Sempaya Hot Springs are the most outstanding attractions in Semuliki national park located at the edge of the great Ituri forest which borders Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the remote western side of the Rwenzori Mountain Rangers in Bundibugyo district. The hot springs are the main reason why tourists visit Semiliki national park during their Uganda Safaris since it is a lifetime experience for anyone who is visiting.
Semuliki national park is one of the less visited national parks in Uganda but it is the best place for bird watching and home to the largest hot springs in Uganda. The park is located across the Semuliki Valley which is dominated by the African ancient and bio-diverse forest which is Ituri forest in Congo Basin. The Semuliki Valley contains a number of features that are more central African catchments than East Africa. Semuliki national park is the only park that is composed of primarily lowland tropical forest which is densely populated with accumulated for over 25,000 years which is evidenced by the hot springs that bubble up from the depth to demonstrate the powerful subterranean forces that have been shaping the rift valley during the last 14 million years. The hot springs are called Sempaya a name which was derived from the Swahili phrase ’Sehemu mbaya’’ which means ‘’the difficult side’’ due to the challenges encountered during the construction of the Fort Portal-Bundibugyo road along the ridges of the Rwenzori Mountain ranges thus the name Sempaya hot springs.
The Sempaya Hot Springs are said to exist in two springs that is the Female and Male Hot Springs and the two are found in different locations but the scientists and the Bamaga clan who are the local people have the best technical and interesting story about the existence of the hot springs.
THE MALE HOT SPRINGS
Tourists believe the male hot spring is a tourist attraction but the local people see it as one of the sacred shrines for the male gods thus referring it to Mumbugu since they believe it is associated with wealth and sacrifices offered by men to appease the gods in exchange of prosperity so they believe the hot springs have a historical formation.
According to one of the clan members, the local said that there was a time when the Bamaga women went to fetch firewood from the forest and they saw a hairy man dressed in backcloth waving a spear with a dog moving around the location, this made the women run back home to tell their husbands who decided to pick the man and bring him home, gave a name(Biteete) and even got him a wife. One time the man went hunting but never returned so the people decide to go search for him after three days but they only found the spear which made them assume that the man disappeared at the same place as the springs thus the place becoming the Male Hot Springs.
THE FEMALE HOT SPRINGS
The inner female hot springs are locally referred to as the Nyasimbi by the locals there who believed that the sacred location is of their female gods the locals say when the men went to search for Biteete, they returned home and told the wife who was called Nyasimbi who also ran and disappeared from the same spot where they found her cloths around the other springs thus calling it the Female Hot Springs. This is how the two hot springs became to be named female and male hot springs till today the Bamaga people believe that their ancestors live beneath the springs and that is why they perform annual rituals at the springs to appease their ancestors although the area is gazette as a national park the locals are allowed to access the springs. During the Uganda safari tour to Semiliki national park, you will find the local people who have undressed in the springs seeking for blessings from their ancestors. The women will go to the Female Hot Springs to offer sacrifices and prayers to appease the female ancestor in return to bless them with the fertility of the womb and safe delivery.
The Sempya hot springs from the main road to the forest tracks of Semiliki national park is a 30-minute’ walk and once you reach the hot springs, you will receive a breath-taking steamy hot water boiling, bubbling, and jetting from the ground at about 103 degrees Celsius.
The hot springs are too hot to the extent that tourists can boil some simple foods like eggs, and plantain in the hot springs. Apart from visiting the hot springs, tourists have other activities that they can engage in that are offered by Semuliki national park during the Uganda Safari tours since the park has various attractions like the Ituri forest of the Congo basin, River Semuliki which flows through the Rwenzori mountains pouring into Lake Albert, there is the wetland and woodland vegetation which is a habit for the various bird and wildlife species. Other activities tourists can engage in while on your visit to Sempaya hot springs include;
Game Viewing
Semuliki wildlife reserve hosts about 53 different mammals that live in this forest where 27 of which are large mammals, and 11 out of the 53 are endemic to the park like the pygmy antelopes and the 2 flying squirrel species. The forest is also home to the Peculiar water chevrotain called ‘’fanged deer’’.
The different animals that are found a home in Semuiki national park include the small and large savannah elephants, buffaloes, antelopes, Uganda kobs, warthogs, crocodiles, lizards, snakes, pygmy hippos, leopards on a lucky day can also be seen during the morning game drives and the night game drives with the opportunity of viewing the bush babies, white-tailed mongoose, pottos among other nocturnal animals. Game viewing costs $35 for a foreign non-resident and UGX 10,000 for East African residents.
Bird watching
Semiliki national park has over 441 bird species recorded in the park which makes it one of the top birding destinations in Africa thus earning the title of ‘’True Birders Haven’ ’where there are about 130 Guinea-Congo forests Biome species are recorded in Semuliki forest and the other bird species include the yellow-throated Nicator, Great blue, and Ross’s Turacos, long–tailed Hawk, Nkulengu Rail, Black-wattled hornbill, Lyre-tailed honey guide, Congo Serpent Eagle, orange weaver, Red-billed Malimbe,white-tailed/pipping hornbill, crested flycatcher since the park is near Mount Rwenzori and surrounded by swamps you will find birds like papyrus Gonolek, Caruther’s Cisticola.
Batwa cultural tour
The advantage of visiting the Semulki national park is to have the Batwa community walk where you will meet with the indigenous forest dwellers who lived in the forest before it was gazetted as a national park. The Batwa people survived on hunting as a source of food, and beekeeping, and got food, tools, medicine, and shelter from the Semuliki forest. Since then they have become a center of attraction for tourists who are interested in meeting the indigenous dwellers of Uganda whereby when you visit them, you will learn about their livelihood, and take them through cultural performances like traditional dance, drama, and music.
Nature walks and hiking experiences
Even though hiking and nature walks can be done in other tourist destinations in Uganda, Semulki national park is also amazing since there are three available trails for hiking including the Kirumia trail which runs through the forest to Semuliki River then the Sempya nature trail which leads to the hot springs then the primate and red monkey track which leads to the park’s Eastern border where we find the rare De Brazza’s monkey.
Accommodation at Semilki national park
There are available accommodation facilities that range from luxury to mid-range and budget facilities. Though the park doesn’t have construction accommodations for tourists where they have to find a hotel in Bundibugyo town or stay in a constructed lodge in Toro-Semuliki wildlife reserve at Semukiki safari lodge which is a luxury lodge, Ntoronko game lodge, Bamaga Bandas and campsite which are provided by Uganda Wildlife Authority for backpackers. Vibrant Holiday Safaris is a licensed tour operator that offers safaris to the Sempaya Hot Springs and we ensure you get to feel the uniqueness of this place.