Lake Mburo National Park is a 260-square-kilometer hidden treasure. Its excellent location, just south of the equator and near Mbarara town, puts it close to the freeway that links Kampala to the parks in western Uganda. The Park is a favorite weekend getaway for city dwellers and is gaining popularity on the Western safari circuit.
The park is home to 325 different bird species, including the martial eagle, red-faced barbet, papyrus yellow warbler, and African finfoot, in addition to Burchell's zebra, impala, eland, buffalo, oribi, Defassa waterbuck, leopard, hippo, hyena, topi, eland, and reedbuck. It is the only place in southern Uganda where recently reintroduced zebra and giraffe may be seen. It is also the country's sole park having impala, slender mongoose, and giant bush rats. Boat cruises on the lake are available for bird and animal observation.
Lake Mburo and 13 other nearby lakes are connected by a marsh and are part of a 50-kilometer-long wetland system. Five of these lakes are inside the park's borders. Lake Mburo National Park today has a lot of forests since there are no elephants to keep the vegetation in check. In the park's western sector, steep slopes and forested gorges cut through the savanna, while papyrus marsh and narrow bands of dense riparian woodland edge the park's many lakes.
