Game Drive in Semliki National Park
Game Drive in Semliki National Park is an amazing Uganda Safari Activity that travelers can engage in to be taken around the park for wildlife viewing. One of the newest national parks in Uganda is Semliki National Park and it is located in the far west of Uganda within the district of Bundibugyo in Bwamba County at the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Semliki National Park has a diverse ecosystem filled with natural vegetation such as the semi-deciduous forests and a variety of wildlife.
Semliki National Park covers an area equaling to 220 kilometers and visitors have a chance to view different wildlife such as the 60 mammal species such as the leopards, buffalos, bush babies, elephants, and the pigmy flying squirrel, the primates you can find in Semliki National Park include baboons, black and white colobus monkeys plus the chimpanzees and about 400 bird species such as capuchin babbler, pale fronted ant-pecker and crested malimbe, and blue-headed flycatcher among others.
Game drive
A game drive involves using a customized 4WD vehicle to carry tourists and transport them around the park as they visit different areas to spot the wildlife and natural landscape of the national park.
In Semliki National Park, safari game drive is mainly done in Toro Semliki Game Reserve, an area consisting of the savannah grassland, acacia-combretum woodland with some extensive swamps towards Lake Albert. A game drive around the Semuliki Game reserve makes you feel or get the natural experience of the wild and the beautiful landscape of the national park. A drive to Sempaya hot springs makes you view the Rift Valley towards the Democratic Republic of Congo.
There are three tracks across the savannah grassland of Toro Semliki Game Reserve. Game drives in the Toro Semliki Game Reserve can be done in two sessions that is in the morning session and the afternoon session. However, visitor can also opt for the night drives that give you the opportunity to spot the animal behaviors in the night such as the bush babies that you find up in the trees, slender mongoose, hares, little collard fruit Bat and Target Rat.
On a lucky day, you will spot the forest elephants which are smaller than the savannah elephants. Semliki Game Reserve has a great number of primates that you will spot during your game drive in the park such as the chimpanzees, grey-cheeked mangabey, central African red colobus monkey, and baboons, blue and red tailed monkeys. The rare mammal to find are the leopards not forgetting the wild pigs that are great to view.
Other activities you can find within Semliki National Park
Hike the Nyaburongo gorge: Hiking Nyaburongo gorge is the number one activity for the bird enthusiasts which is about 7 kilometers walk that passes via variety of insights such as the swamps, lowland tropical forests that consist of different bird species that live within the forest such as the Tropical Boubal, Arrow-marked babbler, Black-headed bushrike and some primates such as Olive Baboons, and chimpanzees among others.
Primate walks: In Toro Semliki Game Reserve, primate walks take about 3-4 hours and take place next to Semliki Safari Lodge. You will be assigned a professional game ranger who will lead you through the jungles of Semliki National Park. Some of the primates you will find include; Black and white colobus monkeys, baboons, red-tailed monkeys.
Boat rides: Visitors have the opportunity to have a guided boat ride on River Semliki which is about 160 kilometers long and runs from the Rwenzori Mountains and continues to Lake Albert and the Nile. Visitors can get to spot hippos, Nile Crocodiles, lizards along the banks of the River Semliki. Visitors can view the river meander within the Rift Valley while on their way to and from Semliki National Park.
Sempaya hot springs: There are two main hot springs that visitors get to spot while in Semliki National Park that is the female and male hot springs. The male hot spring is known as Bintente and it is about 12 meters in diameter and is in a lush swampy clearing. Nyasimbi is the female hot spring and its name literary means the female ancestors. The Nyasimbi hot spring is the hottest and most dangerous because it releases hot bubbling water emitting steam up to 2 meters high from the ground. During this natural encounter, look out for bird species, red tailed, and grey-cheeked mangabey among others.
Nature walks in Semliki National Park: Toro Game Reserve has three main nature trails that visitors can engage in during their visit to Semliki National Park. These nature trails include; the Sempaya nature trail, the Kirumia trail and the last one known as the Red monkey trail.
The Sempaya nature trail leads to Sempaya hot springs and passes via a patch of forest. Along the way, visitors get to see different monkeys such as the red tailed monkeys and the white and black monkeys that live in the forest trees of Semliki National Park.
The kirumia trail is about 13 kilometers making it the best trail for bird watching. This is because it ends up in the Semliki River across the forest. On the other hand, the red monkey trail is 11 kilometers long and ends up in the Semliki River. Visitors can find a rare monkey species known as the DeBrazza monkey which is only found in Semliki National Park.
Cultural tours: Visitors that come to Semliki National Park can get to experience the cultural behaviors of the people in the surrounding communities. This is all done by engaging in cultural tours an activity aimed at improving the lives of the people in the area. The tribe of people you will find in this area is the Batwa tribe of people. These people have resorted to settling around the national park and only enter the forest in search for herbs. Visitors get to view the Batwa trails in Uganda, their history and traditional customs during their ancient days in the area.
Fishing on River Semliki: Visitors can also engage themselves in fishing, an activity that has been in existence for quite a long time at River Semliki. The Semliki River is about 140 kilometers long basing in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda and some of the fish they will spot is the lung fish and catfish.
Accessing Semliki National Park
To reach Semliki National Park can be by means of both air and road transport. By road, it takes about 8 hours from Kampala City the capital of Uganda. You will have to get onto a bus that will drop you to Fort Portal and get special hire that takes you about 55 kilometers to Semliki National Park. On the other hand, if you prefer using air transport, then you can take a scheduled or chartered flight from Entebbe to Kasese with Aerolinks that operate domestic flights.
Accommodation
Some of the accommodation facilities you will find in Semliki National Park provide basic, mid-range or high-end facilities. So your financial status will determine your choice of the accommodation facility. The facilities you will find include; Semliki Safari Lodge, Ntoroko Game Lodge, Kyanimga Lodge Mountains of the moon hotel, and Rwenzori View Guest House among others.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the game drives in Semliki National Park will give you a memorable experience to view the wildlife and the natural insights of the national park. Visitors that have visited Semliki National Park always want to return with friends to have more experience of this rarely visited fascinating place in Uganda.
