Uganda is not only a land of wildlife and birds species but also interesting geological features including hot springs and the Buranga Hot springs are a must-visit site for tourists on safaris in Uganda. They are found near the Rwenzori Mountains, at the foothills of the Bwamba escarpment with the remote part of western Uganda surrounded by the only East African lowland tropical rain forest. There are over 37 hot springs that receive their geothermal hear from the deep faults of the great East African Rift Valley system.

These magnificent hot springs have formed their own small ecosystem with verdant rainforests and swamps around the site hence attracting several species of animals and birds (because of the wetlands surrounding the hot springs). The animals always visit the area to lick the salt that pours from the earth. There are presently three categories of hot springs that are about 700 meters apart from each other.  These groups include:

Kagoro Hot springs

Kagoro Hot springs are found in an area of 50 x 15 meters in a rainforest enclosure. These magnificent natural features have built up to over 1.5 meters high travertine Cones with Sulphur deposits at one of them and temperatures of the waters range from 60 to 91 Celsius degrees.

The Mumbuga Hot springs

These ones are perpetual spouter, literally a permanent small mountain and were named the female pools by the local tourist guides. They are comprised of several hot springs within the area that are about 60×40 meters and all of them deposit carbonates. Surprisingly, the Mumbuga hot springs can be visited at anytime of the year-be it rainy or dry season. One of them was built with 1.5 meters tall travertine cone with terraces. The waters at the spring form a 50 meters high fountain rising above the pool. The water bubbles, boils and emanates gases with temperatures of over 98 degrees Celsius.

The Nyansimbe hot spring

Named the male pool by tourist guides, it is surrounded by a lush swamp and only accessible during the dry season. The Nyansimbe hot spring developed a carbonate cone with clear pool of hot water boiling up to 86 Celsius degrees and its pool measures up to 30 meters in diameter and over 5 meters in terms of depth.

The geothermal activities of these spectacular hot springs are linked to the tremendous tectonic activity of the Albertine Rift (or the Albertine graben, part of the great East African Rift system). The hot water here sometimes rises along the active faults of Earth’s Crust. Scientists have pointed that after each earthquake, the Buranga hot springs are changing. This always takes place to the point that the older Hot springs disappear and the new ones are created.

Besides the Buranga Hot springs, Uganda is a home to Amoropii hot springs in northern Uganda, Rwagimba Hot springs on the Uganda-Rwanda border, Sempaya hot springs within Semliki Forest National Park in Bundibugyo district, Kibiro Hot springs and Kitagata hot springs within Bushenyi district, to mention but a few.