The national park is an amazing destination in the western part of Uganda, it is tucked in the northern part of the Rwenzori Mountains, and the national park is one of the oldest national parks in Uganda it was gazette in 1926 as a national park, it is a true haven of birds extending with species of the Congo Ituri forest, the conservation area is managed by the Uganda wildlife authority covering an area space of approximately 545 square kilometers, the park straddles along the shores of Lake Albert, the extending forest is one with chimpanzee, there is an undergoing chimpanzee project in the park for the habituation process. Along the Marshy swampy areas is the critically endangered shoe bill stock which can be seen in the national park.
The forest in the Semuliki National Park is an extension of the great Ituri forest, this portion of piece from Congo implies that most of the species of the national park can also be found in the central Congo region, Semliki national park is famous for its physical composition, it is a haven for birds over 450 birds are present in the park most of which are forest birds, for example the purple breasted sunbirds, Congo serpent eagle, long tailed hawk, olive green bul, white tailed horn bill, dwarf honey guide, forest ground thrush. There are mammal species present in the national park, some of which include dwarf antelopes, hippos, elephants, olive baboons, Uganda kobs, to mention a few. There are two tribes living around the national park the Bamba and Bakonjo they live and survive on the forest.
On visit to this bio diverse ecosystem, there is plenty of things to do in the gazette area, visit the Sempaya hot springs, the springs rise up to 2 meters from the ground with water whose temperature can boil an egg, the male spring is famous and visited so much, the waters are believed by the locals to be medicinal, they are believed to cure skin diseases like ring warms, the boiling gestures are as a result of natural causes on the movement of tectonic plates, as legend has it, in the past days the people used to use the water to boil food. There are female springs too the women of the traditional days say the water was used for fertility purposes in case one was barren.
Enjoy the forest walks that begin at the Sempaya gate, along the well distributed trails, you will meet beautiful butterfly species of the park, the red tailed monkeys, vervet monkeys can be met on a lucky day, cultural visits, are so lovely, take a tour with the last short structured people in Uganda the pygmy’s, these have been resettled in the surrounding communities. Bird watching in the national park is a true gym of the wilderness, half of the bird types of Congo re found within the forest the birding can be done in the national forest or around the Sempaya or around the hot spring.
Semuliki National Park is open to travelers all year round, each season is beautiful it can be accessed through the Kampala fort portal, or through Mbarara and Masaka, it takes approximately 6 hours’ drive to arrive at the destination. There is available accommodation near the national park for example the Semuliki Safari Lodge situated in the reserve, this is a few Kilometers to the national park, there are Uganda wildlife Banda’s.