Semliki National Park protects an eastern extension of the vast Ituri Forest and forms part of a forest continuum that stretches across the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Zaire River. It was established as a national park in 1993 with an estimated area cover of 219sq km in a lowland.
Many predominantly Central African species reach the eastern limit of their distribution here and cannot be found anywhere else in East Africa. These include some of the continent’s most spectacular and sought-after birds such as; the Congo Serpent Eagle, Long-tailed Hawk, Nkulengu Rail, Black-wattled Hornbill and Lyre-tailed Honeyguide. Although it lies a bumpy three hours drive from Fort Portal, birders who take Uganda safaris, at Semliki National Park will be richly rewarded with some of the very best forest birding in Uganda.
The Park borders the Semuliki and Lamia rivers, which are watering places for many animals. The park has two hot springs in a hot mineral-encrusted swamp. One of the springs – Mumbuga Spring – resembles a geyser by forming a 0.5 m high fountain. These hot springs attract a large number of shorebirds and they are a source of salt for many animals.
From 1932 to 1993, the area covered by Semuliki National Park was managed as a forest reserve, initially by the colonial government and then by the Ugandan government’s Forest Department. It was made a national park by the government in October 1993 to protect the forests as an integral part of the protected areas of the Western Rift Valley.
