Name: 3 Days 2 Night Semuliki National Park Safari
Brand: African Spice Safari
SKU: 1

This 3-day Uganda Safari Adventure visits Semuliki National Park, one of the smallest game parks in Uganda near the Congo border and the Rwenzori Mountains, enriched with flora and fauna. The tour departs from Entebbe or Kampala, where you are collected from your accommodation and driven to Semuliki National Park. En- route we enjoy lunch and a stopover in fort portal.

After lunch, we visit the “Amabere Ga Nyinamwiru” Caves and the craters and later proceed to your accommodations in Semuliki National Park. A night game drive is planned on day one after dinner where one could see big cats, the slender and white-tailed mongoose, serval cats, diminutive nightjars, leopards, cats, and hyenas among others.

We spend the whole of day two exploring Semuliki National Park. Semuliki Forest Reserve is home to forest elephants and buffalo which are smaller versions of their savannah-dwelling relatives. The forest is remarkably rich in primates including chimpanzees, baboons,grey-cheeked mangabeys, black-and-white colobus, Central African red colobus, blue, red-tailed, de Brazza’s, vervets, and Dent’s mona monkeys.

Nocturnal primates include the potto and bushbaby. Hippos and crocodiles are common along the Semliki River. The park has at least 374 species of butterflies. Birdlife is especially spectacular in Semuliki with 441 recorded species, representing 40% of Uganda’s total bird species.

There are numerous rarities; 46 Guinea-Congo biome species are found nowhere else in East Africa while another 35 can be seen in only two or three other places in Uganda. Five species are endemic to the Albertine Rift ecosystem. Species to look out for here include the Nkulengu Rail, Yellow-throated Cuckoo, Piping Hornbill, Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill, Black Dwarf Hornbill, White-crested Hornbill, and Black-casqued Wattled Hornbill.

Later we, visit Sempaya hot springs and also get a chance to meet the Batwa’s hunter-gatherers to see their rich cultural history through music and dance performances at Ntandi village.

On day three, we take an easy drive after breakfast back to Kampala with lunch en route.

3 Days 2 Night Semuliki National Park Safari Highlights

* Night Game Drives: See the white-tailed mongoose, slender mongoose, nightjars, leopards, cats, hyenas, etc
* Track Chimpanzee: Visit the Chimpanzee Project and the 3 different chimpanzee communities that are habituated
* Day Game Drives: Animals include elephants, buffalo, waterbuck, crocodile, warthog, Uganda kobs, monkeys, chimpanzees, etc
* Hiking and Nature Walks: The main hiking trail within the Park is the 13 km Kirumia Trail that transverses through the centre of the Forest to the mighty Semliki River, taking about 8 hours for the round trip
* Birding: The park has over 400 Central African bird species some of which cannot be found anywhere else in East Africa such as the Long-tailed Hawk, Congo Serpent Eagle, Lyre-tailed Honey-guide, Black-wattled Hornbill, the Nkulengu Rail, just to mention but a few
* Cultural Village visits: You can go visit the nearby communities of the indigenous Batwa people who will welcome you and tell you more about their lifestyle as hunters and food gatherers
* Hot springs: the two Sempaya hot springs, one male called Bintente and one female called Nyasimbi. The temperature of the water in both springs reaches 100 degrees Celsius and it is well-known that you can cook eggs

Safari Itinerary in Summary

Day 1: Kampala – Drive to Semuliki National Park. Enjoy a night Game Drive (Optional)
Day 2: Explore Semuliki National Park
Day 3: Semuliki National Park – Drive to Kampala

Safari Itinerary in Detail

Day 1:Kampala – Drive to Semuliki National Park

0700 Hours: After breakfast at your hotel in Kampala depart by road to Semuliki National Park. The park is located in the southwestern part of Uganda in the Bundibugyo district along the Eastern side of Lake Albert 330 km (6-hour drive) from Kampala City Uganda.

1230 Hours: You will have a brief lunch hour break at Fort Portal town before proceeding to the park. Enjoy the striking scenes of the Western Albertine rift valley as you drive to Bundibugyo town.

Semuliki National Park is next to the western border of Uganda and the Congo Republic next to Lake Albert and covers the eastern part of the Ituri forest joining Uganda and the Congo River separated by the Semliki River. Semuliki is an ornithologist’s haven having about 400 bird species mostly forest birds. There are 300 tree species recorded nowhere else in East Africa and 53 mammal species with 11 diurnal species.

2100 Hours: A night game drive is planned today after dinner where one could see big cats, the slender and white-tailed mongoose, serval cats, and diminutive nightjars among others.

Accommodation Options

Mid-Range Accommodation: Tooro Resort, Fort Motel, Ntoroko/ Kanyankyu Ecological Site
Luxury Accommodation: Semuliki Safari Lodge, Ntoroko Game Lodge, Mountains of the Moon (Fort Portal)
Budget Accommodation: Rwenzori View Guest House (Fort Portal), Kirimia Guesthouse, Toro-Semliki Hostel, or Bumaga Cottage

Meal Plan: {Lunch & Dinner}

Day 2: Explore Semuliki National Park

We will begin with the most eye-catching item in Semuliki, the Sempaya hot springs. These natural springs have a geyser shooting up from an 8 meters-wide hole at a hot temperature. It’s the largest of its kind in Uganda. Along the same trail, you can recognize quite a number of bird species like blue–breasted kingfisher and Frasier’s ant-thrush and primates like the grey-checked mangabey and red-tailed monkey.

Continue to Mungilo waterfall and see more attractive birds especially if you are a birder. Alternatively, you can opt to go down into the stunning gallery rainforest to track wild chimpanzees. Chimps are tracked by researchers in Semliki at dawn and dusk, as they tend to disappear in the middle of the day.

1300 Hours: Then you will return to the lodge for lunch and have some time to relax by the pool and enjoy the tranquillity of your accommodations. Late afternoon you will go for a game drive where you expect to see elephants, buffalo, leopards, lions, antelopes, and big cats among others. Hippos and crocodiles can be seen along the Semliki River.

Accommodation Options

Meal Plan: {Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner}

Day 3: Semuliki National Park –Drive to Kampala

Today we take an easy drive after breakfast back to Kampala with lunch en-route.

Meal Plan: {Breakfast & Lunch}

3 Days 2 Night Semuliki National Park Safari Prices

3 Days 2 Night Semuliki National Park Safari Prices Include:

All Park Entrance Fees + Meals En-route on safari + Game drives as per the itinerary + Nature walks while in Semuliki National Park + Chimp permits one per person to be paid in advance + Visit the hot springs while at Semuliki National Park + Services of our professional English speaking safari driver Guide + 2 Nights Accommodation on full board basis at the lodge of your choice & Round trip Transportation from Kampala to Semuliki National Park and back to Kampala

Dates From	Dates To	Adult Per Person	Child Aged 3 to 11 Years
1st January 2023	31st December 2023	Request for Prices	Request for Prices

Notes

*Airport transfers Entebbe – Kampala, Kampala – Entebbe
* African Spice Safaris can provide you with the following services at an extra fee;
* Booking accommodation for you (Night before the safari and after a safari in case your flight is on the next day)

3 Days 2 Night Semuliki National Park Safari Prices Exclude:

* Personal expenses
* Tips to local guides
* International Airfare
* Visa, drinks, laundry
* Entebbe Airport transfers
* Telephone, porter fee while trekking
* Personal insurance, personal shopping bills

3 Days 2 Night Semuliki National Park Safari

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