Semliki National Park is located in the western section of Uganda’s Bundibugyo region, near Uganda’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, and adjacent to Rwenzori Mountain in the park’s southwest direction. The park is situated in the Albertine Rift Valley, on flat terrain ranging in elevation from 670 to 760 meters above sea level.
Semliki National Park is a tropical rainforest with an average elevation of 1250 meters, with peak seasonal rainfall occurring in the months of March, May, September, and December. The total average temperature ranges from 18 to 30 degrees Celsius over an area of 220 kilometers squared. With over 60 animal species, 8 primates, 300 butterfly species, 9 duiker species, hornbilts, and 216 bird species, Semliki National Park boasts one of Africa’s most diverse fauna and flora.
The park is a sanctuary for rivers and swamps that support wild species such as elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, and many more, as well as locals. The park’s main attractions are the male hotspring Bitende, which has a diameter of 12 meters, and the female hot spring Nyasimbi, which serves as a boiling spot for geysers, eggs, and a source of salt for wild animals.
The park is the oldest game reserve and forest reserve in East Africa, covering an area of 220 kilometres. It protects a wide range of species, including elephants, warthogs, waterbucks, African red colobus, Uganda kob, crocodiles, and many others, as well as 300 bird species such as white-toothed, yellow-toothed nicater, white-crested hornbill, great blue, and turaco, among others. The Uganda Wildlife Authority now manages the park, which received its World Heritage Site designation in 1993.
The park is situated in a tropical environment, within an ecological zone that is home to a diverse range of plants, swamps, animal species, and tree species, including Cymometer Alexandria and olive green bull, among many others. The park has been in existence for about 25,000 years.
The park is part of the Albertine Rift Valley’s protected areas, which also include Volcanoes National Park, Rwenzori Mountain, Kibale National Park, and Virunga National Park in Congo. The park has an area of 220 square kilometres and was formed in October 1993 to conserve the forest, after which it was designated as a World Heritage Site.
Semliki National Park is a gazetted forest reserve with significant social and economic value for those who live around it. For their own use, the locals obtain forest resources such as fruits, vegetables, bush meat, natural medicines, and construction materials. The population of these native people, known as the Batwa and Basua, is growing at a rate of 3.4% per year. They are also farmers and hunters.
The Basua and Batwa pygmy communities surround Semliki National Park, offering tourists cultural safaris and spiritual entertainment through music, dance, storytelling, and handicrafts.
The massive ituri forest, one of Africa’s most diversified forests, dominates the park’s easternmost extension, having survived the last glacial years. Viewing two hot springs, male and female, is the most popular activity in the park.
Semliki National Park offers a variety of activities for tourists, including bird watching, guided nature walks, wildlife drives, viewing of hot springs, cultural interactions, and many others.
Visit Sempaya hot springs
Red-tailed monkeys and grey-chipped mangabeys inhabit a stretch of forest that leads to the park’s two hot springs. Bitende, the male hot spring, boasts a diameter of 12 meters, while Nyasimbi, the female hot spring, serves as a popular tourist attraction for boiling geysers and eggs.
Guided Nature Walk
The park is a forest reserve where tourists can go for nature walks and hikes and see various tree species, as well as over 300 bird species such as yellow-toothed nicater, white-toothed, blue-billed marimba, and many other species that are popular tourist attractions.
Culture encounter
The Batwa Pygmies, a group of locals who surround the park, entertain visitors with music, dances, and storytelling in addition to selling handicrafts that are popular with tourists as souvenirs.
Game Drive
Semliki National Park is a game reserve that features three tracks that traverse the savanna grassland of Toro Wildlife Reserve. These tracks traverse forests teeming with a variety of species, such as warthogs, Uganda kobs, buffalos, waterbucks, leopards, and the Semliki River. Here, tourists can witness water animals like crocodiles and hippos, which serve as tourist attractions, under the guidance of a guide.
Bird watching
Semliki National Park is recognised as the best African forest birding park in Sempaya, with over 300 bird species, including the shoebill stork, red-billed dwarf hornbill, piping hornbill, white crested hornbill, yellow-throated nicator, and many others.
Semliki National Park is a 7-hour, 40-minute trip from Kampala covering a distance of 465 kilometres squared. Visitors can also fly from Entebbe Airport in 3 hours and 30 minutes, but the panoramic view of Kampala is enjoyable.
Semliki National Park has a number of hotels and lodges where tourists can sleep, such as the Semliki Safari Lodge, Ntoroko Game Lodge, Kirimia Guest House, Hotel Vanilla, and many others, depending on the tourist’s budget.
Semliki National Park is best visited during the dry season, which runs from February to June, September, and December.
