Overland region

Lake Mburo by 4x4: local guides and trips

Sunset over Lake Mburo in Lake Mburo National Park
Photo: Kateregga1, CC BY-SA 4.0

Lake Mburo National Park lies in Kiruhura District, between Kampala and Mbarara: about 30 km east of Mbarara and about 228 km by road from the capital. It sits between 1,220 and 1,828 m, and wetlands cover a fifth of it, with five lakes linked by swamps. It holds Uganda's only population of impala, alongside zebras, eland, buffalo, hippos and, since 2015, Rothschild's giraffes; there are no elephants. For anyone travelling with their own vehicle it means a short detour to the Nshara or Sanga gate and game drives on the park tracks. Here are the local guides who work in the area and the trips that cross it.

7 local guides and 7 trips around Lake Mburo on GuideMeet.

On the map

  1. Lake Mburo National Park Lake Mburo National Park — Park. Park in Nyabushozi County, Kiruhura District. A controlled hunting area from 1933, it became a game reserve in 1963 and a national park in 1983. Besides zebras and impala it has leopards and hyenas, and over 300 bird species. Pictured: zebras. -0.6278, 30.9667 · Google Maps
  2. Lake Mburo Lake Mburo — Lake. One of the five lakes inside the park, part of a wetland system about 50 km long joined by swamps. Hippos and crocodiles live along the shores, and boat safaris are among the park's activities. Pictured: a canoe on the lake. -0.6638, 30.9295 · Google Maps
  3. Rwonyo Rwonyo — Village. Headquarters of the park, near Lake Mburo. The acacia woodland around Rwonyo is one of the park's birding spots. Pictured: impala, the antelope found only here in Uganda. -0.6342, 30.9356 · Google Maps
  4. Nshara Gate — Park. The first of the two entrances coming from Kampala: the first turn-off on the left leads to the gate after about 5 km. Inside, the gate opens onto Zebra Track. -0.5321, 31.0164 · Google Maps
  5. Sanga Gate — Park. The second entrance coming from Kampala, about 13 km from Sanga trading centre. Inside, the gate opens onto Impala Track. -0.5992, 30.9306 · Google Maps

Local guides around Lake Mburo

Uganda: guides by vehicle

Overland trips around Lake Mburo

When to go

Rain falls mostly from March to May and from September to December; at Mbarara, about 30 km west of the park, the monthly average ranges from about 15 mm in July to about 109 mm in November, for about 773 mm a year. June to August and January to February are the drier months.

Before you go

Photo credits

Author and licence (or permission) for each photo.

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