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Lake Mburo National Park extends over 260km2 and is one of the smallest national parks in Uganda. It is dominated by a scenic lake and rolling green hills. Until recently LMNP despite its easy access was by passed by majority of safaris and other traveler due to its low Big 5 count especially lack of elephants and rare lions.
Lately LMNP is increasingly a common stopover for tourists travelling to Bwindi, QENP and Kampala. Despite the absence of some of the big 5, Lake Mburo has great wildlife viewing and other unique activities associated with it such as mountain biking in and around the park boundaries and gives travelers the opportunity to view wildlife on a horseback.
Checkout our Lake Mburo tours available below:
10 Day Classic Best of Uganda (Luxury)
Exploring Lake Mburo National Park with Jumanji Africa Safaris allows you to experience a variety of different safari activities to make your trip even more memorable. Below are the various activities that you can take part in when you visit Lake Mburo National Park.
Lake Mburo National Park supports several mammals including those not seen anywhere else in Uganda. It is home to Uganda’s remaining largest herds of the Impala from which Kampala City was named after. It also has high concentrations of antelopes which include topi, common duiker, oribi, Defassa waterbuck, Bohor reedbuck and bushbuck, sitatunga, large herds of the majestic eland and the rock loving klipspringer. The Park also supports a healthy population of buffalo, warthogs, bushpig and hippos around in and around the lake.
In mid 2015’s 15 Rothschild’s giraffes were introduced from Murchison Falls and the herd has since multiplied and settled around the areas of acacia grassland between the eland track and the acacia track.
LMNP has only 2 diurnal primate species present i.e., vervet monkey and olive baboon. It’s also one of the few places where the greater galago has been recorded.
Lions in LMNP were hunted to extinction by the 1970s but there is a presence of a solitary male lion that 1st showed up in 2008 and is still sighted occasionally. Leopards on the other hand are quite common and abundantly seen especially on night game drives as well as the spotted hyena, side-striped jackal and other smaller predators such as the white-tailed mongoose.
The Park has a recorded 315 bird species which include shoreline residents such as African fish eagle, jacana, night heron, green-backed heron, goliath heron, malachite kingfisher, African finfoot and hamerkop. Woodland residents include black-throated barbet, grey hornbill, drongo, brown parrot, woodland kingfisher and many more.
The best game viewing areas of the park are the sections along the eland track and reservoir, zebra track, acacia track and the research track. In general, this section is the most productive for wildlife viewing with great chances of spotting the giraffes as well as different species of antelopes and zebra.
Tracks down the Kigambira loop are great if you are hoping to spot a leopard in the dense tree cover.
Lake Mburo National Park is the only Ugandan protected area where the horseback safaris are permitted and it offers a great opportunity to get close to wildlife such as zebra, buffalo and various species of antelopes as well as giraffes which are far more relaxed around horses other than cars. The horseback safari particularly takes the route around the research track but most importantly rides are tailored to individual experience and requirement. Kids can be led on good-natured ponies while the adults can help a couple of retired racehorses burn off a few calories. This experience lasts about 30/60 minutes or the half day pricier option.
Lake Mburo National Park is the only in Uganda where night game drives are permitted and this simply is why it’s a unique and attractive place to visit. The success of a compensation scheme for locals whose livestock is killed by leopards and hyenas means that the number of these elusive nocturnals have increased with almost a 50% chance of spotting of a pack of up to 20 hyenas. This experience makes a visit to the park worthwhile.
Mountain Biking is another experience associated with Lake Mburo National Park. Bike safaris can be done both inside and outside the park boundaries. The experience outside the park is just as good as the inside. The most popular route is one from Rwakobo Rock Lodge heading east of the Nshara Gate to the gentle lying hills of with views over the park. Here especially in the late evening various wildlife such as Zebra, Eland, Impala congregate on the hills and just like the horses they are very comfortable around the bikes.
Visitors are to LMNP are permitted to walk anywhere in company of an armed ranger. Near the rest camp the hilltop is a good viewpoint while the road to the jetty is also a good place to walk being rich in birds, but hippos are also regular visitors. An even better target is a viewing platform that overlooks a salt lick about 2km from the camp – an excellent place to view a wide variety of animals.
LMNP is another of many Uganda’s parks to offer boat safari experiences due to presence of a scenic great navigable lake. The boat safari leaves from the jetty at the main camp site and the ride produces great sightings of hippo, crocodiles, buffalo, waterbuck, bushbuck and Lake Mburo’s resident otters.
Look out for waterbirds such as the African fish eagle, marabou stork, pied kingfisher, various egrets and herons and many more. Lake Mburo is also the best place in Uganda to see the African finfoot. The boat safari last about 1.5hrs leaving every 2hrs between 8am and 4pm.