake Mburo is a small lake found within the park and it has acted as a source of water for most of the park animals especially in the dry season. The vegetation around the lake is home to different water birds such as blue-headed weavers, shoebill stock, malachite kingfishers, and African fish eagles among others.
Rubanga forest
Rubanga forest is situated on the western side of the park and is open for guided nature walk activities. The forest is home to about 40 bird species and a few animals. Rubanga forest has got different tree species and other vegetation types. During the nature walks in this forest, you need a well-trained armed ranger guide to protect you and show you the right routes to use.
Accessing to Lake Mburo national park
Lake Mburo national park is the closest national park to Kampala/Entebbe. It is located about 240 km from the cities and can be accessed within 4 hours. To get to Lake Mburo national park you can use road transport where you will drive from Kampala/Entebbe via Masaka, Lyantonde, and the Sanga where you branch off to the park.
For travelers that love to fly or those that have a very short time in the country, there is an option of flying. Flights to Lake Mburo national park start from Entebbe international airport o Kajjansi airstrip and land at Mbarara airstrip which is close to the park. From Mbarara airstrip to Lake Mburo national park there is a short distance and tourists will get there in 1 to 2 hours.
Best time to visit Lake mburo National park
Lake Mburo national park safari is open for tourism activities all throughout the year however certain months are better than the rest. The dry season months which are June, July, August, September, December, January, and February are the best to visit the park. This is because they have little or no rainfall and plenty of sunshine. The game tracks are dry and passable, and the vegetation is short with clear views of attractions.
Tourists can still visit Lake Mburo national park to see different attractions during the rainy season. The rainy season does happen from March to May and October to November but what makes it not so good is the plenty of rainfall. The road from Sanga gate or Nshara gate to the park and game tracks are muddy which makes safari vehicles get stuck and the vegetation is tall with unclear views of wildlife.
