2 Days Budget Semuliki tour is worth it because you will enjoy the beauty of Semuliki National Park. This budget Semuliki tour is ideal for both visitors who wish to spend less and those who have less time in Uganda but are seeking for a wildlife safari opportunity to this unique safari park.
You will visit the famous Sempaya hot springs as the most famous attraction of Semuliki National Park. These are the ‘male’ hot springs, known as ‘Bintente’. Then proceed for a game safari drive and the most exciting boat ride on Lake Albert, for a birding opportunity. Here, you will have high chances of spotting the shoebill among other bird species.
Budget Semuliki Tour Itinerary
Day 1: Kampala – Semuliki National Park
Leave Kampala after breakfast for the fascinating drive through papyrus swamps and thick jungle of the Nile Delta to Semuliki National Park just below the Rwenzori Mountain ranges. After the afternoon lunch, get ready to visit the famous Sempaya hot springs of Semuliki National Park. These are Semuliki’s most famous attraction.
The ‘male’ hot springs, locally known as ‘Bintente’, measures12 metres in diameter and are set in a lush swampy clearing. The ‘female’ hot springs, ‘Nyasimbi’, which means the female ancestors, is a boiling geyser (103°C) which spurts bubbling water and steam up to two meters high. The steam cloud can be seen from as far as 2km away. Local people used to cook their food in these boiling pools.
Dinner and overnight stay at Bumanga Cottages or Kirimia Guest House (budget facility). Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner.
Day 2: Wildlife Tour in Semuliki National Park
Morning will be for a boat ride along Lake Albert for a birding opportunity including the Shoebill hunt. Look out for other species like the Blue Swallow, White-throated Blue Swallow, Swamp Palm Bulbul, Spotted Greenbul and White-starred Robin.
If you are lucky, you may also spot the Lowland Akalat, Red-throated Alethe, Fire-crested Alethe, Snowy-headed Robin-Chat, Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat, Red-eyed Puffback, White-tailed Robin-Chat and Northern Bearded Scrub-Robin among others.
Thereafter, get on a game drive en-route to your lodge in Semuliki National Park. This park is home to forest elephant and buffaloes which are smaller versions of their savannah-dwelling relatives. It is also a home for over 53 mammals of which 27 are large mammals. 11 species are endemic to the park including the pygmy antelope and two flying squirrel species.
This pristine park is also home to the peculiar water chevrotain, known as the ‘fanged deer’.
Return back to Kampala via Fort Portal – Mubende – Mityana highway, with lunch en-route at your choice restaurant or hotel. You will then proceed to Kampala and Entebbe International Airport for your evening flight back home or to your next destination.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch
Budget Semuliki Tour Safari Inclusions:
Includes:
- Airport transfer- drop
- Transportation by a 4wd safari minivan
- Accommodation and meals as per the itinerary
- Park fees
- Services of English speaking Driver/guide.
- Enroute lunches
- Hot springs visit
- A boat ride along Lake Albert
- Park fees
Excludes:
- Night game drive in Semuliki,
- Expenses of personal nature like: Visa, drinks, laundry, tips to local guides, telephone bills, porter fees while trekking
- Personal insurance, and tobacco, if necessary.