What else to do after a safari in Semuliki national park

What else to do after a safari in Semuliki national park: Semuliki national park is a 220 sq. km piece of land in Bundibugyo district western part of Uganda. The national park was gazetted in 1993 by Uganda Wildlife Authority to protect the different attractions that were in the park at the time. Today Semuliki national park has over 435 bird species, 9 primates, 53 mammals, and 448 butterfly species.

Semuliki national park is also a place to find attractions such as water sources, hot springs and the batwa pygmies. With so many attractions, the national park receives a lot of tourists from different part of the world. Among the so many tourists are those that want to visit more than one national park and in this article, we are to look at which other areas tourists can visit after Semuliki national park.

What else to do after a safari in Semuliki national park

Visit Kibale forest national park

Kibale forest national park is one of the closest national parks to Semuliki national park. This means that tourists can always visit Kibale national park after a safari in Semuliki national park. Kibale forest national park has so many attractions which means so many activities can be done in the park. The national park is famous for being home to the highest number of chimpanzees in the world.

Chimpanzee trekking is best done in Kibale forest national park in the whole world. Tourists who are on a safari in Semuliki national park can always visit Kibale forest national park for chimpanzee trekking. There are more than 1500 chimpanzees in kibale forest national park and four large families have been habituated for trekking and habituation.

Chimpanzee trekking activities in Kibale forest national park are done by tourists who have permits. The activity starts early with a briefing at the park headquarters where rangers teach the trekkers about the rules and regulations of the activity. After the briefing, trekkers are led into the jungle by the armed ranger guides where they start searching for where the chimpanzees could be.

It takes 3 to 5 hours to locate the chimpanzees of Kibale forest national park. During the search, tourists are able to meet different wild animals, birds as well as vegetation. After hours of searching and locating chimpanzees, trekkers are allowed to be around the apes for 1 hour and this allows them to learn about their habits, watch them do daily activities, take photos, and record videos.

Another activity to do in Kibale forest national park would be bird watching where a tourist has a chance of seeing over 375 bird species.  Bird watching in Kibale is done in the form of nature walks where birders are taken around the park using different birding trails with the help of an armed ranger guide.

Bird watching in Kibale forest national park will give a birder an opportunity of watching bird species such as Great blue turaco, Narina trogon, grey parrot, zebra waxbill, chubb’s cisticola, fan-tailed widowbird, purple breasted sunbird, African pipit, African wagtail, blue-headed sunbird, scaly-breasted illadopsis, black-bellied firefinch, crowned eagle, brown chested alethe, scaly brested illadopsis, crowned eagle, white collared olive, papyrus gonolek, and shy flycatcher.

African grey woodpecker, eastern plantain-eater, alpine swift, doherty’s bushshrike, African shrike flycatcher, black-crowned tchagra, white-tailed blue flycatcher, blue-throated roller, cardinal woodpecker, speckled mousebird, yellow spotted nicator, white-breasted negrofinch, bare-faced go-away-bird, African firefinch, barn swallow, slate-colored boubou, African emerald cuckoo, and hairy breasted barbet to mention but a few.

Visit Rwenzori national park

Rwenzori national park is another national park close to Semuliki national park. Tourists can visit Rwenzori national park from Semuliki national park and participate in a few activities that are there. Inside Rwenzori national park is where we find Mount Rwenzori and the most activity there is hiking

Giking is the most done activity in Rwenzori national park where tourists hike Mount Rwenzori. Hiking Mount Rwenzori takes a number of days however tourists can hike for the number of days they want. Tourists can hike Mount rwenzori for 1,2,3 or even up to 10 days depending on the time they have in the park. Hiking Rwenzori comes with an opportunity to meet different wildlife, see the surrounding areas, take photos and record videos.

The best time to visit semuliki national park

A safari to Semuliki national park and nearby national parks can be done at any time of the year however some months are better than others. The dry season months from December to February and June to September are the best time to visit semuliki national park. This is because they are characterized by little rainfall and plenty of sunshine meaning that the walking trails are dry and passable while the roads leading to the park are passable.

Tourists can still have this safari in the rainy season and this favors the budget travelers as they get discounted accommodation facilities and tour packages. The rainy season happens from March to May and October to November when the country is receiving too much rainfall. Tourists should come knowing that the walking trails are muddy and slippery while the roads leading to the park are passable.