Semliki national park is located in western Uganda bundibugyo district. It was gazetted in 1932 and upgraded as a national park in 1993 and its 220 square kilometers with an altitude of 670-760m above sea level.
The park has around 336 tree species recorded, 441 bird species and 53 mammals including elephants, buffales, leopards blue monkey, vervet monkey, baboon and atleast 374 species of butterflies.
Semliki is also famously known for the Sempaya hot springs that bubble up from the depth to demonstrate the powerful subterranean forces that have been shaping the rift valley during the last 14 million years.
Activities in Semuliki national park
Birding
At the park, Sempaya and Ntandi provide excellent viewing of the birds including White-crested Hornbill, Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill, Piping Hornbill, Yellow-throated Nicator, Great blue and Ross’s Turacos.
Hot springs
A 30-minute hike through palm forest from the main road leads to the inner, “female” spring, dominated by a boiling geyser. Eggs can be cooked in these boiling waters and enjoyed by hungry hikers and the outer male spring leads through a patch of forest where red-tailed monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys and black-and-white colobus monkeys are common. A tree house en route provides an aerial view.
Game drives
Game drives in the park take place in the morning, afternoon and at night after dark where visitors come across creatures such as buffalo, savannah elephants, waterback, crocodiles, Uganda kob. With lack you may see pygmy hippopotamus, leopards and bush babies.
Cultural encounters
Visitors move around to experience the Batwa pygmies. These are hunter-gatherers who have always been dependent on Semuliki forest for food, shelter, medicine and tools, though this is beginning to change as a result of interaction with other local communities. They display their rich cultural history through music and dance performances at Ntandi where they get some income to earn a living.
Hiking and nature walks
