5 lakes

There are 5 lakes within the park- Lake Mburo is the biggest. Unique for: the only place in Uganda to see giant bush rats. Activities: you can take boat trips to see pelicans, hippos, crocodiles and many other types of fauna which cannot be seen on foot.

Lake Mburo National Park is a compact gem, located conveniently close to the highway that connects Kampala to the parks of western Uganda. It is the smallest of Uganda’s savannah national parks and underlain by ancient Precambrian metamorphic rocks which date back more than 500 million years. It’s a home to 350 bird species as well as zebras, impalas, elands, buffalos, oribi, Defassa waterbuck, leopard, hippo, hyena, topi and reedbuck.

The two brothers known as Kigarama and Mburo used to live in a big valley. One day Kigarama had a dream and he decides to tell his brother that they had to move. Mburo just ignored his brother and Kigarama decide to move up into the hills. The Valley down flooded with water and a lake was formed which drowned Mburo.

Lake Mburo covers an area of 260 km² between 1220m – 1828m above sea level. Wetland habitats comprise 20% of the park's surface. Lake Mburo offers some novel means of game viewing; in a vehicle; on a mountain bike, by boat, on foot, and on horseback.

Wetland habitats comprise 20% of the park’s surface

The parks’ precarious past has seen wildlife virtually eliminated several times: firstly, in various attempts to rid the region of tsetse flies, then to make way for ranches, and finally as a result of subsistence poaching.

Lake Mburo National Park is a compact gem, located conveniently close to the highway that connects Kampala to the parks of western Uganda. It is the smallest of Uganda’s savannah national parks and underlain by ancient Precambrian metamorphic rocks which date back more than 500 million years. It’s a home to 350 bird species as well as zebras, impalas, elands, buffalos, oribi, Defassa waterbuck, leopard, hippo, hyena, topi and reedbuck.

Together with 13 other lakes in the area, Lake Mburo forms part of a 50km-long wetland system linked by a swamp. Five of these lakes lie within the park’s borders. Once covered by open savanna, this supports the healthy population of Buffalos, Wathhog ,bushpig and hippopotamus. Lake Mburo National Park now contains much woodland as there are no elephants to tame the vegetation. In the western part of the park, the savanna is interspersed with rocky ridges and forested gorges while patches of papyrus swamp and narrow bands of lush riparian woodland line many lakes.

Are there lions in Lake Mburo?

There are no elephants and lions in the park, which makes it an ideal place for walking safaris. Lake Mburo National Park is the best place in Uganda to see the leopard, especially during night game drives and safaris.

The park has alot of different cat families.