What is Semuliki national park famous for

The numerous tourist attractions in Semuliki national park, the only lowland tropical rainforest have made the park so famous. Semuliki national park in the western part of Uganda Bundibudyo district has made the park famous not only in East Africa but also to the outside world. Semuliki hosts 448 butterfly species, 435 bird species, 53 mammals and 9 primates.

Semuliki national park is one of the most commonly visited national parks in western Uganda with so many activities organized in the park. The park is managed and controlled by the Uganda Wildlife Authority which gazetted the park in 1993 to protect the different attractions that were in the park at the time.

Things that have made Semuliki national park famous

Butterflies

Semuliki national park is famous for having the highest number of butterflies in Uganda. Over 448 butterfly species have so far been recorded in Semuliki national park. Tourists who love butterflies always want to visit Semuliki national park because of its high population of butterflies. Taking part in the butterfly watching activity will always enable tourists to see as many butterfly species as they can.

Butterfly species of Semuliki national park include Cymothoe Cyclades, violet banded palla, variable diadem, lycoa Acraea, forest glade nymph, common mother of pearl, cymothoe confusa, polyptychus carteri, euphaedra edwardsii, blue monarch, cymothoe ochreata, cucumber moth, mung bean moth, angular glider, biston abruptaria, African caper, small black bush brown, savanna pathfinder, euphaedra eberti, and variegated pearl.

Veined swordtail, plain vagrant, choroclanis virescens, bicyclus mollitia, African leaf butterfly, chirinda bush brown, mylantria xanthospila, sarothroceras banaka, gregori’s brown pansy, andriasa contraria, spiny bollworm, boisduval’s tree nymph, rhipidarctia crameri, common glider, tailed bush brown, mulberry hawkmoth, dark yellow forest sylph, soldier commodore, and rhodope dotted border to mention but a few.

Bird species in Semuliki

Semuliki national park has about 435 bird species that have been recorded in the park and it’s said that 23 of these are endemic to the Albertine region. Birds of Semuliki national park have made the park famous when it comes to birding because the region is one of the best birding destinations in the western part of Uganda.

Birds of Semuliki national park that have made the park so famous include Shoe bill stork, Purple-breasted sunbird, Red-billed Dwarf hornbill, Ross’s Turaco, Grant’s bluebill, Northern bearded scrub robin, White-bellied kingfisher, Black-Dwarf hornbill, Red-billed dwarf hornbill, Red-rumped Tinkerbird, Gabon woodpecker, Dwarf honeyguide, Yellow-throated nicator, Grant’s bluebill, and Chestnut-breasted Negrofinch.

White-crested hornbill, Spot-breasted Ibis, White-crested hornbill, Blue-headed Crested Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Nicator, White-tailed Hornbill, Chestnut owlet, Black-dwarf hornbill, Piping Hornbill, Long tailed hawk, Eastern-bearded greenbul, Hartlaub’s duck, Maxwell’s black weaver, Red-bellied malimbe, Black-Dwarf hornbill, Yellow-throated cuckoo, Capuchin babbler, black chinned quailfinch, and Congo serpent eagle.

Black-throated coucal, Black Dwarf Hornbill, Black-casqued Wattled Hornbill, Spotted honeyguide, yellow-throated nicator, Lyre-tailed Honeyguide, Orange-cheeked Waxbill, Crested Malimbe, Gabon woodpecker, Western Bronze-naped Pigeon, Rufous-sided broadbill, Forbe’s plover, Grauer’s cuckoo-shrike, Red-thighed Sparrow hawk, Long-tailed Hawk, Capuchin Babbler, Sassi’s olive greenbul, and White-throated Blue Swallow to mention but a few.

Batwa pygmies

Semuliki national park is also famous for having been home to the Batwa pygmies. Batwa lived in Semuliki national park not until 1993 when they were evicted by the government at the time of gazetting the park. The Batwa had been used to live in the jungle but they had to move out and settle outside the park where they would get used to the way of life of other people.

Cultural tourists in Semuliki national park are now the only way tourists can meet and interact with the batwa pygmies. The batwa pygmies live in Ntandi and Boma village where tourists can meet them any time they visit the park. Visiting the Batwa will help one to know how they lived in the jungle with animals and how they are finding life outside the park. Traditional dancers are there to entertain visitors through dance and drama.

Hot springs

Semuliki national park is famous for being one of the national parks where one can find hot springs. Semuliki national park is blessed with two hot springs all of which are located inside the park. There is the female hot spring called Nyansimbi and the male hot spring called Biteete.

The male hot spring is a 12-meter-wide pool of hot water and tourists are allowed to visit any time they are in the park. The female hot spring is the best to visit because of the way the geyser gushes out water about 2 meters in the air. On a safari to Semuliki national park, tourists can walk to these hot springs with a ranger guide where they can do photography and also learn about how the hot springs are formed.

Accessing Semuliki national park

Accessing Semuliki national park by road: Tourists can get to Semuliki national park using road transport and the estimated driving time from Kampala/Entebbe to the park is 5 to 6 hours. To get to Semuliki national park, tourists from Kampala/Entebbe drive through Mityana, Mubende, Kyegegwa, Kyenjojo, Fort Portal, and Bundibudgyo where the park is located.

Accessing Semuliki national park by flight: Tourists who fly to Kasese will have to use road transport still because the airstrip is a bit far from the park.