Lake Mburo National park

Lake Mburo National park

Lake Mburo National Park is one of the smallest Parks in East Africa, located in the western part of Uganda, which lies in the rain shadow between the Rwenzori Mountains and Lake Victoria near the equator. Although Lake Mburo National Park is small compared to many other parks in East Africa, it surprisingly harbors over 69 mammal species and 332 bird species.

Impalas, Burchell’s zebra and eland can only be found at Lake Mburo National Park, not any other among all National Parks in Uganda. Animals such as leopards, hyenas and Lions (after being absent for many years, they can be sighted), hippos, and crocodiles, among others. Acacia woodland bird species are also present around the rest camp at Rwonyo and East of lake Mburo in lightly wooded grassland valleys.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK

Lake Mburo National Park is a compact Jewel, packed with various species of Adventure, it’s convenient because of the closeness to the highway (Kampala-Mbarara highway) leading to the Western National Parks like Queen Elizabeth National Park, Rwenzori National Park, Semliki National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National park and others in the neighboring countries like Virunga National Park.

These are the lakes in the park:

The naming of Lake Mburo, like any other African area, has a legendary history. Before time, there lived two brothers, though their father is believed to be omuchwezi, Mburo and kigarama that lived in low-lying savannah plains that mark the area traditionally referred to as The Beautiful Land, “Kaaro Karungi,” where the Bahima pastoralists and the King converged and grazed their cattle.

One night Kigarama, the brother of Mburo, dreamt that “The area in which they lived was to receive rainfall that would cause flooding, hence consuming their lives and property.” The next morning, he shared the dream with his brother but Mburo took it easy and trashed it.

Long ago dreams were respected, but Kigarama decided to relocate and went to the adjacent hill and left his brother behind. Regrettably, the dream came to pass and the area experienced flooding drowning Mburo and his belongings in a pool-like lake. So the lake was named after Mburo, and the adjacent hill was named after Kigarama in remembrance of the two brothers.

These physical features do exist up to today; lake Mburo and Kigarama Hill can be vividly seen by Tourists on Uganda Safaris Tours, so the name Lake Mburo National Park originated from Mburo, the brother of Kigarama.

Lake Mburo offers Boat cruise, Sport fishing, and Birding while the Savannah park facilitates Nature walks, Game Drives, Horseback safaris and Night drives. It’s also a stop center to the Western National parks.

The park lies at an Altitude 1,220–1,828 meters above sea level; it covers an area of 370km² and most of it is a wetland with swamps and papyrus. Wetland habitats comprise 20% of the parks Surface.

Lake Mburo national Park’s past is a story to tell because it lost several wildlife in these three forms:

1. There was a need to make government Ranches and therefore some wildlife was eliminated by the cattle keepers like lions, leopards, wolves, buffaloes and others that caused a threat to cattle and herdsmen.
2. The invasion of tsetse flies in the 1980s eliminated the wildlife and even the process to free the area of tsetse flies saw much wildlife die.
3. Poaching has been on a small scale by the neighboring villages of Bukanga, Kooki, Rwitsiru, Kyakakala in Kabula and others, which has reduced the bleeding of some common animals like the Impala, Defassa waterbuck, warthog, Uganda cob, buffalo, Oribi, Eland plus others.

Lake Mburo National Park has Precambrian metamorphic rocks, which date back between 500 and 800 million years. It is a home of many mammals like the Impala, Defassa waterbuck, warthog, Uganda cob, buffalo, Oribi, Eland, topi and cats like lions and leopards, plus more than 350 bird species in a 50 km-long wetland.

The park was once covered by open savannah but nowadays it contains much woodland since it has no Elephants to tame the vegetation and shrubs, in West side of the park, the savannah is sparse with rocky ridges and forested gorges, while on the Lakes’ lining, there exist patches of papyrus swamp and Narrow bands of lush riparian woodland.

ATTRACTIONS IN LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK

1. Game drives
2. Night safaris
3. Birding
4. Nature Walk safari
5. Boat voyage
6. Horseback safaris
7. Sport fishing

 BIRDING

Since most of the park is composed of swamps, it becomes the biggest attraction for birds, with more than 350 species of birds. Birds are spotted on salt licks at Rwonyo, in Rubanga forest, along lake Mburo while on a boat cruise.

 Among the birds spotted are the Brown-chested Lapwing, Grey Crowned crane, Black-bellied Bustard, Bateleur, Rufous-bellied Heron and Coqui-Francolin, among others. Experienced Bird Guides will take you through this unforgettable safari.

BOAT VOYAGE IN LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK

Lake Mburo has rich wildlife on its Eastern banks that can be explored during a tranquil 2hour Boat voyage. These are what you expect to see along this voyage: crocodiles, Buffaloes and Hippos, colourful kingfishers; African finfoots; magnificent fish eagles; Hammerkops and their nests; and the Prehistoric-looking Shoebill.

Voyages start at Rwonyo camp every 2 hours from 8am because of its increasing demand by the tourists, and nowadays the park has increasingly been visited by the local people.

NATURE WALKS IN LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK

A Ranger Guide accompanies the walkers in the wild to identify different wildlife to the tourists and for the safety of the visitors, locations include

• The Rwonyo salt licks are for viewing animals like impala, topi, oribi, bushbuck, zebra and many others.
• The lake’s banks are where a visitor gets a glance at different nature like swamps, crocodiles, Buffaloes and Hippos, colorful kingfishers, magnificent fish eagles, Hammerkops, Prehistoric-looking shoebills.
• Rubanga forest and hilltops with beautiful lake views.

 HORSEBACK SAFARI IN LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK

This is an exciting and interesting way to view wildlife, including impala, eland, topi, warthog, zebra, waterbucks and buffalo. Horseback safari was introduced to add to the existing attractions of the park.

SPORT FISHING IN LAKE MBURO

The most common fish caught in this Lake is Tilapia plus six other species of fish like mudfish and catfish. The designated fishing spot is at Mazinga. To the visitors willing/expecting to do spot fishing, they should carry along with them fishing equipment and also make reservations with the park to obtain fishing permits in advance.

 NIGHT SAFARI

In this safari, there are high chances of seeing Leopards, wolves. A tourist is required to carry along night vision equipment to make this experience the most memorable one.

LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK HAS SOME AREAS OF INTEREST AND THESE INCLUDE

1. Ryonyo Rest Camp
2. Lake Mburo
3. Rubanga Forest
4. Game Tracks

Rwyonyo Rest Camp

This is the center of tourism activities in Lake Mburo National Park hence the starting and ending point for Biking, Game drives, Forest walks, Nature walks and hikes. There is a bar and restaurant with different local foods that rejuvenate your body, plus refreshments.

The animals are seen around the camp like the impala, warthogs, zebras and topis, which give the visitors a smile because of their social behavior. In this camp there exists a cultural shop selling handcrafts and books.   

Lake Mburo

Lake Mburo has a wide variety of resident birds that include Malachite Kingfishers, Pied kingfishers, African fish eagles, Pelicans, Rufous Long-Tailed starlings, Blue-headed Weavers, Green-necked Doves and a rare shoebill.

The banks of lake Mburo teem with different animals like Crocodiles and hippopotamuses, being the permanent residents and in the dry season Buffaloes, Zebras and others come to drink water. Lake Mburo is now a natural haven for Fauna and Flora.

Rubanga Forest

Rubanga Forest is found on the western side of Lake Mburo; it provides a taste of Tropical high forest with a closed canopy and viewing platform for tourists.

Though small, it is home to a variety of forest birds, like the Green Pigeon, Narina Trogon, Grey-backed Cameroptera, double-toothed Barbet, and Harrier Hawk. Rubanga forest is also strictly explored with a Game Ranger Guide.

 Game Tracks

A hilltop viewpoint offers a great view of lake Mburo National park and its five Lakes. Game tracks are found on the Eastern hinterland of the park, where a variety of animals are seen, like Burchell’s Zebra, Buffaloes, Topis, Elands, warthog and so many others.