Toro Semliki Wildlife Reserve enjoys a dramatic rift valley setting between the Rwenzori, Kijura escarpment and Lake Albert. The dominant vegetation type is the open acacia-combretum woodland and grassy savannah, interspersed with patches of Borassus palm forest, significant belts of riparian woodland along the main watercourses, as well as some extensive swamps towards Lake Albert. The reserve itself is topographically unremarkable, set at a relatively low altitude starting from around 700m above sea level, but on a clear day, the setting is truly awesome, with the sheer rift valley escarpment rising sharply from the eastern shore of Lake Albert, the 2500m-high Congolese Blue mountains on the western horizon and the mighty glacial peaks of the Rwenzori visible to the south-west.
Activities at Toro Semliki
Primate walk:
This walk takes 3 to 4 hours and is conducted near Semliki Safari Lodge where you will meet our experienced ranger guides. Key primate species on this walk include chimpanzees, Red-tailed, vervet, Black and white colobus monkeys, and Baboons. Angulates encountered are Waterbucks, Warthogs, Bushbucks, Buffaloes, Uganda Kobs, and Elephants.
Game drives:
There are three tracks across the savannah grassland of Toro Semliki Wildlife Reserve. Smaller forest and larger savannah elephants are regularly seen, along with Buffalo, Waterbucks, Warthog, and Uganda Kob. With luck, you may even see leopards and elusive Bushbabies. Game drives in the wildlife reserve are done in the morning, afternoon, and night. After dark, visitors may come across curious nocturnal species such as the white-tailed mongoose.
Nature walk:
This takes 3 hours and it goes through a variety of habitats ranging from savannah woodland to riverine forest. Species encountered on this walk include; Ground Hornbills, Warthogs, Uganda Kobs, baboons, Black and White Colobus, and Vervet Monkeys.
Community tourism
The Karugutu Community Conservation Association (KCCA) is a community-based association whose objective is conservation education through Music Dance and Drama (MDD). They organize traditional dances for the visitors and they have a shop for handcrafts at the entrance of the reserve which they sell to visitors. Members of the KCCA perform for visitors
Boat ride:
This is conducted on Lake Albert and the main attractions are Shoebills, African Pygmy Goose, Blue-breasted and Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, and Blue-headed Coucal.
Hike to Nyaburogo Gorge:
This is an ideal walk for birders that starts right at the Reserve Headquarters. It is a 7km hike that goes through a diversity of habitats including savanna, woodland, and a forest in the gorge. Common birds sighted include: Arrow marked Babbler, Tropical Boubal, Black-headed Bushrike, Luhdrers Bushrike and primates including Black and White Colobus, Baboons, vervets, and occasionally the Chimpanzees.
Wildlife habitats
The Toro Semliki plain is predominantly grassy savanna and acacia-combretum woodland echoing Murchison Falls National Park at the northern end of Lake Albert. Stands of Borassus palms, lakeshore marshland, and broad river valleys filled with beautiful galley forests all add variety. Lake Albert lies outside the reserve but can be visited for canoeing and bird watching.
Wildlife in Toro Semliki
Toro-semliki contains the same key species as Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks; Elephant, Buffalo, Uganda Kob, Waterbuck, Warthog, Giant Forest Hog, Hippopotamus. Primates include Chimpanzees, Baboons, and Monkeys including Vervet, Red-tailed, and Black and White Colobus. Uniquely, the 200 strong Elephant population includes savannah and forest Elephants plus a hybrid form from inter-breeding. Researchers from the University of Indiana have been studying chimpanzees in the riverine forest at Mugiri close to Semliki Safari Lodge.
There are chances of encountering chimpanzees when you take a primate walk.
The reserve boosts 440 bird species including Red-necked falcon, Black-billed Barbet, and the turkey like Abyssinian Ground-hornbill. The Shoebill is usually sighted in the marshes of Lake Albert
