Lake Mburo national park
Lake Mburo national park stands to be the smallest savannah national park in Uganda, nearest of most of the ecosystems in the country to the capital city Kampala, it is quite the easiest to access as it is situated along the greater Masaka and Mbarara highway the beautiful park initially used to be a hunting ground for the Bahima and Ankole people, the conservation area was gazette as a way of protecting the few of the many animals that were present in the national park over the years there has been an elimination an relocation of animals due to several factors including a Tse Tse fly invasion, about 20% of the park areas is occupied in waterbodies.
The conservation area is underlined by metamorphic rocks which are said to date back up to 500 million years ago, the origin of the name Mburo is gotten from a Legend of 2 brothers one of which was called Mburo, it is said that Mburo’s brother had a dream of lots of rain that had covered the region he explained it to his brother who did not seem to listen and ended up going to graze, floods found him there and could not make it back and hence the place was named after him Lake Mburo! There are 5 Lakes in the national park connecting together with the marshy swampy areas to form one large wetland area, the surrounding areas are covered in papyrus swamp and short water plants.
Lake Mburo national park is home to many wildlife species including waterbucks, hyenas, topi, reedbuck, elands, buffaloes waterbucks, Roth child’s giraffes, and over 300 species of birds, things to do in the conservation area guided game drives are the most ideal thing to do while hearing, these are conducted in the morning in search of morning risers and in the afternoon which normally ends in sundowners, nature walks through the well-distributed game tracks of the forested area, lake Mburo is one safe places to go on a walk there are no big cats or large mammals like elephants, birding, Horseback ridding is an interactive way of getting closer to wildlife this is an initiative of Mihingo lodge, ridders can be inhouse guests or those from other facilities, cycling in the park, boat cruise along the Lake Mburo to mention a few.
The national park can be accessed all throughout the year each one of the seasons has got a unique showcase however the best time to visit is during the dry season between June-September and December -February, these are normally the seasons however due to climate change there can be rains in any of the seasons, the park is managed by the Uganda wildlife authority and hence a mandatory park entrance fees is paid per 24 hours foreign nonresidents pay $40, Foreign residents$30 and east African citizens 20,000 shillings. The park can be accessed by road or by air through the Kampala -Mbarara highway. There is available accommodation in the conservation area for example Mihingo lodge, Kigarama lodge, and Rwakobo rock among other facilities of the park.