An easy walk to the Semliki springs

Trip to Sempaya Hot Springs in Uganda

Starting point

The entrance to the park can be found after turning off the main road leading from Fort Portal to Congo, the exit is well marked (see photo gallery).
 

Description of the hike

Another tip for a road trip through Uganda is Sempaya Hot Springs in Semuliki National Park. The turn-off from the road is well signposted and after buying entry for US$ 35 / person (2021) you can head up the paved road at both springs.

The trail follows a forest path and wooden footbridges. You can't get lost (hopefully) and the path is short, so no complicated navigation is needed. If you are hungry, you can take an egg from the guardian and cook it (the springs have a temperature of up to 94°). The springs also cure skin diseases.
 

Difficulty

An easy walk along a paved path and wooden "bridges" in the middle of the marsh. Everything is well maintained. The path is suitable for untrained people and small children.
 

Water availability

Bring bottled water to drink, you can't buy anything on site. Tap water for washing can be fetched at the entrance to the park, there is also a toilet there.
 

Sleeping options

I haven't tried anything in the park location, but I recommend one of the accommodations in nearby Fort Portal (such as Ruwenzori View Guesthouse).
 

Danger

I don't know of any, except...you're a few kilometers from Congo :-)
 

Food

It's a short trip, definitely doable without food. You can't buy anything on site, at most you can cook an egg from a park ranger.
 

Attractions

Semliki National Park (wiki) is located in the Semliki Valley on the remote western side of Rwenzori. The park is dominated by the easternmost extension of the great Ituri Forest of the Congo Basin. It is one of Africa's oldest and most biodiverse forests, and one of the few to survive the last ice age, 12-18,000 years ago.

The Semliki Valley contains many features associated with Central rather than East Africa. Thatched huts are shaded by West African oil palms, and the Semliki River (which forms the international border) is a miniature version of the Congo River. The forest is home to many Central African wildlife species, and the local population includes the Batwa community, which originates from Ituri.

As a result, this park provides a taste of Central Africa without having to leave Uganda. Hot springs bubble up from the depths to demonstrate the powerful underground forces that have shaped the valley for the last 14 million years. This is the only park in Uganda that is composed mostly of tropical lowland forest.

The forest is very dense and relatively flat, creating a striking contrast to the surrounding rugged Rwenzori Mountains. The Semliki River attracts many animals. The park is home to eight species of primates, 400 birds and 300 species of butterflies.

There are also elephants, buffalo, leopards, civets, etc. The Sempaya hot springs are the most famous attraction of Semliki National Park. The "male" spring, known as Bintente, measures 12 m in diameter and is set in a lush swampy clearing. "The 'female' spring, Nyasimbi, is a boiling 103°C geyser that gushes bubbling water and steam up to two metres - the steam plume can be seen from up to 2km away. Local people used to cook food in these boiling pools.

More information about Semliki National Park can be found here.

TIP for your next trip in Uganda

If you decide to find accommodation in Fort Portal, you also have a great base for your next trip... "chimpanzee trekking in Kibale National Park". I can highly recommend it, you could buy a permit right at the entrance to the park ($200 USD), again the network didn't work so you better take cash. Make sure you check the permit beforehand, there are no tourists on our behalf, I don't know what it looks like when there are.

The trek is actually about a 4 hour event (about 6 km) in the jungle, where you and a ranger observe chimpanzees and their life in the wild at a distance of 1 meter.

Tips for travellers to Uganda = for adventurers without a travel agency and a private driver.

Or a few things we didn't find on the Internet before we left that may be useful to someone:

1. Mzungu - that's what kids will call you now and then, it's not a swear word. (Also known as muzungu, mlungu, musungu or musongo, mzungu is a Bantu term used in predominantly Swahili-speaking countries to refer to white people.)
2. Visa - US$50/person - no need to use the ministry's non-functional booking system.
    
3. We got our visa upon arrival at the airport. COVID - bribe to gunmen to release car to another district (20,000 - 50,000 UGX).
    
4. At Entebbe Test and Fly airport - PCR test, result within 4 hours for 65 USD.
    
5. Food shops and parks operate normally.
    
6. PCR check only at the airport.
    
7. Car and travel - rent a car from roadtripafrica.com and allow about 1x more time for travel than the maps indicate.
    
8. Some of the dirt roads are really a massacre.
    
9. Don't rely on card payments and ATMs - rather count on the fact that even at places where you look at the big sign at the entrance we accept cards you can't pay with it - because the network is not working right now.
    
10. If you're going to take USD, make sure you have the latest versions of the notes. They won't take older dollars, I think 2013 and down, almost anywhere, including banks and exchange offices.
     
11. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)