Ntoroko fishing village

Ntoroko fishing village is found in western Uganda in Bundibugyo district. Ntoroko fishing village is situated at the base of Lake Albert near Semuliki national park. The fishing village is occupied by the locals that live in the nearby areas and carry out fishing on these waters. Ntoroko fishing village is one of the attractions around Semuliki national park because of the different activities that happen at the lake

Fishing is the most carried out activity in Ntoroko fishing village and it’s done by the local people. The local people do carry our fishing for money and also get food for their families. On a visit to Ntoroko fishing village, tourists are able to see tourists carry out fishing, and they can buy different fish species caught in the lake like tilapia, silverfish, and sprat.

Bird watching is another activity mostly done at Ntoroko fishing village. Tourists carry out bird watching around the area because it is one of the few places where the shoebill stork can be spotted in Semuliki national park. Other bird species that can be seen around Ntoroko include African Jacana, Nubian woodpecker, blue breasted bee-eater, grey-headed kingfisher, broad billed roller, marabou stork, common ringed plover, and helmeted guineafowl among others.

Things to do in Semuliki national park before and after visiting Ntoroko fishing village

Chimpanzee trekking

Chimpanzee trekking can be done in Semuliki national park where a few chimpanzees do live. Semuliki national park has a few chimpanzees in the tropical rainforest some of which have been habituated for trekking activities. Chimpanzee trekking is done by tourists who love to visit the chimps in their natural habitat and watch them carry out day to day activities.

Tourists in Semuliki national park take 3 to 5 hours or even more to locate chimpanzees. The rangers first brief the trekkers and later they lead them in the jungle where they start searching for the habituated chimpanzees. During the search, trekkers are able to see different forest animals, birds and vegetation. As soon as the chimps are spotted, tourists are given 1 hour to be around them where they watch them do daily activities.

Bird watching in semuliki

Over 435 bird species have been recorded in Semuliki national park and these can be seen when one takes part on bird watching activities. Bird watching is a guided activity led by armed ranger guides that take you around the park where you look out for different park activities. Good birders within this park will be able to see more than half of the bird species on a birding exercise within the park.

Bird watching in semuliki park introduces you to birds such as Shoebill stork, Northern bearded scrub robin, Yellow-throated nicator, White thighed hornbill, Fire-crested alethe, black chinned quailfinch, African pygmy goose, piping hornbill, Orange Cheeked waxbill, great white pelican, Congo serpent eagle, Great blue Turaco, White-crested hornbill, Spot-breasted Ibis, Grant’s bluebill, Nkulengu rail, African piculet, White-bellied kingfisher, Dwarf honeyguide, Chestnut-breasted Negrofinch, and Eastern-bearded Greenbuls.

Other bird species in Semuliki national park include Red-rumped Tinkerbird, Northern bearded scrub robin, Grauer’s cuckoo-shrike, Lemon-bellied Crombec, Yellow-throated Nicator, Blue-billed malimbe, Ross’s Turaco, Blue-billed malimbe, Long-tailed Hawk, White-crested hornbill,  White-tailed Hornbill, Red-billed Dwarf hornbill, Spotted honeyguide, Orange-cheeked Waxbill, Yellow-throated nicator, Grant’s bluebill, Black-throated coucal, fiery- breasted bush-shrike, and Piping Hornbill among others.

Community tours

While visiting Ntoroko fishing village you can do a community tour in the villages around. In Semuliki national park we have the Bakonjo, Bwamba, and Batwa pygmies in Ntandi and Boma villages therefore tourists have a right to choose what they want. The Batwa pygmies are the most visited because of their history in the park years when they used to stay alongside animals.

There are different villages where the batwa settle after being evicted out of the park and it’s in these villages that tourists can meet these short people. A visit to villages like Ntandi or Boma will give you an opportunity to meet the Batwa in their homes. Here a local guide takes you to any of the communities where you meet the local people. They entertain you, take you around the homes, tell stories of long ago and how they live their day to day lives.

Nature walks

Nature walks in Semuliki national park are the best way tourists can get close to nature and see the different attractions in the park. Different nature walk trails are in the park to enable tourists access different areas of the park. Some of the nature walks in Semuliki national park include red-tailed monkey trails, Mugiri river forest trails, Sempaya trail, Nyabsurogo gorge hike, and Kirumia trail among others.

Each of the trails used gives tourists a chance to see the hidden attractions of the park. Nature walk trails to use depend on what the tourists want to see and it’s the armed ranger guides that lead you while walking around the park. During the nature walks, tourists are able to see mammals, primates, birds, butterflies, hot springs, plants, and much more that is in the park.

Butterfly species

Semuliki national park has the highest number of butterflies in Uganda which are over 448 in total. Tourists who visit Ntoroko fishing village and are interested in butterfly watching can organize an activity in the park and get a chance to see more than half of the recorded species. The activity is carried out in different areas of the park to enable tourists to see as many as they can. During the activity, tourists are also able to see different wildlife that the park has.

During butterfly watching, tourists do get an opportunity to see butterfly species such as euriphene saphirina, charaxes fulvescens, common ginger white, euphaedra hybrida, variegated pearl,  charaxes pollux, bicyclus, andriasa contraria, veined swordtail, peneleos Acraea, square winged red charaxes, simple orange forester, gregori’s brown pansy, toothed stately bush brown, common glider, cymothoe Cyclades, Bethune baker’s bush brown, mung bean moth, bicyclus mollitia, lycoa Acraea, common pathfinder, angular glider, rhodope dotted border, and painted pearl among others.

Getting to Ntoroko fishing village

Ntoroko fishing village is located in Semuliki national park and tourists can access the area in a single day using road transport and air transport. Air transport is the quickest way tourists can access Semuliki national park and visit Ntoroko village but it’s a bit costly. Tourists who want a fly safari to Semuliki national park can only to Kasese because it’s the nearest airstrip. Aerolink Uganda and Bar Aviation Uganda have flights to Kasese airstrip where you later connect to the park using road transport.

It takes 5 to 6 hours for tourists to access Semuliki national park by road and visit Ntoroko district if their starting point is Kampala or Entebbe. From Kampala/Entebbe, tourists drive through Mityana, Mubende, Kyegegwa, Kyenjojo, Fort Portal, and Bundibudyo where the park is located. Tourists who use road transport to access Semuliki national park get an opportunity to meet different attractions along the way.