Semuliki National Park, the true birder’s Haven

In today’s segment of Uganda’s safari destinations to visit in 2020-2021, let’s explore Semuliki National Park.

Where is Semuliki National Park found/ located?

Semuliki National Park lies on a 360km or 5-hour drive from Kampala city the capital of Uganda in Bwamba county in the southwestern district of Bundibugyo. Semuliki National park is bordered by the Democratic Republic of Congo in the west, Ntoroko district in the North, Semuliki wildlife reserve in the Northeast, mt Rwenzori in the South, and Kabarole district in the East. The park comprises tropical rainforests making an extension of the great Ituri Congo basin forests on their eastern side and this makes it East Africa’s only truly tropical low land forests. The tropical rainforests of Semuliki are believed to be one of the oldest forests in East Africa as they are carbon-dated to have existed as way back as the Pleistocene age or ice age which dates back 25,000 years.

What are the weather conditions in Semuliki National Park?

Sempaya-hot-springs-semuliki

Sempaya-hot-springs-semuliki

As you prepare for your Uganda wildlife tour here, you have to understand this park experiences an equatorial tropical climate with an average temperature range of 18-200C, minimum temperature range is 17-20OC, and maximum temperature range is 26-30oC. The annual rainfall amount received in this forest ranges between 1400-1900mm or 55-75 inches throughout the year with most of it received in two periods of double maximum between March-May and between September – December. The humidity levels range between 77-88% every day.

What to wear on a Uganda safari to Semuliki National Park

This essentially means that if you’re considering what to pack on A Uganda safari tour to this park, All you need in a few light cotton clothes, and also a raincoat jacket in case it decides to rain while you’re here. Sunglasses shouldn’t miss among the list of items to pack to protect your eyes from the incessant tropical savanna heat, sunscreen and insect repellent should also make it to this park list. If you’re an ardent birder, a good pair of binoculars will always come in hand as this park is home to over 441 bird species hence you may need to zoom and get a clear sight of several of these birds which might be far away from your eyesight.

What are the attractions to see in Semuliki National Park?

Semuliki is gifted with rich biodiversity that is evidenced by the existence of  numerous flora and fauna species

What fauna attractions are found in Semuliki National Park?

Semuliki is home to 53 mammal species and these include African forest elephants, Leopards, Forest buffaloes, Red forest duikers, African civets, the pygmy flying squirrel, several primate species such as Ugandan red colobus monkeys, Grey cheeked mangabeys, De brazza monkeys, Bushbabies and many others.

What Bird species can be seen in Semuliki Park?

Tanzania Northern Circuit Wildlife & Birding Safari

Semuliki national park is one of those places you should never miss out especially if you’re on A Uganda birding safari simply because this park is has got over441 bird species in its backyard and several of these are the endemic species to the Congo biome sphere. Some of the bird species that have made this park be referred to as the true birder’s haven include the Congo Serpent eagle, the Nkulengu rail, the yellow-throated Cuckoo, the piping hornbill, black dwarf hornbill, red-billed hornbill, red-rumped tinker bird, African piculet and many others.

The male and female hot springs of Semuliki

A Uganda safari to Semuliki can really be compared to Swiss knife with so many surprising encounters to offer to anyone who takes the journey to this incredible Uganda tour destination. One of the surprising encounters is a spectacular nature hike to the hot springs of Sempaya in this park. These hot springs are also referred to as Bitete and Nyasimbi to refer to both male and female hot springs respectively. These hot springs have intriguing local folklore to explain their existence by the local Bamaga people who live on the fringes of this park. The female hot spring has an average temperature of 106oc while the male hot spring has an average temperature of 96oc

You should never end your safari Uganda visit to Semulki National park without having a cultural mash-up with the Bambuti people that are found in Ntandi on the fringes of this park, the Bambuti people are closely related to the Batwa people that are found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park one of the Uganda safari destinations that we have already covered in this very series.

How to get to Semuliki National Park?

Depending on how much time you have and how long you want to stay in Semulki National Park during your Uganda safari, you can decide to fly or to drive to Semuliki Park. As of today we now have charter flight company that plies from Entebbe International Airport to Semuliki Airstrip however you need to consult with your local tour operator on the availability of this flight on the day you intend to travel because this flight is subject to a minimum number of passengers being available for it to operate. If you choose to drive to Semuliki, I can guarantee that you won’t regret this choice because it’s a very fascinating 6-7 hour drive to get this park.   As you embark on this 360km journey expect to have several stops such as one at the Mityana local market and this which gives you an opportunity to take your taste buds on a culinary journey as you taste some Uganda’s purely organic tropical fruits that will tantalize your taste buds due to their absolute sweetness. Other things that may come your way is Uganda’s very own KFC version of chicken and this will be a roasted chicken skewered on sticks and if you aren’t a fussy feeder, this is your moment to have a taste of this fire-grilled finger lingering goodness. Your next stop comes around when you meet the sprawling tea estate fields of Mpanga and these will mesmerize you as they will seem nothing like tea plantation but rather expansive playing fields. Make your way to Fort portal where you will have lunch then visit the Amabeere ga nyina mwiru caves before you finally proceed to Semuliki national park which is 70km away from Fort portal

What activities are done in Semuliki National Park?

Semuliki National Park is rich with a wide range of bio diversity including wild mammals, birds, hot springs, and the Bambuti people that are found in the Ntandi area. This, therefore, makes this park a very unique place to visit as you can engage in quite a number of activities such as cultural encounters, birding, nature hikes, and primate tracking.

What are the safari lodges/ accommodations that are found in Semuliki National Park?

Semuliki Park has got a wide range of safari lodges that are located within or on the fringes of this incredible conservation area. These lodges ranges from luxury to midrange and budget types.

Some of the luxury safari lodges in Semuliki include: Semuliki Safari Lodge, Kyaninga Lodge

Midrange lodges here include: Mountains of the Moon hotel

Budget safari Lodges include: Kirumia Guesthouse, Bumuga Camp site, UWA bandas

Next time on the Uganda Safari Destinations to visit in 2020-2021, we will be visiting Mountain Rwenzori National Park – for a mystical challenge.

At Wild Gorilla Safaris, we strive to meet all your Africa safari needs as we have got virtually the safari packages that will give you a memorable Africa safari experience. For anyone interested in Uganda wildlife safaris packages we have got you covered with wide range of packages that are tailored basing on the number of days you have and the destination you would like to visit on your Uganda safari tour. If you’ve got only a few days, then choose from our short Uganda wildlife safaris which run from 2 days to 5 days such as 2 days Uganda wildlife safari to Murchison falls or 5 days Uganda wildlife safari with chimpanzees and many more. For those that have got more than 5 days, then I suggest pick from our compressive long Uganda wildlife safaris that run from 6 days to as many as 21 days such as

On top of an epic Uganda safari adventure to many of these savanna parks, you have an opportunity to encounter mountain gorillas. Yes, a Uganda gorilla tour experience is very possible when you visit gorilla trekking Uganda destinations Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.  A Uganda gorilla safari to any of these parks gives you an opportunity to meet any of the 19 gorilla families that have been habituated to give you nothing but the ultimate Uganda gorilla tours experience, you can ever think of.

If you’re interested Uganda gorilla safaris these are available in both short Uganda gorilla safari packages such as 3 days gorilla tours in Bwindi and 4 days Bwindi gorilla tour and wildlife in Lake Mburo. There are also long Uganda gorilla tours that run from 6 days to as many as 18 days while featuring many other things along the way to the gorillas. After a magical gorilla tour in Uganda, you can always visit Lake Bunyonyi Uganda and enjoy the stunning views of this magical lake. A visit to Lake Bunyonyi gives you an opportunity to experience a boat ride on Africa’s second deepest lake.

Rwanda is also another gorilla destination you wouldn’t want to miss out on, hence if you are planning for a Rwanda gorilla safari package, check out some of our Rwanda gorilla tours packages which also come in form of short Rwanda gorilla gorilla safaris for those that have got only a few days in Rwanda but those that have got more days, then Long Rwanda gorilla trekking safari packages will do you good as they also give you a chance to visit other Rwanda safari attractions.

Congo as well is another gorilla destination and we have numerous Congo gorilla safari packages that will take you on a Congo gorilla tour adventure to either Virunga National Park for an encounter with mountain gorillas or Kahuzi Beiga National Park where you will encounter Eastern lowland gorillas. Besides gorilla safaris and wildlife encounters in Uganda, you can still explore Uganda’s diversity using any of our wide range of day trips that visit other sites that are near the capital city Kampala or Entebbe international airport such as a Mabamba birding day trip to Mabamba island Kampala city tour day tour Jinja day tour and 1 day Ngamba island chimpanzee safari. Check out our great east Africa safari to such as Kenya safari tours and Tanzania safari tour that take you on an Africa wildlife safari adventure to Kenya and Tanzania respectively.

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