Toro Semliki game reserve – Shoebill stock around Lake Albert.

One of the first gazzeted protected places was Toro Semliki Game Reserve, which was created in 1926. The primary objective was to ensure the safety of the many Uganda Kobs present in the region. Its total size is 542 square kilometers. Its precise position in western Uganda, between the districts of Kabarole and Ntoroko, is unknown.

Nestled between the Rwenzori, the Kijura escarpment, and Lake Albert, Toro Semliki Game Reserve has a breathtaking rift valley backdrop. There are areas of Borassus palm forest, large belts of riparian woodland along the main watercourses, and some vast wetlands near Lake Albert, but open acacia-combretum woodland and grassland Savannah make up the majority of the vegetation type.

The reserve doesn’t have particularly impressive terrain, beginning at a low elevation of about 700 meters above sea level. However, when the weather is clear, the view is breathtaking, including the Rwenzori Mountains to the south-west, the Congolese Blue Mountains to the west, and the sheer rift valley escarpment rising sharply from the eastern shore of Lake Albert.

Toro Semliki Wildlife Reserve’s Animals.

Toro Semliki is the creator. Similar to Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks, Toro-semliki is home to many important species, including elephants, buffalo, kobs, waterbucks, warthogs, giant forest hogs, and hippos. Monkeys (including the Vervet, Red-tailed, and Black and White Colobus species), baboons, and chimpanzees are all considered primates.

Wildlife reserve of Toro Semliki is home to beautiful birds.

One place the shoebill stork calls home is the expansive marshes of Lake Albert, which are home to an endangered species. Toro Semliki Wildlife Reserve’s avian inhabitants Among the 400 bird species found at Semliki Wildlife Reserve are the following:

Arrow Marked Babbler, Tropical Boubal, Black-headed Bushrike, Luhdrers Bushrike, Red-necked Falcon, Black-billed Barbet, Tropical Boubal, Abyssinian ground hornbill, African openbill, and the turkey-like Ground Hornbill. Bulbul, common; pelican, great white; kingfisher, malachite.

Making it to the Toro Semliki Marine Reserve.

Through roadways.

Portal to the Kampala Fort via Mubende.

The wildlife reserve headquarters is immediately on the right after turning right at the Karugutu trade center, after 26 kilometers you will reach the River Wasa. The 290-kilometer journey from Kampala takes you via Mityana-Mubende, Kyegeggwa-Kyenjojo, and Fort Portal.

Castle Portal via Masaka, Mbarara, and Kasese.

After traveling 465 kilometers from Kampala via Masaka, Lyantonde, Mbarara, Bushenyi, and Kasese, you will reach Fort Portal. From there, take the 28-kilometer road to Semuliki National Park, leaving Fort Portal after you turn right at the Karugutu marketplace.

Three kilometers down the road is where you’ll reach the reserve border, and another twenty-six kilometers beyond the bridge over the Wasa River is where you’ll find the exit leading to Semliki Safari Lodge. The lodge is located three kilometers down the road to the right of the branch.

Ntoroko fishing town, 25 kilometers ahead, is where you’ll find Lake Albert. UWA oversees the Bandas, a campground, and a cafeteria there. Visitors may hire aircraft and land at Semliki Safari Lodge, where the airstrip is located, thanks to UWA’s management of the airfield.

Through air travel.

From Entebbe, you may take a scheduled or charter aircraft straight to Toro Semliki Wildlife Reserve; the journey takes around one and a half hours.

Toro Semliki National Park: Where to Pitch Your Tent?

Reservations are required for the UWA-run camping and inexpensive Bandas at Ntoroko, which are located on the edge of Lake Albert. The campsite’s canteen is the place where most of the meals are made. The Karugutu reserve headquarters also provide a campground.

An individual with a concession runs the Semliki Safari Lodge. An upscale tented camp is available from the Uganda Safari Company. Campsites and opulent tented camps are available at Ntoroko Landing location, home of Ntoroko Game Lodge.

Toro Semliki Wildlife Reserve is best visited at certain times of the year.

Toro-Semliki Wildlife Reserve is at its most beautiful during the dry season. December–February and June–July are the two dry seasons. The roads are almost unusable and wildlife viewing excursions are severely restricted during the wet season months of March to May and August to November.