Visiting Lake Mburo national park in the dry season

Visiting Lake Mburo national park in the dry season: Lake Mburo national park is a savannah park in western Uganda and home to so many wildlife species. The national park is home to over 68 mammals, 3 primates, and 350 bird species. The national park is an ideal destination for different tourist activities such as game drives, horse riding, bird watching and nature walks in Uganda.

Lake Mburo national park can be visited at any time of the year however it’s better that you visit the park in the dry season which has been proven to be the best time to visit the park. The dry season in Lake Mburo national park happens from June to September and December to February. The dry season does have sunny weather with a few rainfalls that doesn’t support too much growth of vegetation and keep game tracks dry.

How is Lake Mburo national park during the dry season

The game tracks are dry. During the dry season in Lake Mburo national park, the game tracks which are used for game drives are very dry and easier to drive through. This is because little rainfall is received and when it rains there is always plenty of sunshine to dry the tracks in a few hours. When the game tracks in the park are dry, it means that tourists will be able to access most of the park areas which in return gives them a chance to see most of the park’s wildlife and other attractions.

The roads leading to the park are in good condition. The dry season finds roads leading to the park in the good condition which means that tourists will reach in time. From Kampala to Sanga trading centre or Nshara gate, the roads are well constructed and made of tarmac but when you branch off to the park it’s different. During the dry season, the marram roads to the park are dry but you will bear with the dust.

The vegetation is short. The vegetation in Lake Mburo national park is short and scattered which gives good views of wildlife. Even when the animals are at a far distance, tourists will be able to see them clearly without vegetation disturbing them. For tourists who want photography, images are well captured even though the vegetation is not so green.

The lodges sell out quickly. The dry season is when most of the tourists visit Lake Mburo national park and even though so many lodges are available every day not all people get lodges of their choice. Tourists who do early booking do get an opportunity to stay in accommodations of their choice or budget however those who delay do get lodges that they never planned to use in case their favorite do sell out.

Best activities to do in Lake Mburo national park during the dry season

Game drives: Game viewing is the most activity done in Lake Mburo national park where tourists get to see as many wildlife as they can. Game viewing is best done during the dry season in this park because tourists are able to use dry game tracks and access most of the areas of the park. Apart from road tracks being dry and easier to go through, tourists are able to see animals clearly because the vegetation is short and scattered.

During the dry season, the animals tend to concentrate on areas that have water and fresh vegetation cover so it’s easier to locate them. Game drives do give tourists an opportunity to see animals such as Burchell’s zebras, lion, hippopotamuses, leopards, defassa waterbucks, spotted hyenas, bohor reedbucks, topis, warthogs, elands, Rothschild’s giraffes, buffaloes, giant forest hogs, bush pigs, impalas, side stripped jackals, cape buffaloes, klipspringers, and sitatungas to mention but a few.

Boat cruises: Boat cruises on Lake Mburo are some of the activities that you don’t have to miss out while in Lake Mburo national park.  On your Visit Lake Mburo park, you’ll do boat cruises in the morning or evening hours on this lake every day of the year. During the dry season, the activity is much better because water levels are low so aquatic animals like crocodiles and hippos are easily seen. The vegetation around the lake is shorter and animals as well as birds are clearly spotted.

Horseback riding in lake mburo: Horse riding is a 2 to 5 hour activity to different areas of Lake Mburo national park. During the dry season, the routes where horses go through are dry so they will move at a normal speed and won’t get stuck. Horseback riding safaris are run by Mihingo lodge to give tourists an opportunity of seeing animals while on beautiful horses.

Horseback riding in lake mburo is different from driving in a safari vehicle because with the horses you will get a close view of the wildlife. During horseback riding in lake Mburo, tourists see different animals such as elands, impalas, lion, buffaloes, spotted hyenas, leopards, giraffes, zebras, warthogs, and side-stripped jackals to mention but a few. Bird lovers will also be able to encounter a few bird species in the park.

Bird watching: Even though best done in the rainy season when migratory birds are within the park, bird watching in Lake Mburo can still be carried out in the dry season and you see so many of the bird species living here. There are over 350 bird species in Lake Mburo national park and during bird watching safaris in the dry season, you can fail to see more than half of the total recorded here.

Bird watching in lake mburo national park during the dry season comes with opportunities of seeing birds such as shoebill stock, yellow-breasted apalis, brown chested lapwing, grey crowned crane, black papyrus gonolek, emerald spotted wood dove, bare-faced go-away bird, saddle billed stork, brown chested wattled plover, grey crowned crane, African fin foot, blue breasted kingfisher, red-headed lovebird, long tailed cisticola, greater cormorant, white-winged black tern, ross turaco, white-headed barbet, and African scops owl among others.

In conclusion, visiting Lake Mburo national park in the dry season is the best choice because of the good weather conditions. Too much sunshine keeps game tracks and roads leading to the park dry and easier to go through. Little rainfall in the park is okay because it can’t affect activities and it does not support quick growth of vegetation which gives a clear view of wildlife.