Camping in Semuliki national park

Camping in Semuliki national park: Semuliki national park has campsites for tourists who visit the national park and want to sleep outside in the world. There are different camping sites in the park but the most used one is Bumaga campsite which is owned by the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Semuliki national park is Uganda’s national park situated in western Uganda in Bundibudyo district. The national park was gazetted in 1993 as a national park to protect different wildlife species. Semuliki national park is so far home to 53 mammals, 9 primates, and 435 bird species which have been recorded.

Tourists visit Semuliki national park to explore the different attractions and also take part in different tourism activities. Tourists to Semuliki national park who prefer staying alone can choose to go camping because it is available in the park. To carry out camping within this park you need to do advance bookings and pay a booking fee in order to secure space for yourself.

Tourists who want to go camping in Semuliki national park must come with their camping gear or hire one. The camping gear we are talking about includes tents, sleeping bags, silk liners, sleeping tents, lamps, long-sleeved clothes, towels, insect repellents, shoes, waterproof jackets, a mosquito net, a hooded jumper, a camera, a pair of binoculars, first aid kit, and toiletries among others.

Activities to do on a camping safari in Semuliki national park

with the variety of attractions in Semuliki, the park offers variety of  activities to do on a camping safari as discussed below

Bird watching

The high population of bird species in Semuliki national park has attracted lots of birders from different parts of the world. Semuliki national park is home to over 435 bird species making it one of the best birding destinations within western Uganda. On a camping safari to Semuliki national park, birders can carry out bird watching to see the so many beautiful bird species that live right here.

Bird watching in Semuliki national park gives tourists an opportunity to see bird species such as Shoebill stork, white-bellied kingfisher, joyful greenbul, black-billed seed cracker, violet backed starling, black-headed oriole, mountain buzzard, rufous bellied helmetshrike, scarlet-chested sunbird, red chested cuckoo, yellow browed camaroptera, ayres’s hawk-eagle, red chested cuckoo, grey crowned crane, and cattle egret.

Other bird species of Semuliki national park include African thrush, red faced cisticola, red-rumped tinkerbird, green white eye, klaas’s Cuckoo, little bee-eater, brown snake eagle, chestnut wattle eye, black-billed barbet, African sacred ibis, white thighed hornbill, long-crested eagle, black-winged stilt, jameson’s ant-pecker, African pygmy kingfisher, great blue turaco, yellow billed barbet, viellot’s black weaver, and lesser bristlebill among others.

Chimpanzee trekking

There are few chimpanzees in Semuliki national park and some of them have been habituated and are open for chimpanzee trekking activities. Chimpanzee trekking in Semuliki national park is not as popular as it is in other national parks but it’s possible within the park. On a camping safari to Semuliki national park, tourists are allowed to go chimpanzee trekking as long as they can buy a permit.

Chimpanzee trekking permits are purchased at the park headquarters at a very affordable fee. Tourists who go for chimpanzee trekking in this park wake up early in the morning and go to the park headquarters. Here they meet ranger guides who teach them the rules and regulations of the activity. Later a group that doesn’t exceed 8 people does head into the jungle led by an armed ranger guide.

The search for chimpanzees goes from 1 hour to 4 hours or more within this park because of the nature of the terrain. While searching, the trekkers are able to meet different wildlife species of the park among which include mammals, birds, and many others. Finally, the trekkers do meet the chimpanzees and they are allowed to be around them for 1 hour which gives an opportunity of watching the chimps do daily activities as you take photos.

Cultural tours in Semuliki

Semuliki national park is one of the few national parks where you meet the famous Batwa pygmies. These short people are famous for having stayed in the forests alongside wild animals before the government gazetted the national parks. When Batwa pygmies were evicted from Semuliki national park they decided to settle in the nearby areas such as Boma cultural village, and Ntandi village.

On a camping safari in Semuliki national park, tourists can visit any of the communities around the park to learn more about the Batwa people. A visit to any of the Batwa community is led by local guides who are from that same village so they take you to different homes in their communities. Here you meet different people who tell different stories about what they do for a living, the elders tell stories of long ago and the traditional dancers entertain tourists through dance and drama.

Nature walks in Semuliki

On a camping safari in Semuliki national park, tourists who want to get so close to nature can go for nature walk activities. Nature walks in Semuliki are a guided activity led by armed ranger guides who protect you from anything dangerous while showing you the different attractions inside the park. Nature walk activities are the best way of spotting mammals, primates, and birds of Semuliki national park.

The camping site in Semuliki national park is located 2.5km away from Sempaya hot springs which means that during nature walks you will take a short time to get there. The hot springs leave people wondering because they have hot and cold waters which is not so many. A ranger guide will tell you different information about the hot springs and if you have enough time you can boil some food till it gets ready.