Sempaya Hot Springs – Semuliki National Park

Sempaya hot Springs is located in Semuliki national park in Bwamba county, Bundibugyo district in Western Uganda. The park was established in 1993 and is managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). The national park has various attractions as well as wildlife and is also known as a true and top birding destination with butterfly species being especially diverse.

The park lies on the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC), with the Rwenzori mountains to the East of the park while Lake Albert lies in the North. The park has two hot springs in a hot mineral encrusted swamp that is the Mumbuga hot spring which resembles a geyser forming a 0.5m high fountain. This is also the male hot spring. The female hot spring is referred to as the Nyansimbi.

Sempaya hot springs

Female hot spring (Nyansimbi)

The inner female hot spring is commonly referred to as the Nyansimbi with a belief from the local tribe of Bamaga that their female god is located in the hot spring. History has it that men went to search for Biteete after his disappearance and when they returned home and told his wife about this, she also ran to the forest and disappeared on the same spot with her clothes and this is the exact point where the female hot spring is located.

The two hot springs were named after this incident happened. Bamaga people still have a belief that their ancestors still live beneath these hot springs and they still carry out annual sacrifices on these hot springs to appease their ancestors. The hot springs are well situated in the national park but the Bamaga people still come and access the hot springs. The female hot spring is believed to be a source of fertility and most women come here to offer sacrifices to have a safe delivery as well.

Male hot spring(Mumbugu)

Most tourists consider the male hot spring as a unique tourist attraction in Semuliki national park but the Bamaga people, take it as a sacred site for their male god. Most men from the Bamaga clan go to offer rituals to this particular site for prosperity and wealth. History has it that women from the Bamaga clan one time went to the forest to collect firewood and found a man with a dog who was moving in a zig-zag form.

They returned to give the information to their husbands who later went to the forest, brought the man home, and gave him a woman to marry. At some point, the man went to the forest for hunting and never returned home in an attempt to look for him, they only found his spear and at the same point, they believed that it is the exact point where he disappeared hence naming the place the male hot spring.

The Sempaya hot springs are located about a 30minutes walk from the main road to the trails in Semliki national park.

Sempaya Hot Springs

Where to Stay Around Sempaya Hot Springs?

Various accommodation facilities can be booked depending on the visitor’s budget. These range from luxury, midrange, and best budget. Semliki national park does not have constructed visitor facilities but tourists to the park can stay in Bundibugyo town or at the Semliki safari lodge in Toro Semliki wildlife reserve, which is a luxury. Bamaga Bandas are also available and are on a low budget, provided by Uganda Wildlife Authority(UWA).

How to Get to Sempaya Hot Springs?

The park can be accessed from Kampala via Mubende, Kyenjojo, and Fort Portal on a 5-hour drive.

Tourists can also drive from Kampala to Semliki via Masaka, Mbarara, and Kasese but this is a bit long as you have to drive almost 8hours to reach the park. The journey is however adventurous as you get to also visit Lake Mburo national park, pass through Queen Elizabeth as well as view the Rwenzori ranges.