Kidepo Valley National Park
THE REMOTEST WILDERNESS SAFARI DESTINATION IN AFRICA
Kidepo Valley National Park Overview
Kidepo Valley National Park is undoubtedly the remotest wilderness safari destination in Africa, offering tourists authentic experiences. Kidepo Valley National Park is set in the rugged and semi-arid area, of northeastern Uganda and is bordered by Kenya and South Sudan. This park was created in 1962 primarily to shelter its huge concentration of wildlife species. It is Uganda’s 3rd largest national park with a land area spanning over 1442 sq.km.
Kidepo Valley National Park is one park in Uganda that features strikingly breathtaking landscapes like the Masai Mara National Reserve –(MMNR) in Kenya and Serengeti National Park of Tanzania. The park is administered by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), an organ that manages all Uganda National Parks and other protected areas.
Kidepo Valley National Park’s landscape features not only the rugged mountain landscapes, and semi-arid wilderness, but also scenic seasonal rivers. This makes it an incredibly exceptional destination to enjoy the best of African game viewing and birding expeditions.
Kidepo Valley National Park in Kaabong is enclosed by spectacularly rugged mountains, and dominated by the Northern Kidepo and Southern Narus Rivers. These are the two rich wildlife valleys. The Narus Valley is where the park’s permanent water points exist making it an excellent spot to encounter abundant wildlife such as giraffes, zebras, elephants, buffaloes, and warthogs. While at Apoka, you can enjoy a clear view of the Narus Valley.
Kidepo Valley National Park lies at an altitude of 914 meters and 2750m. At the park’s edge, there is Mt. Morungole along the Southern edge. Morungole Mountain, renowned home of the IK is Kidepo National Park’s highest peak and while in the park, it is possible to view Mt. Lutoke located at the South Sudanese border. This park is also dominated by wooded savannas, interspersed with riparian woodland, montane forest patches, Borassus palms, thick miombo woodland, and rocky kopjes.
Animals in Kidepo Valley National Park
Kidepo Valley National Park boasts of its abundant wildlife thriving in its rugged semi-arid savannas. It is the only park in Uganda where you can find cheetahs, aardwolf, bat-eared foxes, black-backed jackals, and caracals. In addition, there are other wildlife to encounter including leopards, spotted hyenas, side-striped jackals, lions, mongoose, and genet.
About five primates also thrive within this park including patas monkeys. A range of antelope families are contained in Kidepo Valley National Park and include Jackson’s hartebeests, greater & lesser Kudus, dik-dik, mountain reedbucks, oribis, duikers, elands, bohor reedbucks, Defassa waterbucks, and klipspringers. Other mammal species that reside in Kidepo National Park include bush pigs, Burchell’s zebras, elephants, Rothschild giraffes, and buffaloes, etc.
Bird species
Kidepo Valley National Park has a remarkable bird checklist of 475 species which includes raptors, and comes 2nd after Queen Elizabeth National Park with a huge concentration of birds. In Kidepo, the birds to search for include tawny eagles, chanting goshawks, secretary birds, pygmy falcon, bateleurs, Kori bustards, verreaux’s eagles, little green, white-eyed kestrels, white-bellied go-away bird, Karamoja Apalis, red-billed weavers, Abyssinian scimitar bill, Abyssinian rollers, red-throated bee-eaters, rufous chatterer, white-headed buffalo weavers, northern brown bull, black-breasted barbets, purple grenadiers, and others.
Tourism Activities to do on a tour in Kidepo
Kidepo National Park is one of the best destinations in Uganda that guarantee excellent game viewing experiences. The gets nature enthusiasts exposed to its abundant wildlife including elephants, cheetahs, buffaloes, leopards, antelopes, zebras, giraffes, and birds. The Narus and Kidepo valleys are the must-visit game tracks for wildlife/animal watching in Kidepo Valley National Park.
Up to 475 species of birds are all concentrated in the different habitats of Kidepo making it an ideal bird watching location on Uganda tour. The birds to look for on Kidepo National Park birding tours include kori bustards, Karamoja apalis, Abyssinian rollers, Abyssinian ground hornbills, clapperton’s francolins, red-cheeked cordon bleu, tawny eagle, chanting goshawks, secretary birds, bateleurs, ruppell’s super starling, red billed oxpeckers, purple herons, and ostriches.
Nature walks introduce nature enthusiasts to the park’s rich habitats as you explore its treasures on foot. You need about 2 to 3 hours to enjoy a walk through parks Narus valleys while you search for the diverse wildlife species and also enjoy the breathtaking view of landscape. The Narus valley track also offers excellent bird watching experiences.
Located in Northeastern Uganda, Kidepo is set in an area inhabited by 2 ethnic groups –IK and Karamojong. These are nomadic pastoralists, and visiting their community for a cultural safari offers amazingly authentic experience. Visitor interaction with the Karamojong can be done while in their Manyatta/Karamojong communities. The IK on the other hand live high on the summits of Mount Morungole and you will hike to access their community. About 11,000 IK people still live in Uganda and a visit to their community is a great chance to interact with them, learn their unique traditions and cultures.
When to travel to Kidepo for a vacation
Kidepo Valley National Park is a safe travel destination, and open to visitors all year round. However, if your focus is to enjoy seeing wildlife in large numbers and also navigate through the game tracks smoothly then consider travelling during the dry months of the year: December, January, February, March to April, June, July and August.
Where to stay
The ideal accommodation facility to retire for a night after a long day of exploring Kidepo Valley National Park or a road trip from Kampala includes Apoka Safari Lodge, the park’s pioneer luxury lodge. Available midrange lodging options –Kidepo Savannah Lodge, and Adere Safari Lodge.
Getting there
By car: driving from the heart of Kampala to Kidepo takes 10-12 hours. However, there is an option of driving from Kampala and you retire for a night in a hotel in Gulu city and continue to the park the following day.
By air: there is also an option of taking a flight and domestic flights set off from Entebbe airport/Kajjansi airfield to Kidepo airstrip. This takes visitors the shortest time, about 1-2 hours and they will be in northeastern Uganda to explore Kidepo.
