A 4 hour drive from Kampala – Uganda’s capital city, Lake Mburo is one of the country’s smaller national parks.
About one-fifth of the park comprises of wetland habitats with the remainder being largely open savannah and woodland.
Even though it’s easier to get to than most of Uganda’s national parks, Mburo remains less frequented than the others. This is mostly due to the poor attendance record of the big 5, with elephants being scarce and lions absent for several years now.
Despite this, the park contains most of the large mammal species found in other Ugandan parks. Game viewing remains excellent and the reserve is the only one in the country with an impala population. Recorded bird species are around the three hundred mark and the swamps are home to a handful of species native to the area.
Lake Mburo is the resident heavy-weight of the five lakes within the reserve. The lake derives its name from a sad, oral-folk story in which the lakes birth was responsible for the death of Mburo, the younger brother of Kigarama – after whom the surrounding hills were named.
A motorboat trip down the lake is easily the most popular activity, as it often results in sightings of hippo, crocodile, buffalo, and buck. The park offers camp grounds and tent facilities.