Sempaya Hot Springs

Sempaya Hot Springs: The most popular hot springs in Uganda are Sempaya Hot Springs, which are situated in the center of Semuliki National Park. The name of these hot springs comes from the Swahili word “Sehemu mbaya,” which translates to “the difficult side” in English. This is mostly due to the challenges encountered when building the Fort Portal-Bundibugyo route along the ridges of the Rwenzori Mountain ranges.

The primary tourist destination in Semuliki National Park is the Sempaya hot springs. The Bamaga clan, one of the ethnic groups that reside close to the national park, finds cultural value in the hot springs, which are made up of both a man and a female.

The Bamaga people consider the male and female hot springs’ development to be historical. The locals think that a group of ladies spotted a hairy man wearing bark cloth with a spear and a dog when they went into the forest to get firewood. According to reports, the man and his dog were zigzagging about the area where the male hot spring is now.

After the women hurried home to tell their husbands what they had witnessed, the men agreed to bring the odd man and his dog back to their community and eventually married a woman from the same village. Biteete was the man’s name, while Nyansimbi was his wife’s.

The story of Biteete and his dog going hunting in the forest and then going missing is still told in tradition. Only his spear, which is now where the male hot spring is located, was discovered by the local men when they searched for him. When they got back to their hamlet, they told his wife what had happened.

After learning of her husband’s tragic disappearance, Nyansimbi fled into the jungle to look for him and never came back. The people later discovered her clothing where the female hot spring is now located.

The two hot springs were thereafter dubbed the male and female hot springs. The local Bamaga people still hold the belief that their ancestors live beneath the male and female hot springs. As a result, they frequently pray and offer sacrifices at shrines erected close to both hot springs. The King of the Bamaga clan officiates the ritual, which is held every November.

The hot springs for men and women are located separately. About a kilometer from the park’s headquarters at Ntandi, the male hot spring, also known as Biteete, is situated in a very swampy area. There is steam dissipating from the 12-meter-wide male hot spring.

It takes roughly an hour to go to the male hot spring, including a half-hour hike back. You can see amazing park animals, including antelopes, birds, duikers, and even some primate species like the black and white colobus monkey, while hiking to the hot spring.

The female hot spring, also called Nyasimbi, is essentially a geyser, with 103˚C hot water bursting out of its sprout. From a distance of two kilometers, the steam cloud from the female hot spring is visible. Visitors are typically permitted to boil eggs or even matooke (plantains) at the female hot spring.

Residents typically use the hot spring to cook their meals, drink its water, and even take baths in its warm waters since they think it has therapeutic properties.

Depending on your pace, the hike to the female hot springs takes no more than five to fifteen minutes. Monkeys and bird species including the Congo Serpent Eagle, Long-tailed Hawk, Maxwell’s Black Weaver, Ituri Batis, and Yellow-throated Nicator are among the attractions to watch out for on your hike.

Since Semuliki National Park is an extension of the Ituri forest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is home to a wide variety of birds, including more than 23 indigenous species.

Additional Things to Do at Semuliki National Park.

A game drive, a guided nature walk, birdwatching, cultural interactions, and chimpanzee trekking in the Toro-Semliki Wildlife Reserve are other activities available in addition to visiting the Sempaya hot springs in Semuliki National Park.

Directions to the park.

Semuliki National Park is situated in the Bundibugyo area in southwest Uganda. It takes about eight hours to drive from Kampala city to the park on tarmac roads that pass via Masaka, Mbarara, Kasese, and Fort Portal.