Are safaris in Semuliki national park worth the money?

Are safaris in Semuliki national park worth the money?: Semuliki national park is one of Uganda’s national parks located in the western part of the country. Semuliki national park is found in Bundibudyo district on the borders of Uganda and DR Congo. This national park was gazetted by Uganda Wildlife Authority in 1993 and now covers a total area of 220 sq. km.

The attractions in Semuliki national park make the safari in the park worth the money. There are so many attractions in Semuliki national park and among them include 435 bird species, 448 butterfly species, 53 mammals in Semuliki, 9 primates, and the hot springs. These have attracted people from different corners of the world to the park where they engage in different activities like below.

Things makes safaris in Semuliki national park worth the money?

bird watching in Semuliki

With over 435 bird species, a  national park is always worth the money. Birders join with the ranger guides and local birders to go to the jungle where they look for where the birds could be. Different birding trails are used and different areas of the parka are visited to increase the chances of seeing birds of the park.

A bird watching activity in Semuliki national park comes with an opportunity to see bird species like Shoebill stork, Great blue Turaco, Purple-breasted sunbird, Northern bearded scrub robin, Red-billed Dwarf hornbill, icterine greenbul, Yellow-throated nicator, Orange Cheeked waxbill, black chinned quailfinch, White thighed hornbill, Western Bronze-naped Pigeon, African pygmy goose, great white pelican, Long tailed hawk, and swamp palm bulbul.

Other species to see on a bird watching activity in Semuliki are: Eastern-bearded greenbul, Piping Hornbill, malachite kingfisher, Spotted honeyguide, Black-Dwarf hornbill, Black-casqued Wattled Hornbill, Sassi’s olive greenbul, Xavier greenbul, Orange-tufted sunbird, Red-thighed Sparrow hawk, Spot-breasted Ibis, Yellow-throated Nicator, White-bellied kingfisher, White-throated Blue Swallow, Congo serpent eagle, Capuchin Babbler, Chestnut-breasted Negrofinch, Long-tailed Hawk to mention but a few.

Butterfly watching

Semuliki national park has over 448 butterfly species and it’s the park with the highest number of butterflies in Uganda. With all these butterfly species a safari is always worth it because tourists see as many as they want. Butterfly watching is an activity you need to engage in in order to see the so many that live within the park.

During butterfly watching in Semuliki national park, those that are good at the activity will be able to see more than half of those registered within the park. Some include African leaf butterfly, rhipidarctia crameri, common palm forester, chirinda bush brown, zebra pyrale, Bethune baker’s bush brown, gregori’s brown pansy, simple orange forester, common nephele, cadarena pudoraria, tailed bush brown, veined swordtail, and common blue banded forester.

Common pathfinder, coffee berry moth, toothed stately bush brown, African caper, angular glider, square winged red charaxes, euphaedra eberti, cymothoe ochreata, mung bean moth, amata marina, blue diadem butterfly, rhodope dotted border, euphaedra hybrida, painted pearl, bicyclus mollitia, mylantria xanthospila, variegated pearl, and marcipalina conjuncta among others.

Hot springs in Semuliki

Not every national park in Uganda has hot springs except a few of them like Semuliki national park. On a safari to Semuliki national park, tourists will get an opportunity to see two hot springs that are said to be inside the park. Semuliki national park has female hot spring and male hot spring right inside the park and tourists visit any they want or even both.

Visiting the hot springs starts with a walk where tourists are led by armed ranger guides who tell stories of how these hot springs came up. Walking to the hot springs you pass through different vegetation covers like swamps where you can spot some of the wildlife in the park. At the hot springs, you will be surprised by how water comes from the ground very hot to the extent that it even boils foods like eggs.

Batwa cultural tour

Cultural safaris in Semuliki national park is always worth the money because it is one of the few places where tourists can visit the Batwa pygmies. The Batwa pygmies are one of the most loved cultural people in Uganda because of their history. These people used to live in Semuliki national park not until 1993 when the government was getting the area as a national park.

Tourists can now meet the Batwa pygmies in the areas surrounding the park where they settle after living in the forest. Boma and Ntandi are some of the villages where tourists can meet the Batwa pygmies and get to interact with them. A local guide takes tourists to these villages where they visit different homes, talk to elders, and in the end get entertained by traditional dancers.

Best time to go to Semuliki national park

When discussing about the best time to go to Semuliki national park, So as enjoy your safari in Semuliki you must go during the dry season that happens from June to September and December to February. During this time there is little rainfall but plenty of sunshine in the park and this favors all the activities of the park therefor, it regarded the best time to go to Semuliki national park for a safari. During the dry season, the walking trails are dry and easier to go through plus the vegetation is short with clear views of attractions in the park

Tourists especially budget travelers can still have a safari in Semuliki national park in the rainy season of March to May and October to November. Tourists should come knowing that plenty of rainfall in the park makes walking trails muddy and slippery and vegetation is always tall with unclear views of attractions.