Nyasimbi Hot Springs

DENSE clouds of steam rise above the rippling water to bathe you in beads of moisture. It’s equivalent to being in a sauna, albeit fully clothed. The Sempaya hot springs at Semliki National Park in Bundibugyo are even capable of boiling eggs.

Located amid a thicket and thick undergrowth, the open air of the springs is a welcome relief.

The relief, however, does not last long, as the smell of boiled eggs hits you...

The ground leading to the springs is soft and one has to watch their step or sink. All around are little puddles of ‘boiling’ water with algae and suds in it. In other areas, froth from sulphur, iodine and calcium minerals floats on the water. These minerals have medicinal value.

The tribesmen and women, in the past, believing that the springs had healing powers, would carry goats and sacrifice them to be cured.

Others would bathe in the salty waters to achieve health. The hot springs were named after their ancestors, taking on female and male identities. Although the sacrificing of animals still goes on, it is on a smaller scale.

The female spring, Nyasimbi, is smaller in stature and believed to be cooler than the male. Although it used to shoot into the sky to form high falls, Nyasimbi has since been reduced to just a ripple.
The vent through which the water gushes probably expanded, thus reducing the force with which the water jets out.

The male spring, Bitende, on the other hand, boils at 106 degrees centigrade. This one is the size of a mini-swimming pool. The vent is much larger and therefore does not shoot into the air but rather, ripples on the surface, letting off huge clouds of steam to warn off any potential divers. Brown grass, with sprinkles of green, grows around the spring.   It has adapted to the hot and salty water.

One male journalist, excited by the different physical features, shouted, “This is a real man.” He had earlier stripped his chest and feet and washed himself in the female waters, with a prayer that it would heal whatever ailments he had. He also drank the water soon after washing.

While Bamaga men and women alike can bathe from the female waters, only males are allowed to wash at the male spring. The females do not even go near it. It is respected and honored.