Lake Mburo National Park

Located basically equidistant between Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Entebbe, the woodlands, waters and grasslands make for the perfect break in a road journey either to or from the gorillas.

If returning from the gorillas, try to stay a night longer than you initially think necessary; Mburo is the perfect place in which to relax as well as explore.

If you live in Kampala or Entebbe, then Mburo is also a great location for a long weekend getaway.

Although just 260km², Mburo provides a wonderful variety of habitats, with 20% of its surface area made up of lakes and marshland.

The park has a network of game drive tracks. The wildlife densities will vary depending on the time of year, plus the lack of elephants is allowing thick scrub to grow where there were grassy plains.

However, each drive normally has a great chance of finding substantial concentrations of impala, zebra, waterbuck, topi and buffalo.

The re-introduced giraffe are more commonly seen from the Kazuma and Ruroko tracks. You may also see the shy eland, who now number over 100.

It is now also possible to experience the park in darkness on two to three-hour night game drives. These normally start about 6:30pm and are a wonderful way to see nocturnal animals like bushbabies and potto, plus leopard and hyena at their most active.

In Mburo, the whole park is available to explore on foot, as long as you take a guide with you. Favourite trails are to the salt lick at Rwonyo, the lake shorelines, Rubanga Forest and viewpoint hill tops. 

Walks are the most exciting way to discover the park because visibility is often restricted by the undergrowth and it is difficult to see buffalo holding their ground or hyena loping back to their dens after a night on the prowl.

Walks are also the best way for birders to track down the more elusive species.

Mburo is the only place in Uganda where you can ride horses in a national park. Operating out of the Mihingo Lodge stable, all abilities and ages are catered for.

Buffalo and zebra react very differently to a human on horseback and so this is a special way to move among the wildlife.

The rides last for four hours and often include hill-top sundowners or bush breakfasts.

Uganda’s smallest savanna national park is located in the southern Ankole region halfway between Bwindi and Entebbe/Kampala. It is 260km² of lakes, swamps, grassland and acacia woodland. With low hills rising from the lake shore, it is reminiscent of parts of Zululand and Akagera National Park in Rwanda. 

The underlying Pre-Cambrian bedrock dates back over 500 million years and supports sandy, well-drained, soils. Located in the ‘rain shadow’ between Lake Victoria and the Rwenzori Mountains, Mburo has a relatively low annual rainfall of 800mm, similar to Kidepo.

Despite this 20% of the park is made up of wetland habitats, most notably five lakes, the largest of which being the 13km² Lake Mburo. Aside from grassland, the other main habitat is acacia woodland.

The altitude of the park ranges from 1,220m to 1,828m above sea level.

Mburo is home to several species that, although common elsewhere in Africa, are found only in the park or otherwise rarely within Uganda. It is the only place you will find impala and one of only two places in the country you will find Burchell’s zebra and eland. 

There are 68 mammal species. In additional to buffalo, hippo, giraffe, warthog and the previously mentioned zebra and eland, other commonly seen antelope species are topi, common duiker, oribi, Defasa waterbuck, Bohor reedbuck and bushbuck.

Eland are elusive, but present in large numbers and are a majestic sight when spotted. Sitatunga occupy wetland interiors, while klipspringer are seen around rocky outcrops. You will see vervet monkey and olive baboon. While guests at Mihingo Lodge may be lucky to see the extremely rare greater galago.

Predators are present in good number, but there is only one lion - a solitary male who is reputed to have entered the park from distant Tanzania. However, spotted hyena are often seen in large groups and leopard are increasingly visible.

Around 315 bird species have been recorded to date. The swamps and the acacia forests are the habitats with the greatest diversity. The Red-faced Barbet is only seen in Lake Mburo; the endemic African Finfoot is a popular sighting, and the swamps are home to six papyrus endemics. 

The best time for general wildlife viewing is in the dryer seasons from June to August and December to January. 

However, Lake Mburo National Park is still wonderful to visit in the wetter seasons from March to May and September to November. 

Mburo is only accessible by road. Entebbe/Kampala's journey takes about five to six hours; the journey to Buhoma, Bwindi is the same.