3 days Semuliki tour Uganda takes you to Semuliki national park located in Bwamba county in Bundibugyo western Uganda near Fort portal town. The park is home to about 25 mammal species, 300 recorded tree species, 374 butterfly species, over 400 bird species making it one of the best birding sites hence the name True birders haven.

3 days Semuliki tour Uganda Safari highlights

Day 1: Travel to Semuliki national park – night game drive

Day 2: Game drive – Sempaya hot springs

Day 3: Return to Kampala

Detailed itinerary

Day 1: Travel to Semuliki national park – night game drive

After morning breakfast, our driver-guide will pick you up at your hotel, forest brief you about the safari then start on your journey to Semuliki national park which is about 7 to 8 hours’ drive from Kampala. You will a stopover at the royal drum makers where you will learn how they make local drums, a stopover at the equator for photography and souvenirs, and thereafter proceed with your journey to Semuliki national park. You will have en-route lunch on your way. Upon reaching the park you will proceed and check-in at your lodge and have some relaxation. Later in the evening, you will go for a night game drive in the park where you have chances of seeing nocturnal animals such as white-tailed mongoose, leopards, standard night pennant, slender mongoose, little collared fruit bat, bush babies, hares, target rats among others making your safari memorable. After the night game drive, you will return to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 2: Game drive – Sempaya hot springs

After a morning game drive, you will meet your driver for a transfer to Toro Semuliki wildlife reserve where game drives are conducted. During the game drive, you will see animals such as warthogs, forest elephants, buffaloes, crocodiles, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, lions, mona monkeys, bush babies, African civet, hippos, and much more. You will also some of the park birds such as black chested snake eagle, secretary bird, piping hornbill, blue-headed crested flycatcher, and many others. After the game drive, you will return to your lodge for lunch.

In the afternoon you will take a visit to Sempaya hot springs located inside the park. The Sempaya hot springs have both female and male hot springs with different features. The female one is the most attractive with bubbling waters and the most visited one and it’s the major attraction that attracts several travelers from all over the world. The hot spring has a very high temperature above 103 degrees Celsius tasted by dropping a raw egg and plantain that boils immediately and gets ready for consumption. At the hot springs, you will listen to interesting stories of how the male and female hot springs came into existence. After a wonderful afternoon at the hot springs, you will return to your lodge for relaxation, dinner, and overnight stay.

Day 3: Return to Kampala

Have a relaxed breakfast, check out of your lodge and meet with your drive for a transfer back to Kampala. You will have a stopover in fort portal city for lunch.  you will arrive in Kampala in the evening and get dropped off at any place of your convenience to end your 3 days Semuliki tour Uganda.

This 3 days Semuliki tour can be extended to other destinations such as Rwenzori mountains national park for hiking, Kibale forest national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, Bwindi forest, Lake mburo national park and Ngamba Islands for chimp encounter

What To Do In Semuliki National Park

The following are the top things to do in Semuliki national park in the western part of Uganda;

Game drives:

Semuliki national park is home to 53 mammals so visitors can go for game drives at Semuliki National Park and get a chance to see wild animals on the game drives i.e. lions, elephants, African buffalo, bushbucks, Mona monkey, bush babies, warthogs leopards, crocodiles, primates such as chimpanzees, baboon grey checked mangabey, black and white colobus, Central African red colobus among others. Night game drives are also done at Semuliki national park which enables you to see nocturnal animals such as bushbabies, white-tailed mongoose, and other night creatures. Game drives can be done in the morning or evening and the go for UGX 30,000 for east African residents and USD 30 for foreign residents and foreign nonresidents

Birding safaris:

Semuliki National Park is an habitant of over 400 bird species recorded in the park making it one of the best birding destinations in Uganda. Bird species in the park include the capuchin, white-tailed hornbill, yellow-throated nicator, orange cheeked waxbill, African piculet, fire crested Lethe, great shoebill stork, blue-headed crested flycatcher, orange weaver, and red-billed malimbe and water birds around River Semiliki such as Caruthers cisticola, papyrus gonolek among others.

Batwa culture tours:

The Batwa community re-found in Semuliki National Park and they are indigenous settlers of the area people the place was gazetted into a national park. The pygmy people are hunter-gatherers they do hunting as a source of food, they also do beekeeping, and drew livelihood like foods, tools, medicine, shelter from the forest. The Batwa people are a source of attractions in Semuliki national park as it’s interesting to meet the indigenous dwellers of Uganda. When you visit the Batwa people you get to learn about the way of life, see their cultural performances doing traditional dance, drama, and music. Besides, the Batwa people also produce beautiful handcraft which they sell and support their communities.

Nature walks and hiking safaris:

Doing nature walks and hiking in Semuliki National Park is fascinating. The park has got three trials for hiking and nature walk in the park  which include the Karuma trail running through the forest to Semuliki river, the Sempaya nature trail which leads you to the hot springs, as well as the red money trail which takes you to the eastern border of the park and you, find De Brazza’s monkey,

Sempaya hot springs

These are the most visited attractions in Semuliki National Park. The park has got two hot springs that’s the female hot spring and the male hot spring found in two different locations at the edge of the great Ituri forest. Once you get to these hot springs you can boil simple food i.e. eggs or bananas you can as well take photos and record moments. While on your way to the hot springs you can come across red-tailed monkeys, grey checked monkeys, and birds such as forest hornbill, blue breasted kingfisher, and honeyguide green bill among others