Chimpanzee And Primate Trekking in Semuliki National Park
Semuliki national park is located in a valley covered with acacia woodland which harbors most of the chimpanzees in the reserve. Semuliki reserve is a gazetted area which was put up to conserve the kobs and other wildlife animals.
Chimpanzee tracking is one of the best attractions you can do while in Toro semuliki national park. in Toro Semuliki, chimpanzee tracking is hard because of the landscape which hinders chimps to move over sharp cliffs. You will have to go through swamps, thickets and shrubs and more in order to track down the primates and chimpanzees.
The trekking takes place in the morning hours which takes about 1-3 hours depending on how the chimps have travelled. Expect to see the black and colobus monkeys, baboons, the de Brazza, dent’s mona monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, central African red colobus among others.
For other activities in semuliki national park, check out this.
What to wear and pack for your chimpanzee tracking semuliki national park.
Sturdy hiking boots for support while on a slippery trail.
Warm cotton clothing suitable for cold weather plus a rain jacket
Insect repellant
Cameras and binoculars
Drinking water to prevent your body from dehydrating while trekking.
A light back-pack to carry your needed items
Warm sweater to keep for night.
Trails or routes used in semuliki national park.
The park has 3 trails you will be guided to use, these include;
Red monkey trail. This trail is 11km from the east border of the park. It goes up semuliki river. While using this trail, you will get an opportunity to see the De Brazza monkeys.
Sempaya nature trail. This is the trail that will take you to the hot springs. Expect to see primates like grey-cheeked mangabey, red tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys among others.
Kirumia trail. This covers an area of 13km passing through the forest up to semuliki river. For those interested in bird watching, this is the best route to use.
How to reach semuliki national park.
By road.
There are two major routes from Kampala that are used to reach the park, these include;
Kampala-fort portal highway road via masaka, Mbarara then to kasese which approximately 7 to 8 hours and 50km from fort portal.
Kampala-fort portal road via mubende. This route is approximately 5 to 6 hours from kampala.
By air.
There are chartered flights from kajjansi airstrip to kasese airstrip or directly from Entebbe airport to kasese.
Accommodations in semuliki national park.
There are accommodations in the park and others are outside. They range from budget, mid-range to luxury accommodations. These include;
Semuliki river camp.
Hotel vanilla
The hotel is found in Bundibugyo town good for budget tourists. It has 7 rooms with showers, local restaurant and a bar.
Semuliki safari lodge.
This is near Tooro semuliki game reserve, it offers luxury services. The lodges have grass thatched cottages. They have amenities like swimming pool, hot showers, en-suite bathroom among others.
Nyati game lodge.
This is found near the shores of lake Albert. It is good for those interested in luxury tent camps, good for honeymoons.
UWA bandas and cottages.
They are 2.5km from Sempaya tourism center, they offer camping services, you can do self-catering and meals are prepared on order.
