Lake Mburo National Park is the smallest protected area in Uganda and is so close to both Entebbe and Kampala. If a traveler is planning a wildlife safari in Uganda, a bird-watching safari, or an endless game-viewing safari, then Lake Mburo National Park is the ideal destination for you. Lake Mburo National Park is situated just 240 kilometers from Uganda’s capital city, Kampala, and around 30 kilometers from Mbarara, western Uganda’s biggest town. Click here to view mountain gorilla trekking safaris.

 Lake Mburo National Park cuts across four big districts of western Uganda, including Mbarara town, Kiruhura district, Lyantonde district, and Isingiro North. Lake Mburo National Park is the nearest national park in Uganda and the closest to the President's Home District in the Kiruhura district. Lake Mburo National Park can easily be reached by road, which takes about 3 hours' drive from Kampala. Click here to see our recommended mountain gorilla trekking tour.

 Lake Mburo National Park was designated a protected area in 1933 to control wild hunting and later turned into a game reserve in 1963. This area was first occupied by the Banyankore pastoralists (mostly known as the Bahima), who used to live here with their long-horned cattle and other livestock in this reserve until it was created as a national park in 1983 during the Obote regime.

 The ecosystem at Lake Mburo National Park Lake Mburo National Park is unique and special and offers a vast ecosystem where pure nature prevails in western Uganda. Lake Mburo National Park has forested gorges, rocky ridges, and narrow bands of lush riparian woodland, savannah grassland, and riverine. Lake Mburo National Park is surrounded by many lakes, which add to the extra-beautiful scenery that attracts many tourists who come to view the hidden treasures in this park.

 Lake Mburo National Park harbors over 68 mammal species. Lake Mburo National Park offers a wide range of bird species that are visible to visitors. Some of the Lake Mburo bird species that can be spotted include the rare shoebill stork, heron, pelican, and African fin, among others. 

Lake Mburo National Park is endowed with a number of forests that act as habitat for many surviving animals in this park and also help in influencing the formation of rainfall, hence providing water. Lake Mburo National Park is also occupied by acacia trees, valleys, and grasslands with different grass zones where different wild animals feed. Lake Mburo National Park has both permanent and seasonal swamps that have enabled papyrus to grow, which is used to make different products.

Lake Mburo National Park offers activities such as a boat cruise, which gives travelers the opportunity to view different bird species as well as spot wildlife species such as crocodiles and a school of hippos, among others. Unlimited game viewing and game drives are another important tourist activity that you should not miss on your trip to Lake Mburo National Park. Lake Mburo National Park game drives are categorized into day game drives and night game drives. Night game drives are offered for those travelers who might have missed the day game drives but are also interested in viewing nocturnal animals.

Lake Mburo National Park offers sports fishing, where travelers are interested in just catching fish and later putting them back in to participate. What makes it so special is that travelers are free to be joined by the locals as they demonstrate how they do it locally. Travelers get an opportunity to learn from the natives.

The travelers can participate in cultural tours where they can easily learn about their culture, customs, dances, and folk songs. Lake Mburo's natives are mostly Bahima, and they showcase to tourists their rare and famous Ankole long-horned cattle. The Bahima also present how they process milk and local yogurt. Travelers can also visit the Igongo Cultural Center, where they have a greater chance of learning more about different cultures in western Uganda.

Lake Mburo National Park's other tourist activities include bird watching, horseback riding, nature walks, and hiking, which may be interesting to many tourists planning to visit Lake Mburo National Park. What wildlife species are surviving in Lake Mburo National Park? Lake Mburo National Park is well known for its protection of the impala, but it also has a large population of zebra, elands, cape buffalo, hippos, oribi, deffasa waterbucks, leopard readbacks, and hyenas.

Lake Mburo National Park offers numerous animal species for travelers to enjoy on their wildlife safari. Lake Mburo National Park has different bird species, including the unique and famous shoebill stork, pelican, African finfoot, heron, and crested crane, among others. A traveler can never miss spotting any of the bird species mentioned above or animals because Lake Mburo National Park is suitably located.

Reaching Lake Mburo National Park is easy because of its location as the nearest national park to Uganda’s capital city, Kampala. The easiest way to access Lake Mburo National Park is by road. Travelers can drive from Entebbe or Kampala to Lake Mburo National Park in approximately 3–4 hours and cover a distance of about 240 km. Although some travelers may opt to fly from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airstrip to the Mbarara Airstrip, it takes less than an hour for travelers to be transferred to Lake Mburo National Park. Flying from Entebbe or Kajjansi to Mbarara Airstrip is the most convenient and quickest mode of transportation.

Which cultural safaris are around Lake Mburo National Park?

Besides wildlife viewing, Lake Mburo National Park is the key attraction. Lake Mburo National Park has so much more to offer in terms of cultural experiences. Lake Mburo National Park is located in the Ankole Sub-region; the Banyankole are well-known for their cattle farming and cultivation. Travelers interested in learning about the banyankole culture can also go to the igongo cultural Centre.