Lake Mburo national park is located is a nature haven for fauna and flora. The park is located in Mbarara district and it is the smallest Uganda’s savannah park which protects 315 bird species as well as warthogs, buffalo, oribis, Defassa waterbucks, leopards, hippos, hyenas, topis, reedbucks among others. It should also be noted that, Lake Mburo National park host no elephants to contral the growth of vegetation however, the park is dominated by zebras.
Lake Mburo is the largest of the five lakes found in the park, which together attract hippos, crocodiles and a variety of water birds, while the swamps hide sitatunga antelope.
Areas of interest in Lake Mburo National Park
Lake Mburo
This lake is suitable for boat cruising to visit the colonies of animals and birds. It is amazing that crocodiles and hippos are permanent residents and buffallos come to drink during thedry season. The wide variety of birds here include malachite kingfishers, pied kingfishers, African fish eagles, rufus long tailed starlings, blue- hesded weavers, green-necked doves, hammerkops, pelicans, herons, cormorants and even rare shoebills.
Rwonyo Rest Camp
This is the centre for tourism activities and the starting point for nature hikes, quad biking, game drives and forest walks.
Rubanga Forest
This is a kind of tropical forest located on the western side of Lake Mburo. The forest host a variety of birds like commener species like Harrier Hawk, Green pigeon, Narina Trogon, Grey-backed cameroptera and double-toothed Barbet among others.
Climate
Lake Mburo National Park lies in a rain shadow between Lake Victoria and the Rwenzori Mountains, and receives an average of 800 mm of rain a year. Being near the equator, the rainfall pattern is bimodal, with the long rains occurring from February to June, and the short rains from September to December. The rains are rather erratic and unpredictable, but most rain tends to fall in April and November. The average recorded temperature is 27.5 C with daily variations ranging from 21.5 C to 34.0 C. July and August is the hottest months.
The Park lies between 1219 and 1828 m above sea level. High hills and rocky, eroded ridges characterize the western part of the Park; here deep valleys support the forest found nowhere else. In the eastern sector, the rolling, wooded hills are intersected by wide, flat bottomed valleys, which are seasonally flooded and drain into the swamps and lakes. The Ruizi River flows in a south-easterly direction and forms part of the western boundary of the Park. Lake Mburo and its associated wetlands eventually drain into Lake Victoria.
Lake Mburo National Park is located along the highway to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a home to half of the world’s last remaining population of the critically endangered mountain gorillas. Therefore, you can combine wildlife life viewing safari in Lake Mburo National Park with mountain gorilla tracking in the impenetrable forest of Bwindi national park, or Mgahinga National Park in Uganda. It take about 5-6hrs drive from Lake Mburo National park to bwindi or Mgahinga gorilla parks. Other national parks in Uganda include Rwenzori National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison falls National Park, Mount Elgon, Kibale Forest and Semliki national park among others.
