Semliki National Park

Location:

349 km via Fort Portal Road. 470 km via Masaka – Kasese

276.23 km (171.64 mi) North – North West (NNW) of Kampala.

39 km from Semliki Wildlife Reserve.

Air: 20.24 km (12.57 mi) South- South West (SSW) of Semliki Wildlife Reserve.

53km from Fort Portal.

Coordinates: 0.8067174, 30.1491451 (Ntandi)

Semliki National Park is an extension of the great Ituri Forest of the Congo Basin and is one of Africa’s most ancient and bio-diverse forests that survived the last ice age. The park stretches across the floor of the Semuliki Valley on the western side of the Rwenzori Mountains covering 220 km².

Its altitude range is 670m-760m above sea level. The park gives you a taste of Central Africa without actually going there because the park has many features related to Central Africa rather than Eastern Africa. Initially, the park was gazatted as Semuliki Forest Reserve in 1932 and upgraded to National Park status in 1993.

The meandering Semuliki River, home to hippos and crocodiles forms the international boundary between Uganda and the DRC.

Semliki has 53 mammals, 336 tree species of which 24 are restricted to the park and almost 40% of Uganda’s recorded bird species, some of which are not found elsewhere in East Africa.

Though studies about butterflies in the park are in progress, Semliki has about 309 species out of the approximately 1,300 species in Uganda.

Among the shy, rare and nocturnal mammal species in the park are: The Grey-cheeked Mangabey, Vervet, Red-tailed and Mona, Gentle (Blue) Monkeys, Olive Baboon, Colobus, De Brazza’s Monkeys and Chimpanzees.Nocturnal creatures include Pottos and Galagos.

The rare animals are: Forest Elephant, Bush pig, Water Chevrotain, Buffalo, Sitatunga, White-bellied Duiker or Dwarf Antelope, Beecroft’s Anomalure or Zenker’s Flying Mouse.

Fire-footed Rope and Red-legged Sun Squirrels can be easily seen.

Birding in Semuliki

Semuliki National Park is mainly forest that is home to an extraordinary collection of predominantly Central African bird species most of which are not found anywhere else in Uganda. Your dream of ticking rare and elusive bird species off your list may come true in Semliki.

The park is known for its endemic bird species and unrivaled butterfly life. It harbours over 400 bird species and 66% of the 216 of the country’s forest bird species.

Semliki National Park bird list

Source: eBird

Best time to visit Semliki

Birding in Semuliki National Park can be all year round though the best time is during the dry season in the months of March to May and September to November. Between this period of the year it tends to receive less rainfall in the park.

Semliki National Park

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