Lake Mburo National Park is one of Uganda’s most surprising national parks. Often dropped into an itinerary to break the journey from Bwindi, it has a tendency to over-deliver. Time and time again the natural beauty and swiftly improving wildlife of Mburo proves to be a wonderful trip highlight.
Discover Lake Mburo National Park
Although there are no elephants and only one lion (a lonely visitor from Tanzania), there are impala, Burchell’s zebra, eland, buffalo, leopard and wonderfully diverse birdlife.
The landscapes and wildlife can be explored in game drives, by boat, on horseback and by mountain bike in the continuous ranch lands outside the park. These options make Mburo a very modern safari destination, attractive to visitors with a wide variety of interests. Like Queen Elizabeth National Park, Mburo was born from the rinderpest and tsetse fly epidemics of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But unlike Queen Elizabeth, the communities that historically utilised Mburo were displaced, destroying local support for the park.
Things to do at Lake Mburo National Park
Game Drive
The park has a network of game drive tracks. The wildlife densities will vary depending on the time of year, plus the lack of elephants is allowing thick scrub to grow where there were grassy plains.
However, each drive normally has a great chance of finding substantial concentrations of impala, zebra, waterbuck, topi and buffalo.
The re-introduced giraffe are more commonly seen from the Kazuma and Ruroko tracks. You may also see the shy eland, who now number over 100.
It is now also possible to experience the park in darkness on two to three-hour night game drives. These normally start about 6:30pm and are a wonderful way to see nocturnal animals like bushbabies and potto, plus leopard and hyena at their most active.
Walking Safari
In Mburo, the whole park is available to explore on foot, as long as you take a guide with you. Favourite trails are to the salt lick at Rwonyo, the lake shorelines, Rubanga Forest and viewpoint hill tops.
Walks are the most exciting way to discover the park because visibility is often restricted by the undergrowth and it is difficult to see buffalo holding their ground or hyena loping back to their dens after a night on the prowl.
Walks are also the best way for birders to track down the more elusive species.
Boat Safari – Lake Mburo National Park
Taking to the water is always a welcome, peaceful, part of any safari. You escape the dust and the tsetse flies and see life in the bush from another angle.
A 90-minute morning boat safari takes you along the shore of Lake Mburo, including sightings of crocodile, buffalo, hippo, kingfishers, fish eagles and hammerkops.
The boat safaris start at 8 am and depart every two hours until 4 pm.
Birding in Lake Mburo National Park
The acacia woodland and wetlands of Mburo make it a popular destination for birders. Searching by vehicle and on foot, sightings are also facilitated by viewing platforms constructed within the forest and by salt-licks.
The swampy valleys of Waruki and Miriti, plus the roadsides approaching the jetty provide the best birding spots.
Species seen here include the Rufous-bellied heron, bateleur, black-bellied bustard, and the red-faced barbet, the latter found only in Lake Mburo National Park.
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Exploring Kidepo Valley National Park’s Hidden Wilderness
Kidepo Valley National Park is Uganda’s hidden wilderness gem nestled in gorgeous landscapes of rugged hills and vast savannahs with unique wildlife that mostly goes unnoticed.
Sprawling savannah plains, soaring mountains, spectacular landscapes, and dark buffalo herds spread across the grassland and make Kidepo Valley one of Africa’s most picturesque safari destinations. Kidepo Valley National Park sits on a massive 557-sq-mile (1,442-sq-km) rocky, semi-arid Karamoja province on the northeastern frontier with Kenya and South Sudan. It is home to several unique animals, such as cheetah, bat-eared fox, aardwolf, caracal, and kudu.
What’s fascinating about Kidepo Valley’s animals is that they are content to feed and lounge near tourist camps. Even the big cats, like lions, lounge on rocky outcrops near Apoka Safari Lodge. So you can see a lot without going very far – a kind of armchair safari. The drive to the park has recently been cut down to about 9 hours on a newly surfaced highway from Kampala. And there’s good public transport for independent travelers from Kampala, including public buses to Kotido Town, where you can pick up a private hire.
The kinds of animals you can see in Kidepo Valley National Park.
The park’s wildlife and vegetation are more characteristic of Kenya than Uganda, with a rare list of animals not seen in other parts of the country.
Kidepo Valley has over 77 animal species protected within the conservation area. The park enjoys resident predators you will not see anywhere else in Uganda, including the black-backed jackal, bat-eared fox, aardwolf, caracal, and cheetah.
Kidepo consistently offers excellent big-cat sights, especially lion and cheetah. The park has incredible elephant sightings, and you can’t miss the thousands of buffalo herds spread among the savannas.
The national park has a fine collection of antelopes with twelve species, including Jackson’s hartebeest, eland, oribi, Uganda kob, and klipspringer roaming the grasslands. The endangered Rothschild’s giraffe towering above the plains is a tourist favorite.
Dry-country species, such as greater and lesser kudu, mountain reedbuck, and Guenther’s dik-dik, are pretty easy to spot on a safari game drive in Kidepo. If you are a primate enthusiast, you’ll be happy to know that Kidepo Valley National Park has five primate species. The most common primate to spot is the localized patas monkey, which has adopted living on the ground more than any other primates in Uganda.
Other interesting characters in Kidepo include the bush pigs, warthogs, zebras, leopards, Kongoni, spotted hyenas, and over 470 bird species. Kidepo Valley National Park has an impressive bird list of over 470 species. Sixty of the bird species on that list are not recorded elsewhere in Uganda. The park is perfect for spotting raptors, with 56 species on record. If you’re hoping to spot migratory birds in Kidepo, visit the park from November to April.
Kidepo Valley National Park’s Remote Tribes & Cultures
Kidepo National Park is home to one of the minor ethnic groups in Africa: the Ik. With a population of just above 10,000, the small tribe struggles to preserve its unique culture and language, which no rival tribes understand.
Most tribal buffs travel to this remote part of the country to experience firsthand raw cultural practices that even make historians stand in awe. This remote community of subsistence farmers has kept their traditional way of life from foreign contamination for hundreds of years in the Morungole Mountains. Villagers only travel to the lowlands to trade grain and restock supplies.
Various tour operators based in the towns speak English and organize day trips to the villages. A visit with the Ik is one of the fascinating tribal encounters in Uganda, involving sessions with village elders, walks, cooking, and enchanting life experiences.
Not far from the Ik are the intriguing nomadic-pastoral Karamojong. At the initial encounter, it isn’t easy to distinguish between Ik and Karamojong due to their similar lively jump dancing, specific hut building, and unique dressing. The difference between these two tribes is that the Ik people speak the Teuso language, practice subsistence farming, and are not nomadic pastoralism like the Karamojong.
The Karamojong are a Nilotic tribe for whom cattle form an essential part of their culture. They collectively assemble their cattle, eat blood, and rarely beef for food, just like the Maasai in Kenya. Their cultural and tribal activities are some of the most organized and intriguing travel experiences in the northern regions of Uganda that you owe a visit.
How to explore Kidepo Valley National Park
Apoka game drives are the best way to explore the park’s far reaches within a short time. Most drives follow two 12-mile (20-km) tracks through the wildlife-rich Narus Valley. Here, small puddles that keep water, even through the dry season, attract large buffalo herds, thirsty elephants, and antelope. These herbivore gatherings attract predators for incredible action-packed savannah scenes.
The drier Kidepo Valley has less wildlife, but it has a wild beauty and is well worth discovering. Visit the Kanagorok hot springs, 18.6 mi (30 km) north of Apoka. Drive slowly, crossing the Kidepo River – a wide sand bed in the dry season – and meander across plains framed by the mountains. The valley is best for ostrich and secretary birds, while kudu enjoys protecting the thicker bush.
Stay for 2-3 days and explore more of Kidepo’s exotic wildlife. A short visit will deprive you of Kidepo Wildlife’s most stunning rewards.
Hiking & Nature Walks
Let your fear dissolve into the warm winds of Kidepo’s savannah plains, guided by a knowledgeable guide. The most popular wilderness walking trail is about 3mi (5km) through the Narus Valley and takes 2 to 3 hours. It is the most rewarding trail in Kidepo National Park, showing off magnificent mammals and birds within the backdrop of the valley’s stunning landscape.
Birders will find patrolling the Narus and Namamukweny Valleys‘ fringes, rich with rare bird sightings, including the Abyssinian Roller, Purple Heron, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, and Clapperton’s Francolin.
If you are for a challenging hike, go for the 9mi (15km) route that follows a ridge line into the hills. But for a tranquil walk, visit the beautiful Borassus palm-covered Kidepo river valley, which is entirely green for most of the year.
All nature walks and hikes in Kidepo Valley National Park start a short distance from the park’s headquarters in the Lamoj Mountains alongside the Kanangorok hot springs.
Game Drive in Kidepo Valley National Park
Finding where to stay and eat in Kidepo Valley National Park
Several accommodation options exist outside the park and close to the visitor center. However, you will not find an excellent selection like other national parks in Uganda. You should check ahead and book before you visit the park. In retrospect, I will list just a few places travelers can easily access.
Apoka Safari Lodge is the most outstanding for up-market travelers and offers the Mara-kind of wilderness luxury in this remote game-rich park.
Apoka Safari Lodge: Apoka Safari Lodge offers views of wild animals at your doorsteps as you are in the middle of beautiful wonders. The safari lodge has established a heaven experience and class encompassed you in the middle of this African Wild.
Kidepo Savannah Lodge: Placed on the edge of the park, Kidepo Savannah Lodge offers unparalleled vistas of the expansive Narus Valley, Mount Morungole, and the distant mountain ranges which form the border with Southern Sudan.
Apoka Rest Camp: The lodge blends in rather than stick out, with 16 self-contained chalets. Concerning visitors who choose camping, this camp has ‘Do it yourself’ camping grounds, where you must carry your tent and other camping gear.
Nga’Moru Wilderness Camp: Nga’Moru is found at Kidepo Valley National Park’s border with amazing views of this isolated savannah and semi-arid escarpment. Many wild animals visiting the camp include Elephants, Lions, Hyenas, Zebras, and Waterbucks.
How to get to Kidepo Valley & Away
Kidepo Valley National Park is 320 kilometers north of Kampala. It is an exciting drive from Kampala on the smooth 540-km Gulu-Kitgum road for about 9 to 10 hours to get to the park.
You can also take the 792-km Soroti-Moroto road to the park, which takes about 13 hours. One of the most rewarding sites on this route is the steep Alekilek volcano, located almost midway between Moroti and Soroti town.
And if you use the 700-km Lira-Kotido road, brace yourself for the beautiful scenery of Labwor hills, mainly the vast and uncovered Alerek rock.
If you opt to fly up to Kidepo, Bar Aviation and Aerolink operate scheduled and chattered 2-hour flights from Entebbe International Airport to the park’s headquarters. Civil Aviation Authority runs a Kidepo Airport (ICAO: HUKD) at Lomej, approximately 3 km south of the park’s visitor center.
“The fall of water was snow-white, which had a superb effect as it contrasted with the dark cliffs that walled the water, while the graceful palms of the tropics and wild plantains perfected the beauty of the view. This was the greatest waterfall of the Nile in Murchison Falls National Park.” – Wrote the explorer Samuel Baker in 1864.
In the 150 years that have passed, the view has remained as impressive and now the wildlife levels in the surrounding Murchison Falls National Park are recovering well after the depredations of the 1970s and ‘80s, securing the Park’s reputation as one of Uganda’s most popular destinations.
Initially protected as a game reserve in 1926, Murchison was declared as one of Uganda’s first national parks in 1952 and now covers an area of 3,840 square kilometres making it the largest protected area in the country. It lies at the northern end of the Albertine Rift Valley where the Bunyoro Escarpment descends into the lowland plains of the savannah.
In the 1960s, Murchison’s problem was that it had too many animals, which resulted in an elephant and hippo cull to try to manage large herbivore utilisation. The years of civil war provided their own solution and resulted in a massive population drop for all species.
However, peace and an understanding of the value of tourism has greatly helped the recovery of many populations. Elephant are thriving; the park holds the largest global population of Rothschild giraffe (only seen in Murchison and Kidepo); buffalo numbers are growing as are the Ugandan kob. The lion population is estimated to be around 200, split across about 20 prides and even leopard are being seen regularly.
The Murchison Falls National Park
The park is bisected by the Nile River. As it flows west into Lake Albert, the Nile squeezes through an 8-metre gap to plunge 45 metres over the remnant Rift Valley wall down into the aptly named ‘Devil’s Cauldron’, creating the famous rainbow captured in so many photographs.
The Falls are the final obstruction in an 80 kilometre long reach of rapids from which the Nile transforms into a broad, placid, river destined for Lake Albert and a long journey north.
The Falls are best reached in a two-stage excursion that combines a boat safari on the Nile where you will see elephant, giraffe, buffalo, hippo, Nile crocodile and aquatic birds on the shoreline or in the shallows, followed by a 30-minute walk around the cliffs to the head of the Falls.
Sailing west, rather than east to the Falls, takes you to the Lake Albert delta, one of the best places in Uganda to see the famous Shoebill storks. If you prefer to be more active on the water, then Murchison is also a great place for fishing. Specialised excursions are available across various locations.
Wildlife in Murchison Falls National Park
Game drives in the savannah grasslands and riverine woodland of the Buligi Peninsula in Murchison Falls National Park provide excellent sightings of lion, elephant, buffalo, giraffe and Ugandan kob antelope. Leopards are increasingly seen; only rhinos are missing, but the plan is to reintroduce them from the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.
In the wooded south of the park, the Budongo Forest Reserve is a haven for birders and a great chimpanzee tracking location.
Although most visitors spend just two or three nights in Murchison, it is possible to stay for much longer and still leave wanting more.
Seeing wildlife in Murchison Falls National Park from the river is delightful, but it can’t beat the excitement of a game drive. The feeling that comes from placing yourself in the middle of a resting pride of lion; watching a tower of giraffe browse peacefully from acacia tops; or the excitement of rolling slowly through thick bush never sure when you will meet the next elephant.
The majority of game drives in Murchison are enjoyed on the Buligi Peninsula where 170km of tracks cross through open savanna grassland, woodland, acacia and riverine vegetation. Driving in the early morning (first south/north ferry crossing at Paraa is at 07:00) and late afternoon, you can expect to see elephant, buffalo, antelopes and giraffe.
Lion are increasingly seen with the majority of the Park’s prides found here predating on Ugandan kob. You may even see a leopard. The tracks converge at Delta Point where the Nile flows north out of Lake Albert. This is a convenient place to stop for refreshments whilst viewing waterbirds and distant hippos offshore.
Less visited, but available for intrepid explorers is the southern ‘Heart of Murchison’. This is a recently opened section of the Park, developed with the intention of easing visitor pressure on Buligi. While much of the southern part of Murchison is covered by bush and forest, a lovely tract of savanna rolls down to the river from the Rabongo road in the very centre of the park.
Substantial herds of Uganda kob have made this a prime location for lions. In January 2016, 15 giraffes were translocated to this area making it now possible to spot these giants on the Honey Moon track.
