Game drives in Lake Mburo national park

Game drives in Lake Mburo national park: Lake Mburo national park is a savannah protected area in western Uganda. The national park was gazetted as a national park in 1983 to protect different wildlife animals and vegetation. Lake Mburo national park is the smallest savannah park in the country covering 260 sq. km.

Lake Mburo national park has about 68 mammal species, 3 primates, and 350 bird species living in the savannah vegetation. Game drives are the best way to see most of the wildlife that lives with in the savannah park. There are day game drives conducted twice a day and there is a night game drive for tourists to see nocturnal animals.

Game drives in Lake Mburo national park

Day game drives in Lake    Mburo national park

Day game drives in Lake Mburo national park are conducted in the morning and evening hours after lunch. The day game drives can be guided or not guided by armed ranger guides as long as you have a good safari guide. During the day game drives, you go to most of the corners of the park using well-constructed trails and you keep looking for different animals.

During the game drive activities in Lake Mburo national park, you will be able to encounter animals such as Burchell’s zebra, impala, lion, bohor reedbuck, eland, Uganda kobs, defassa waterbuck, spotted hyena, leopard, topi, giant forest hog, warthog, klipspringer, Rothschild’s giraffe, buffaloes, bush pigs, hippopotamus, cape buffalo, side stripped jackal, and sitatunga to mention but a few.

Night game drives in Lake Mburo national park

Night game drives in Lake Mburo national park are done by those tourists who would wish to see nocturnal animals. Nocturnal animals are those active in the night hours hunting for fresh meat and blood. Night game drives in Lake Mburo national park do start at 6:00 am and they do take place for 2 to 3 hours.

It’s mandatory to use UWA ranger guides during night game drives in the savannah park for safety of the animals and tourists. The night game drives are done in specific areas of the park where nocturnal animals usually hang. During the night game drives strong spotlights are used to see animals such as lions, zebras, bush babies, leopards, spotted hyenas, side tripled jackals, and nocturnal birds among others.

How much are game drive activities in Lake Mburo national park?

Once someone has accessed this park, the day game drive activities are free however night game drives come at a cost since they involve the use of Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger guides. The night game drives do cost $40 for foreign non-residents, $30 for foreign residents, and UGX40,000 citizens of East African member states.

Best time to visit Lake Mburo national park for game viewing safaris

Tourists can visit Lake Mburo national park for game drive safaris at any time of the year however some months are better than others. The dry season months from June to September and December to February are the best to have game viewing safaris in Lake Mburo. This is because of the good weather characterized by too much sunshine and little rainfall. The game tracks keep dry and passable and the vegetation is short with very clear views of wildlife as well as photography.

Tourists can still have game viewing safaris in Lake Mburo national park during the rainy season because the park is open and receiving visitors. The rainy season is not better than the dry season because of the bad weather conditions. The plenty of rainfall in the park makes game tracks muddy and slippery, vegetation is tall with unclear views of far animals and photography.

Accessing Lake Mburo national park for game drives

Tourists can access Lake Mburo national park for game drive safaris within a single day in 3 to 4 hours. The national park can be accessed using road transport from Kampala /Entebbe by going via Mpigi, Masaka, Lyantonde, and then branch off to the park at Sanga trading centre. Road transport to the park comes with stopovers at places like the equator in Kayabwe and royal drums at Mpambire.

Accommodation on a game drive safari in Lake Mburo national park

On a game viewing safari in Lake Mburo national park, you have so many accommodation facilities where you can stay if you want to spend a night or more. Lodges in Lake Mburo national park include Rwakobo Rock Lodge, Mburo Safari Lodge, Mihingo Lodge, Kigambira Safari Lodge, Hyena Hill Lodge, Arcadia Cottages, Rwonyo Rest Camp, Ihamba Lakeside Safari Lodge, and Kasenyi Lake Retreat Lodge and Campsite among others.