Located in the western part of Uganda on the northern side of Mount Rwenzori National Park, Semuliki National Park covers 220 square kilometers of lowland tropical forest.
The park was gazetted as a national park by the Uganda Wildlife Authority in 1993.
Semuliki is the only true lowland tropical rainforest in East Africa and is home to various mammals and birds.
The 220 square kilometers of land is a birders paradise with over 441 bird species including 23 Albertine endemics. Semuliki National Park offers birders the best birding safaris in Uganda due to the high number of bird species it hosts.
The forest is home to birds, over 120 mammals, 300 species of butterflies and 235 species of moths.
Exploring Semuliki National Park: Must-Do Activities and Tips
Activities in Semuliki National Park are those things that tourists can engage in when they have or plan to have a safari in the park.
Because of the many park attractions, such as the animals, birds, butterflies, Batwa pygmies, and hot springs, tourists have a lot of activities to do once they visit Semuliki, and they include the following.
Bird Watching
Semuliki National Park is one of the best places in Uganda for bird watching.
The park is a true haven for birders with over 144 recorded bird species. Bird watching is the most popular activity in this park attracting thousands of birders from different parts of the world.
Bird watching is a guided activity in the only true lowland tropical forest in East Africa.
Exploring Semuiliki National Park in search of different bird species has given boundaries an opportunity to see bird species such as the rare Shoe Bill Stork, Great Blue Turaco, Congo Serpent Eagle, Forbe’s Plover, Icterine Greenbul, Piping Hornbill, Spot-breasted Ibis, Black Dwarf Hornbill, Fire-crested Alethe, Black Dwarf Hornbill, White-crested Hornbill, Blue-billed Malimbe.
Hair-tailed Duck, Nkulengu Rail, Red-thighed Sparrow Hawk, Swamp Palm Bulbul, Lyre-tailed Honeyguide, Zenker’s Honeyguide, Red-bellied Malimbe, Western Bronze-naped Pigeon, White-throated Blue Swallow, Crested Malimbe, White-bellied Kingfisher, Sassi’s Olive Greenbul, Yellow-throated Cuckoo, White-tailed Hornbill, Yellow-throated Nicator, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Xavier’s Greenbul.
African Pygmy Goose, Gabon Woodpecker, Orange-cheeked Waxbill, Malachite Kingfisher, Piping Hornbill, African Piculet, Orange-tufted Sunbird, Northern Bearded Scrub Robin, Dusky Nightjar, Red-thighed Sparrow Hawk, Blue-billed Malimbe, Capuchin Babbler, Long-tailed Hawk, Green-tailed Bristlebill, Grauer’s Cuckoo Shrike, Great White Pelican.
Blue-billed Malimbe, Dwarf Honeyguide, Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill, Leaf-Love, White-crested Hornbill, Crested Malimbe, Rufous-sided Broadbill, Grant’s Bluebill, Red-eyed Puffback, Capuchin Babbler, Chestnut-bellied Helmet Shrike, Chestnut Owlet, Long-tailed Hawk, Black-chinned Quailfinch, Long-tailed Hawk, and Ross’s Turaco to name a few.
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Batwa Experience
The Ituri forest of Semuliki National Park was once home to the Batwa pygmies, but when the Uganda Wildlife Authority gazetted the area as a national park, they were forced to move out.
They are now settled around the park’s borders, where tourists can meet them on cultural visits. After relocating to areas outside the park, the Batwa Pygmies are now farmers, hunters and fruit gatherers.
Tourists interested in meeting the Batwa of Semuliki can visit the Boma Cultural Village. This community gives tourists the opportunity to see and interact with the local people and learn how they live their daily lives.
During the cultural visits, you will meet traditional dancers who will entertain you with dance and drama. Tourists who enjoy dancing can join the groups and be part of the entertainment.
Listening to their stories, you will discover that the Batwa are still hunters and gatherers who visit Semuliki National Park for medicine, food and fruits.
Viewing the Shoebill
Semuliki National Park is one of the places in Uganda where tourists get a chance to see the Shoebill. The chances of seeing the shoebill within this park are very high, which has attracted many birds interested in seeing this species.
The shoebill of Semuliki National Park is seen on a boat cruise organized on Lake Albert.
While on a safari in Semuliki National Park, birders interested in seeing the Shoebill can take a boat cruise on Ntoroko. A 2 to 3 hour boat cruise on Lake Albert with local guides gives birders the opportunity to see shoebill storks on the marshes of the lake.
During the search, you’ll see other bird species, such as White-bellied Kingfisher, Swamp Palm Bulbul and Malachite Kingfisher to name a few.
Nature Walks
Guided nature walks in Semuliki National Park are among the best ways to explore the park.
Nature walks take tourists through different trails around the park, where they get the opportunity to see the park’s hidden attractions. With an armed ranger guide, tourists can see different animals, birds, water sources, vegetation and much more.
During the nature walks in Semuliki National Park, tourists will meet animals such as chimpanzees, leopards, crocodiles, warthogs, side-striped jackals, sitatungas, Uganda kobs, hippos, cape buffalo, elephants, olive baboons and monkeys to name a few.
Birders can see some of the bird species recorded in the park.
Semuliki National Park has the most popular hot springs in Uganda and these are seen during nature walks. There are two hot springs male and female right inside the park that tourists can visit. With an armed ranger guide, tourists are able to visit these hot springs and get to know how they were formed. The water is really hot which allows tourists to boil food such as eggs.
Butterfly Watching
More than 300 species of butterflies have been spotted in Semuliki National Park, making it a good destination for butterfly watching.
Butterfly watching is one of the activities that tourists can engage in while being on a safari to this park. The armed ranger guides who have some knowledge about the butterflies will move around the tourists in search of different species.
During Semuliki butterfly watching, tourists will be having chances of seeing species such as Bicyclus, andriasa contraria, euphaedra alacris, plain vagrant, cucumber moth, choroclanis virescens, biston abruptaria, sarothroceras banaka, tailed bush brown, belenois solilucis, common glider, savanna pathfinder, bicyclus alboplagus.
Common mother of pearl, violet banded palla, chirinda bush brown, common blue banded forester, mung bean moth, rhipidarctia crameri, nemetes sailer, coffee berry moth, variegated pearl, amata marina, polyptychus carteri, euphaedra edwardsii, cymothoe ochreata, zebra pyrale, simple orange forester, spiny bollworm.
Euriphene saphirina, euphaedra hybrida, catuna crithea, mulberry hawkmoth, neuroxena ansorgei, bicyclus mollitia, angular glider, common nephele, dark yellow forest sylph, gregori’s brown pansy, square winged red charaxes, common palm forester, common pathfinder, rhodope dotted border to mention but a few.
Best Time To Go To Semuliki National Park
The driest months of the year, June to September and December to February, are the best times to visit Semuliki National Park. This is the period when the park receives little rainfall and a lot of sunshine. The trails are muddy and slippery, the vegetation is short with good views of most of the park’s attractions, and the trails are dry and passable.
For birders, the best time to visit Semuliki National Park is from November to April. During this time there is plenty of food for birders and more migratory birds can be seen in the park.
Tourists can also use the rainy season to visit Semuliki National Park, but there is a lot of rainfall received at that time.
How To Get To Semuliki National Park
Semuliki National Park is located in Bundibudyo district in the western part of Uganda.
The park is easily accessed by road transport which takes around 5 to 6 hours from Entebbe/Kampala. By road, tourists from Entebbe pass via Kampala, Mityana, Mubende, Kyegegwa, Kyenjojo, Fort Portal, and continue to Bundibudyo where the park is located.
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