SEMULIKI NATIONAL PARK

Formerly known as the Bwamba Forest, this 220 km² territory acquired national park status in 1993. At an altitude of about 700 m, it is home to a virtually unspoiled sylvatic forest that is an extension of the Ituri Forest that stretches across the Semliki River in the DRC. As a result, it is home to species unique to the Congo Basin that are found nowhere else in Uganda, such as the okapi (three individuals recorded). Given its small size, the park has an extraordinary diversity of fauna: more than 300 species of butterflies and 435 species of birds, including several endemic to the park, which is a must-see destination for birdwatchers. With about fifty representatives, the list of mammals is not the most impressive in the country but, once again, some animals are unique such as the aquatic chevrotain (or doe pig). Chimpanzees (unaccustomed) and Brazza's cercopithecus (extremely rare in Uganda) are also present, as well as forest elephants, buffaloes and sitatungas, while crocodiles and hippos frequent the Ntotoro and Semliki rivers. However, the hot springs of Sempaya remain the main attraction of the park. Named Mumbunga ("meeting place") by the locals, the "male" (12 m in diameter) and "female" (which spits out boiling water, around 103°C) springs were indeed used by the natives for various purposes: washing clothes, cooking food and curative treatment (against skin rashes, epidermal mycosis, venous return or joint problems). The guided tour of the hot springs (1 hr.) requires only the payment of park entrance fees. Nature walk (30 US$ for 2 to 6 hours of walking) and bird watching (30 US$ itou) are also included in the program. If you opt for the first one, which lasts between 3 and 6 hours in the dry season and between 2 and 3 hours in the rainy season (because the progression in the mud is not a piece of cake...), expect to meet primates (such as the guéréza colobus, the samango or the red colobus) and, of course, butterflies and birds. If you choose bird watching, which starts (ideally before 8 am) from the UWA offices in Sempaya or from the Bumaga camp (2 km further south, close to the Fort Portal-Bundibugyo National Park), be aware that the guides, Alex and Moses in particular, are experienced ornithologists.