Kidepo Valley National Park is located in the remote but serene environment in the far north east of Uganda. The park is a semi – arid savannah with seasonal rivers that are a catchment for wildlife. Kidepo Valley National Park covers 1,442 km2 with an attitude of about 914 m above sea level on the valley to about 2,750 rising towards the Morungole Mountains which is also home of the ik tribe.
Kidepo Valley National Park is Uganda’s most isolated park with the Narus River which is a spot for a number of wildlife such as the zebras, antelopes, warthogs, water bucks and one of the biggest herds of buffalos as well as birds like the guinea fowls, Abyssinian horn bills among other. The park is also known for game drives done on the beaten tracks with in the park, it is also home to hot springs that a surrounded with a scenic land scape in the serene environment of kidepo.
We can get to Kidepo Valley National park by road via Gulu and Kitgum from Kampala covering a distance of 571 km and driving from Kampala to Kidepo is 10 hours
By air clients can fly using charter aircrafts that fly into Apoka airstrip. The flight from Entebbe to Kidepo offers a scenic aerial view all the way to Kidepo Valley National Park, the charter flights to the park operate on particular days hence this requires prior inquiries before travelling.
The park is home to a number of wildlife with over 77 mammals that can be looked out for while on a game drive through the park, such mammals include cheetah the fastest land mammal, caracals, black backed jackals, Roth’s child giraffes, buffalos, elephants, zebras, white eared kobs and of course not forgetting the big cats like the lions, leopard and the spotted hyena.
To birders the park is home to over 400 bird species of which 60 are edemic to Kidepo Valley National Park, such as the ostrich, vultures, guine fowls, ground horn bill among others.
Kidepo Valley National Park has a number of activities.
Game Drives
The best way of exploring Uganda’s remote park but with the best wilderness game drives through the Narus Valley which has streams of water that keeps flowing throughout the dry season, it therefore attracts a big congregation of wildlife making the narus valley eye catching while on a game drive safari.
Kanagorok hot springs visit
After or during the game drive its worthwhile to visit the hot springs which are 30 km north of Apoka, the drive to the hot springs takes you through the kidepo river, a sand bed noticed in the dry season and from a distance a view of the morungole mountain ranges.
Community Walks / Cultural Encounters
While in kidepo it will be a lively and memorable gesture to visit the community / home stays of the karamajongs who live within the park, while here we get a chance to hear stories and get to know more about the people living in the area. We shall visit the homestays, watch cultural dances and buy some craft from the locals among others.
They are famously known for being nomadic pastoralist believed to have migrated from Ethiopia into north eastern Uganda.
The community walk or cultural encounter may take about 2 to 3 hours while in the community of the kenjongs, we may also be taken through how to look after their live stocks in the dry region.
Hiking Mount Morungole / Ike Visit
While in the park the hike to the morungole ranges takes you to the indigenous ik tribe which is the smallest in Uganda. The ik are believed to have migrated from Ethiopia in the ancient days and these were initially pastoralist who later resorted to hunting and living on the lower slopes of mount morungole and later farmers after there eviction from the park. The ik tribe is welcoming to tourists that go trekking to the ranges.
The park has a few safari lodges were you can lodge during your stay in kidepo that is Apoka Safari Lodge, Uwa Bandas, Kidepo Savannah Lodge, Ngamoru Wilderness Camp and Adere Luxury lodge.
The best time to visit Kidepo Valley National Park.
Kidepo Valley National Park is accessible throughout the year. Kidepo valley National Park features a dry season that stretches from December to March with temperatures of about 40 degrees Celsius. The park finds the narus valley being a congregation of wildlife since the rest of the surrounding is dry.
The wet seasons of the park are Apirl to August and this floods the valleys which results into animals shifting to the higher grounds.
4 DAYS KIDEPO VALLEY NATIONAL PARK
You will embark on this amazing wildlife adventure to Kidepo Valley National Park a journey that takes about a 10 hour drive to the park. You will explore the only Rhinos in Uganda found at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Nakasongola which drive takes about 3 hours from Kampala. On this trip you shall have to engage in game drives while in the park with a chance to see a number of animals such as buffalos, elephants, jackals, water bucks, Roth’s child giraffe and when luck enough you will come across the big cats such as the lions, leopard and the spotted hyena among others. If you are a bird lover you will also view a number of birds while on your game drive through the various tracks and along the Narus Valley which is a good haven of wildlife.
You shall visit the Kanagorok hot springs surrounded by good scenery and while here you will witness beautiful nature around the hotsprings. More in Kidepo you shall visit the nomadic pastoralists also known as the karamajongs in there homesteads and a lot will be witnessed such as cultural dance, art and craft and we shall learn about there day and day life style.
INCLUDED
Full time English speaking driver on your safari
Entrance fees to the park and other areas
Fuel and a 4 x 4 safari van or land cruiser booked at time of inquiry
Activity fees mentioned in your itinerary
Rhino Trekking permit ( Optional )
Game drives
Kanagorok Hot Springs Visit
Community/ Kenjog Visit
Meals mentioned in the itinerary
Box of water in the safari vehicle
NOT INCLUDED
International or domestic flights
visa fees
Rhino Trekking Permit
Activities that are not mentioned on the trip
Optional activities
Personal expenses like laundry, drinks, souvenirs and tips
