The location of Lake Mburo National Park is in southwestern Uganda, spanning both Kiruhura and Mbarara districts. The park is best placed along Kampala – Masaka – Mbarara highway where tourists can come very close to wild animals like impalas and zebras.
Lake Mburo National Park can be accessed from Kampala – Mbarara highway via Masaka which is roughly a three and half hour drive.
The park is about 30 kilometers (19 mi), by road, east of Mbarara, the largest city in the sub-region that is when you are staying in Mbarara. This location is approximately 240 kilometers (150 mi), by road, west of Kampala, Uganda’s capital and largest city, when you are using the Kampala – Mbarara highway. The coordinates of the park are 00 36S, 30 57E (Latitude: 0.6000; Longitude: 30.9500).
Lake Mburo National Park is one of Uganda’s national parks which is the closest to the city and can easily be accessed within a day, for a single day’s activities.
More About Lake Mburo National Park and Its Location
At 370 square km, Lake Mburo National Park is small in comparison with many other East African parks. But the park boasts a rich variety of habitats; including dry hillsides, rocky outcrops, bushy thickets, open and wooded savannah, forest, lakes, and swamp. It is home to a surprising diversity of plants and animals.
It contains an extensive area of wetland and also harbors several species of mammals and birds found nowhere else in Uganda. Its sculptured landscape, with rolling hills and idyllic lake shores, has a varied mosaic of habitats; forest galleries, and seasonal and permanent swamps. There are rich acacia-woodland and grassy valleys which all support a wealth of wildlife.
Lake Mburo is the only park in Uganda with elands, impalas, and klipspringer. It is also home to the largest population of zebras in Uganda, estimated at about 5,000. So, it can be explored on nature-guided walks and horse riding safaris, and a game drive.
The park probably contains the highest concentration of leopards found anywhere in Uganda. In addition, buffaloes, waterbucks, topis, and warthogs are also very common. Reedbucks and oribis can also be spotted in the open valleys. Hyenas, genet, bush pigs, and white-tailed mongooses are often seen on night game drives.
At the center of the park is Lake Mburo, which, together with 14 other lakes in the area, forms part of a wetland system. This system is linked by a 50 km long swamp, fed by the Rwizi River on the western side.