Few inland waters measure up to Lake Victoria, which has a surface area of 68,800 sq km and is bordered by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Unlike the lakes further west, Lake Victoria is not part of the Rift Valley system. Wide and shallow Lake Victoria it is only 80 meters deep. The world’s second largest freshwater lake (after Canada’s Lake Superior), Lake Victoria is fed mainly by rainwater and drains more than 6,450 km to the north, via the Nile, to the Mediterranean Sea. 

A large freshwater lake supporting otters, sitatungas and water birds, the lake is home to pied kingfishes, swallows and various weavers. 

The lakes offer an important staging area for migratory birds and contain rare residents such as shoebills, as well as significant species such as rufous-bellied herons. The reserve also offers sanctuary to Uganda’s only endemic species, Fox’s weaver. Sitatungas inhabit dense reed beds.