This 3 days Batwa visit and birding safari tour ranks among the best safaris to Semuliki National Park in Uganda. The Batwa visit and birding safari tour gives you an exceptional safari experience to visit the Batwa pygmies in their villages to learn and share their life style.
The Batwa were hunter-gatherers and got the food, shelter, medicine and tools they needed from the forest. While on a birding safari you will spot out the famous shoebill bird and other bird species like the Blue Swallow, White-throated Blue Swallow, Swamp Palm Bulbul, Spotted Greenbul, White-starred Robin, Lowland Akalat and Red-throated Alethe among others.
More to see on this 3 days Batwa visit and birding safari tour include a visit to the Sempaya Hot springs of Semuliki National Park.
Batwa Visit and Birding Safari 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 above the Rwenzori Mountains ranges. You will get your afternoon lunch in Fort Portal and then visit the Batwa village, which is just outside the park.
The Batwa are, as they call themselves, little people and they traditionally lived off what the forest could give them. They were hunter-gatherers and used to get their food, shelter, medicine and tools they needed from the forest. In modern times, the forest has largely turned into farmland and much of what remains is protected as part of the national park. As a result, the Batwa have limited access to the areas they used to dwell in.
Your visit to the Batwa in their village would give an idea of their rich culture and buy handmade crafts as souvenirs.
Dinner and overnight stay at Semuliki Safari Lodge (high-end facility). Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner.
Day 2: Wildlife Tour – Part of Batwa Visit and Birding Safari
The morning after your breakfast is dedicated for a bird watching experience in Semuliki, so get ready for a boat ride along Lake Albert for a great birding opportunity. Look out for the Common Stonechat, Abyssinian Ground-Thrush, Oberlaender’s Ground-Thrush, Grey Ground-Thrush and Little Grey Greenbul among others.
The evening is dedicated for a game drive in Semuliki, a park that is home to forest elephants and buffaloes which are smaller versions of their savannah-dwelling relatives. It is also a home to over 53 mammals of which 27 are large mammals. 11 species are endemic to the park including the pygmy antelopes and two flying squirrel species. It is also home to the peculiar water chevrotain, known as the ‘fanged deer’.
Dinner and overnight stay at Semuliki Safari Lodge (high-end facility). Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Day 3: Semuliki – Kampala/Entebbe
After your breakfast, visit the famous hot springs of Semuliki National Park. The Sempaya hot springs are Semuliki’s most famous attraction. The ‘male’ spring, which are known as ‘Bintente’, measures 12m in diameter and is set in a lush swampy clearing.
The ‘female’ spring ‘Nyasimbi’, meaning ‘the female ancestors’, is a boiling geyser (103°C) which spurts bubbling water and steam up to two meters high. This steam cloud can be seen from as far as 2km away. Because of these high temperatures residents used to cook their food in these boiling pools.
Thereafter, return back to Kampala via Mubende – Mityana road with a 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.
Batwa Visit and Birding Safari Inclusions and Exclusions
Includes
- Airport transfer- drop
- Transportation by a 4wd safari Land Cruiser
- Accommodation and meals as per the itinerary
- Park fees
- Birding safari
- Batwa visit
- 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, porter fee while trekking, personal insurance, and tobacco.