Lake Mburo National Park

Lake Mburo National Park: Background Info

Lake Mburo National Park is one of Uganda’s most surprising national parks. Often dropped into an itinerary to break the journey from Bwindi, it has a tendency to over-deliver. Time and time again the natural beauty and swiftly improving wildlife of Mburo proves to be a wonderful trip highlight. Every part of Lake Mburo National Park is alive with variety, interest and colour. It contains an extensive area of wetland and also harbours several species of mammals and birds found nowhere else in Uganda. Its sculptured landscape, with rolling hills and idyllic lake shores has a varied mosaic of habitats; forest galleries, seasonal and permanent swamps, rich acacia-woodland and grassy valleys which all support a wealth of wildlife.

Lake Mburo National Park: Destination Preview

The Experience: Lake Mburo National Park

Lake Mburo is the only park in Uganda with eland, impala and klipspringer. It is also home to the largest population of zebra in Uganda estimated at about 5,000 and probably contains the highest concentration of leopard found anywhere in Uganda. Buffalo, waterbuck, topi and warthog are also very common. Reedbuck and oribi can also be spotted in the open valleys. Hyena, genet, bush pigs and white tailed mongoose are often seen on night game drives.

At the centre of the Park is Lake Mburo, which together with 14 other lakes in the area, forms part of a wetland system. This system is linked by a swamp some 50 km long, fed by the Ruizi River on the western side. Five lakes, of which the largest is Lake Mburo, occur within the Park's boundary.

Almost a fifth of the Park's area consists of wetlands - both seasonally flooded and permanent swamps. The various types of swamps are home to a wide variety of wetland birds, as well as the shy, rare sitatunga antelope. Lake Mburo 's surface and its fringing vegetation are always changing, and it is delightful to take a boat out and experience the lake's moods and watch the numerous hippos, some crocs and an incredible amount of African fisheagles. The lake is also one of the best places to spot the rarely seen African finfoot and white backed heron amongst many other water birds.

Wildlife

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.

This lake is also very rich in the diversity of animals as well as plant species that can only be seen in case you take a boat cruise; the park has got over 68 mammal species. Tlake mburo hipposhe most common animal species include; impalas, zebras, buffaloes, hyenas, topis, road antelopes, jackals, as well as the Eland. The Hippopotamuses and the crocodiles and the birds including the Black crake, pelicans, cormorant, the fish eagle, and the shoebill stork are all found on this wonderful lake. More so, the duration of the boat cruise is so negotiable.

Birdlife

Lake Mburo National Park is the best place in Uganda for acacia-dwelling birds. Forest species are also present in Rubanga Forest. A bonus for birders are the swamps, in which six papyrus specials are resident, including the spectacular papyrus gonolek and the blue-headed coucal. Southern species at the northern limit of their range include the black-collared barbet and bare-faced go-away bird. Migratory birds are present from November to April.

The park has got over 313 bird species that include; the rare white winged warbler, emerald spotted wood Dove, the crested francolin, the brown parrot, barefaced go way bird, the common Francolin, the green wood hoopoe, the blue napped mouse bird, the black billed barbet, the trilling cisticola, Nubian woodpecker as well as the African grey hornbill. Around the Rwonyo camp, you might see some others species include; the red necked spur fowl, the Coqui francolin, the temminck’s coueser, the African watted lover Rufous naped as well as the yellow throated long claw as well as the southern Red Bishop.