Activities in Lake Mburo National Park
April 3, 2026
Activities in Lake Mburo National Park
Lake Mburo National Park is Uganda’s smallest savannah park located along Mbarara-Kampala Highway. The park is rich in bio diversity, scenic beauty, and cultural significance offering an accessible but yet immersive safari experience. The park was gazetted in 1983 and covers a total area of 370 square kilometers dominated by savannah vegetation, acacia woodlands and swamp and among others that act as habitat to different wildlife species that include giraffes, zebras, impalas, buffaloes, waterbucks, variety off bird species among others.
Our Popular safaris to Lake Mburo National Park
2 Day Lake Mburo game and boat safari
3 Day Lake Mburo wildlife, boat and walking safari
4 Day Lake Mburo Wildlife, Boat and Cultural safari
7 Day Lake Mburo, Mgahinga gorillas, golden monkeys and Lake Bunyonyi
Below are the activities to do while on safari in Lake Mburo National Park;
Game drives
Game drives in Lake Mburo can be done early morning and in the afternoon. These game drives are done in a 4x4 pop up safari vehicle and during the game drives you will follow different tracks such as Kazuma track, Zebra track and Kigambira loop. You will be rewarded with scenic views of the park, wildlife like zebras, reedbucks, bush duikers, variety of bird species like herons, kingfishers among others.
You can also do a night game drive to explore the park in the night with spotlight torches for clear viewing of nocturnal animals. You will be able to view nocturnal animals like genetic cats, bushpigs, leopard(rare sighting) among others.
Key Wildlife Species
- Zebras – Lake Mburo is one of Uganda’s best places to see zebras
- Impalas – The park boasts Uganda’s only population of impalas
- Elands – Africa’s largest antelope species is frequently spotted here
- Buffaloes, Defassa waterbucks, and reedbucks roam the open savanna
- Hippos and crocodiles dominate the lakeshores
- Leopards and hyenas lurk in the woodlands, though sightings are rare
- Bushpigs, warthogs, and topis add to the park’s diversity
Boat Cruise
Another interesting activity that you shouldn’t miss while on safari in Lake Mburo National Park is a boat cruise on Lake Mburo. Boat cruise in Lake Mburo is done in different schedules i.e. the morning game drive that starts at 9:00am and afternoon game drive that starts at around 2:00pm. The boat cruise takes about 2 to 3 hours and you will be able to enjoy the beautiful scenery, animals like crocodiles in water, hippos, waterbucks, buffaloes drinking some water along the shores and aquatic bird species like African fish eagle, elusive shoebill stork, African Finfoot among others.
Bird Watching
Lake Mburo park is home to ore than 350 recorded bird species, including migratory birds, endemic species, savannah birds, water birds and forest birds, making Lake Mburo a birder’s haven. Bird watching can be done during game drives, boat cruise and guided nature walks and you will be able to spot bird species like saddle-billed stork, African wattled lapwing, papyrus gonolek, prehistoric shoebill stork, African Fish eagle, Nubian woodpecker, Brown parrot, white-headed barbet, among others.
Nature Walks
This is an exciting activity that gives you a chance to explore the park on foot with the company of an armed ranger guide and an experienced park guide. You will follow different trails during the nature walk such as the salt lick, where you will encounter animals that go there to lick salt, Kazuma Hill trails, where you will get a panoramic view of the park and lakes around the park, and trails to Rubanga forest where you will get a chance to spot a variety of bird species, among others. Guided nature walk gets you closer to wildlife species including zebras, buffaloes, hippos and different bird species, enjoy the cool breeze of the park among others.
Sport Fishing
Sport fishing in Lake Mburo is carried out in designated areas, and visitors who want to take part in the activity must obtain a sport fishing permit from Uganda Wildlife Authority and also carry their own fishing equipment. During sport fishing, you will have an experienced guide that will help you throughout the whole process. Lake Mburo has different fish species that include mudfish, lung fish, tilapia, cat fish , tiger fish among others, and the most common fish caught is Tilapia Fish.
Horseback riding
Horseback riding is an adventurous activity which gives you a chance to view and meet different animals while on a horse. During this activity, you will ride across the savannah plains and you will be able to view animals like zebras, buffaloes, topi, warthogs, elands, impalas, variety of bird species, among others.
Cycling
Cycling is an interesting activity where visitors explore the park on bicycles. The bicycle rides are guided by an experienced ranger guide to protect visitors from dangerous animals. During the activity, you will follow established cycling routes that go through the plains of savannah grasslands, forested hills where you will encounter animals like zebras, giraffes, elands among others.
Cultural experiences
Cultural experiences in the park give visitors a chance to connect with the community people especially the Bahima pastoralists. Their way of life has always been close to cattle, and visiting them offers a real look at how they live.
A big part of the culture is the famous Ankole long-horned cattle. These cows are easy to recognize because of their very long horns, and they are a sign of wealth and pride in the community.
Visitors can join in the cattle experience, where they can try milking cattle by hand or walk with the herdsmen as they take the cattle out to graze.
You can also learn about traditional dairy practices. Locals show you how they turn milk into butter and ghee using simple tools like gourds and traditional smoking methods.
Best Time to Visit Lake Mburo National Park
Lake Mburo National Park can be visited anytime throughout the year, but the best time is during the dry season in the months of June to September and December to February. During this season, there is little rain in the park; therefore vegetation is thin, and animals gather around water bodies to drink water, which gives you an opportunity to view a large concentration of animals in the park.
For more information, kindly get in touch with our team.
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