Lake Mutanda is a small

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

lake in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

Location

The lake is located in

Kisoro District Kisoro District is a Districts of Uganda, district in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda. The town of Kisoro is the site of the district headquarters. Education Kisoro Municipality includes Metropolitan International Universi ...

in southwestern Uganda, approximately north of the town of

Kisoro Kisoro is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the chief town of Kisoro District and the site of the district headquarters. Location Kisoro is approximately west of Kabale, the largest city in the Kigezi sub-region. This is approximat ...

, where the district headquarters are located. This location is approximately , by road, southwest of

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

, Uganda's capital and largest city. The coordinates of Lake Mutanda are:01 14 06S, 29 40 12E (Latitude:-1.2350; Longitude:29.6700).

Overview

It is nestled in the foothills of the Virunga Mountain Range, at an altitude of . The three

volcanoes A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

within the range, that are partly located in Uganda, namely:

Mount Muhabura Mount Muhabura, also known as Mount Muhavura, is an inactive volcano in the Virunga Mountains on the Rwanda-Uganda border. At , Muhabura is the third highest of the eight major mountains of the mountain range, which is part of the Albertine Rift, ...

Mount Sabinyo Mount Sabyinyo ("Sabyinyo" is derived from the Kinyarwanda word "Iryinyo", meaning "tooth"; also "Sabyinyo, Sabyinio") is an extinct volcano in eastern Africa in the Virunga Mountains. Mount Sabyinyo is the oldest volcano of the range. It is nort ...

and

Mount Gahinga Mount Gahinga is a dormant/extinct volcano in the Virunga Mountains on the Rwanda-Uganda border. Gahinga lies between Muhabura and Sabyinyo, but is the smallest of these three valcanoes. Mount Gahinga, also known in the local Kinyarwanda/Rufumbi ...

, can be viewed from Lake Mutanda. There are several islands in the lake. The lake is drained by the

Rutshuru River The Rutshuru River (French: ''Rivière Rutshuru'') is a river in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo that drains Lake Mutanda in the foothills of the Virunga Mountains in Uganda, flowing northward into Lake Rutanzige (formerly Lake Edward ...

, which flows northward to

Lake Edward Lake Edward (locally Rwitanzigye or Rweru) is one of the smaller African Great Lakes. It is located in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, ...

Flora and fauna

The environment on the islands within the lake and the surrounding countryside includes lakeside forests and wetland habitats that provide a haven for the endangered

mountain gorilla The mountain gorilla (''Gorilla beringei beringei'') is one of the two subspecies of the eastern gorilla. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN . There are two populations: One is found in the Virunga Mountains, Virunga volcanic mountains of C ...

. In addition to the mountain gorilla and golden monkey in the nearby

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is a national park in southwestern Uganda. It was created in 1991 and covers an area of . Geography Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is located in the Virunga Mountains and encompasses three inactive volcanoes, name ...

, the lakeside environment accommodates a variety of animal and plant species, unique to this area. Bird species include kingfisher birds,

kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have ...

ibis The ibis () (collective plural ibises; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word f ...

and Uganda's national bird, the crested crane. Weaver bird nests are a common site among the reeds along the lake shore. In addition to the abundant and varied avian species, the lake shore supports several species of

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this Family (biology), family are best known for ...

monitor lizard Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and West African Nile monitor, one species is also found in south America as an invasive species. A ...

and

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

species. There is a varied and abundant supply of insect life as well. The mammals found in Lake Mutanda include the

African clawless otter The African clawless otter (''Aonyx capensis''), also known as the Cape clawless otter or groot otter, is the second-largest freshwater otter species. It inhabits permanent water bodies in savannah and lowland forest areas through most of sub-Sa ...

. Hippopotamus was also present in the area, but were last sighted at Lake Mutanda in 1994.

References

External links

Homestay on Lake Mutanda shores and Coffee Tours

Lake Mutanda Eco Community Centre

Mgahinga Community Development Organization

Bamboo Ecotours for Canoe Trekking at Lake Mutanda
{{Lakes of Uganda Mutanda Kisoro District Nile basin

Location

Overview

Flora and fauna

See also

References

External links