Description: Lake Mburo National Park is in the Mbarara district, and is a few kilometres off the main road between Kampala and Mbarara with two different roads leading to the Sanga and Nshara gates. We visited Lake Mburo just for the day, so I can't comment on the accommodation here but there are several options within and outside the park.
Lake Mburo is a Savannah reserve centred on several swamp-fringed lakes including Lake Mburo. The lake area is noted for a wide variety of birdlife. The rest of the park is green acacia woodland and has dense populations of zebra, warthog, buffalo, impala, and various other grazers, including the last surviving Ugandan population of eland, the largest of African antelope.
We came in from the Sanga gate and then later left through the Nshara gate. Even driving through the park to the ranger station we saw a wide range of animals including a herd of zebra that were close to the road. The rest of the group I was with went with a ranger on a walking safari in the park which they said was good, as he explained the differences in the many type of antelope in the park.
Unfortunately, I was still recovering from a chest infection and couldn't walk for the 2 hours of the safari, so I went down to the park's 'restaurant' at Lake Mburo. Sitting in wooden open building overlooking the lake was quite pleasant, but I had a great opportunity to see hippos in the water and also out grazing on the grass. I also sat and watched a group of monkeys, several birds and an incredible number of bright coloured butterflies. The others relayed much of what they learnt when we drove back out of the park and we saw even more zebra, buffalo, and several different type of antelope as we were leaving.
This may not have the most spectacular range of animals, but we came here as it was on the main road from Kampala to the south-east of the country. There are various options for different guided tours in the park, but the walking tour is fairly unusual in most parks. We enjoyed the park but if I'm visiting Uganda again I'd probably try one of the other National parks. The main reason we chose this park was its accessibility for us, but it is the smallest park and if you are looking for a great safari trip then this probably is not the best option.
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