TOURIST ATTRACTIONS AND SAFARI ACTIVITIES IN LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK
Flora and fauna
A Variety of vegetative habitats surround the open water of Lake Mburo. The lake's western side is dominated by a grassy escarpment rising above a shoreline fringed with acacia forest and the closed canopy Rubanga forest. To the north and east, grassy valley floors, made seasonally lush and soggy by rain, drain between undulating hills. These seep through expanses of wetland into the lake. Rock kopjes are found along the eastern margins of the park.
These varied habitats support an impressive variety of wildlife including 68 mammal species. These include some rarities. Lake Mburo is the only park in Uganda to contain impala and the only one in the rift region to host Burchell's zebra and eland. In Uganda, topi are only found in Lake Mburo and Queen Elizabeth National Parks. Commoner species include warthog, buffalo, oribi, Defassa waterbuck and reedbuck. Leopard and hyena are also present while hippo and crocodile are found in the lake.
The park also has a very respectable birdlist with around 315 species recorded to date including the shoebill, papyrus yellow warbler, African finfoot, saddle billed stork, brown chested wattled plover, Carruther's cisticola, Tabora cisticola, great snipe, Abyssinian ground horn bill and white winged warbler. Acacia woodland bird species are especially well represented while forest species may be found in Rubanga Forest.
AROUND LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK
Rubanga Forest
Though small, this tract of forest on the western side of Mburo provides a taste of a tropical high forest with c canopy and is home to a variety of forest bird species. Rut can be explored with a ranger guide.
Rwonyo Rest Camp
Rwonyo is the centre for tourism activities in the park. The Rest Camp is the starting point for nature walks while an Interpretation Centre on the hilltop behind the rest camp describes the park's history and biodiversity.
Conservation Education Centre
The park has a conservation education centre, 1 km WE Sanga gate. This provides accommodation and an educ hall for school groups, visitors, seminars and workshops.
Lake Mburo
The eastern shores of Lake Mburo can be explored by boat, departing from a jetty at the lakeside campsite near Rwonyo.
Watch out for crocodile and hippopotamus during the 2-hour voyage, as well as birds including pelicans, heron, cormorant and fish eagle and perhaps even the rare shoebill stork.
Salt Lick
Guided walks explore the park around Rwonyo, culminating in a visit to a natural salt lick frequented by wildlife. Viewing is facilitated by a timber observation platform.
Game Tracks
The eastern hinterland of Lake Mburo is served by a network of game tracks along which a variety of savanna animals and birds can be sighted. Impala are most commonly seen along the Impala Track while zebra frequent the grassy valley floors traversed by the Zebra Track. This connects to the Ruroko Track which passes rock kopjes that are home to the elusive klipspringer.
In the south of the park, the Lakeside Track passes through dense woodland - home to bush buck and bush duiker - to Kigambira Hill which provides a panoramic view of Lake Mburo.
This lake, and seven more, can also be seen from the Kazuma Hill lookout close to the Kazuma Track.