Short safaris to Semuliki national park

Short safaris to Semuliki national park: Semuliki national park short safaris are for tourists who have limited time but would love to visit nature. A short safari to Semuliki national park enables tourists to experience wildlife, beautiful scenery, and other things that the park has to offer. If you are short of time, Semuliki national park is one of the best places to go because it’s located 5 to 6 hours drive from Kampala/Entebbe.

Semuliki national park has many attractions tourists can see on a short safari and among them include birds, mammals, primates, butterflies, hot springs, and the Batwa pygmies. Tourists can participate in major activities since there is limited time on a safari. A short safari to Semuliki national park can be a fly-in or a 3 days safari if tourists are to use road transport.

Activities to do on a short safari in Semuliki national park

Bird watching

Bird watching in Semuliki national park can be done in one day or even half a day and good bird lovers will be able to see most of the bird species. Bird watching is a guided activity within Semuliki national park where armed ranger guides take tourists in the jungle with their bird guides. Bird watching is done using different trails to enable tourists to see as many bird species as they can.

Bird watching in Semuliki national park us rewarding with variety of birds to see in Semuliki to include Shoe bill stork, Dwarf honeyguide, Blue-billed malimbe, Ross’s Turaco, Lyre-tailed Honeyguide, White-throated Blue Swallow, Chestnut-breasted Negrofinch, Great blue Turaco, Spot-breasted Ibis, White-crested hornbill, Piping Hornbill, Eastern-bearded greenbul, White-tailed Hornbill, Grant’s bluebill, Chestnut owlet, and Gabon woodpecker.

Long-tailed hawk, Northern bearded scrub robin, Hartlaub’s duck, Capuchin Babbler, Crested Malimbe, swamp palm bulbul, African pygmy goose, Gabon woodpecker, great white pelican, Red-thighed Sparrow hawk, malachite kingfisher, Yellow-throated cuckoo, Red-billed dwarf hornbill, Spotted honeyguide, Yellow-throated nicator, Black-Dwarf hornbill, Congo serpent eagle, and Zenker’s honeyguide to mention but a few.

Visiting the hot springs

Most of the tourists that visit Semuliki national park never leave minus seeing the hot springs. There are two springs in Semuliki national park that is the male and the female hot springs all found inside the park. On a safari to Semuliki national park, tourists can have a small walk to the hot springs where armed ranger guides will lead them while telling them different information about the park.

The female hot spring is the most visited hot spring in Semuliki national park with a geyser that sends jets of water into the air about 3 meters above the ground. The male hot spring is just a pool of hot water and tourists record videos and take photos during a visit to any of the hot springs.

Butterfly watching in Semuliki

Semuliki national park is the best national park when it comes to butterfly watching in Uganda. This park has a total of 448 recorded butterfly species making it the national park with the highest population of butterflies in Uganda. Tourists who love butterflies can have a short safari to the park or even engage in the activity if they get there.

Butterfly watching in Semuliki is done around the park with an armed ranger guide who protects tourists from animals that could be dangerous. Butterfly watching will give tourists an opportunity to see other park animals, birds, and vegetation covers with a help of a ranger guide and a butterfly guide.

Butterfly watching in Semuliki is rewarding with butterfly species to see such as euphaedra hollandi, blue monarch, common glider, euriphene saphirina, becker’s creamy yellow glider, angular glider, euphaedra alacris, zebra pyrale, aletis helcita, euphaedra hybrida, tailed bush brown, common nephele, catuna crithea, African leaf butterfly, cadarena pudoraria, bicyclus alboplagus, common blue banded forester, and coffee berry moth.

cymothoe Cyclades, marcipalina umbrosa, neuroxena ansorgei, amata marina, cymothoe ochreata, peneleos Acraea, savanna pathfinder, euphaedra edwardsii, haritalodes polycymalis, cucumber moth, marcipalina conjuncta, widespread forester, square winged red charaxes, variable diadem, common mother of pearl, euphaedra eberti, lycoa Acraea, choroclanis virescens, and orange streak Acraea to mention but a few.

Chimpanzee trekking

A short safari to Semuliki national park can have chimpanzee trekking where tourists get an opportunity to get close to chimpanzees in their natural habitats. Not so many chimpanzees are found in Semuliki national park and the activity is not so popular here. Chimpanzee trekking is done by people aged 12 years and above within this park and they must have chimpanzee permits.

Chimpanzee trekking starts every day early in the morning with a briefing from the ranger guides. Here tourists are taught the rules and regulations of the activity and armed ranger guides lead them into the jungle where they start looking for the chimpanzees. While searching they, get an opportunity of meeting different park animals, birds, and many more attractions.

Locating chimps takes 3 to 5 hours and when the chimpanzees are located, tourists are allowed to be around them for 1 hour. This allows them to know about the gorilla habits, watch them carry out daily activities like nesting, playing, hunting, and breastfeeding, and tourists are able to take photos, and record videos among others.

When to have short safaris in Semuliki national park

Tourists can have short safaris in Semuliki national park at any time of the year but those that will come in the dry season will enjoy their safari in the park. The dry season occurs from June to September and December to February and tourists prefer these months because they are characterized by little rainfall and plenty of sunshine. The weather is good inside the park, the trails are dry and passable and the vegetation is short with good views of the attractions of the park.

Tourists can still have short safaris in the rainy season which occurs from March to May and October to November. The rainy season has got discounted accommodation facilities and tour packages but tourists should remember that they are characterized by too much rainfall and little sunshine. This means that the trekking trails are muddy and slippery and the vegetation is tall with unclear views of the attractions of the park.