Best time to visit Kidepo valley national park

Best time to visit Kidepo valley national park: There are lots of travelers who first understand the best time to visit a destination before getting the real dates of the safari. Kidepo valley national park can be visited all throughout the year however there are months that have a good climate. Kidepo valley national park is located in the dry areas of Kaabong district in Karamoja region therefore the weather is different from other parts of the country.

Kidepo nationals park doesn’t have a rainy season or a dry season like any other park in the country. Most days of the year are sunny with little rainfall on lucky days. The driest months are from December to February and June to September while the rainy season happens from March to May and October to November.

The vegetation in Kidepo valley national park is always short and scattered most of the days of the year but when little rainfall is received it does turn green and the flowering plants start producing flowers. There are several water sources in Kidepo valley national park and these are always having some water in the rainy season however in the dry season they all tend to dry up except a few rivers which are permanent.

What is the best time to visit Kidepo valley national park?

The dry season in Kidepo valley national park

Looking for the best time to visit Kidepo valley national park well the dry season is the best according to tourists that have visit the park before. The dry season in Kidepo valley national park happens from June to September and December to February. During the dry season, the weather is characterized by little rainfall and plenty of sunshine.

Why you need to visit Kidepo valley national park is that the vegetation is short and little in the park so animals concentrate in areas that have some vegetation left and in the end, this gives you chances of seeing a number of them unlike in the rainy season when the vegetation is plenty and animals scatter in all areas of the park.

During the dry seasons, water sources and some dams dry up because of the little rainfall received. Water is only available on permanent rivers like Narus and Kidepo. This is good for tourists because they will meet most of the park animals near the water sources drinking water. Areas around the water like swamps tend to have fresh vegetation cover which animals love so it will increase the chances of seeing the animals.

Even though roads tend to become dusty during the dry season, it’s an advantage because safari vehicles access most of the park areas and this increases the chances of seeing a lot of wild animals that live in the park. In the rainy season, some areas of the park tend to get muddy and safari vehicles get stuck so to avoid such safari drives take you to a few areas that are accessible.

The dry season is the best time for most of the park activities among which include game drives, nature walks, hiking, and much more. The game tracks and nature walk trails are passable and the vegetation is short with good views of all park animals including the small ones. Tourists are advised to look at the dry season as the time for their safaris in Kidepo valley national park.

For travelers who are looking at visiting Kidepo valley national park during the dry season, we advise them to do early booking of accommodation. Not so many lodges are within Kidepo valley national park and since many tourists visit in the dry season you need to be early to get the best lodges.

The rainy season in Kidepo valley national park

Kidepo valley national park is located in a semi-arid area which doesn’t receives a lot of rainfall. During the rainy season, the area does not receive too much rainfall as it does in other parts of the country. Little rainfall is received on lucky days and it does rain for a few hours most especially during the night hours.

During the day, the sun comes out and ends up drying the whole area but a few areas can still be left muddy. When some game tracks become muddy it does mean that the safari vehicles might fail to access most of the park areas giving tourists a few chances of seeing park animals.

The rainy season is the happiest period for animals because the rainfall fills most of the water sources so they won’t be moving to rivers to get water. When the animals spread all throughout the park it means that tourists will do game drives for longer hours searching where they could be.  The vegetation also grows taller during the rainy season and animals get enough food to eat.

For tourists who love bird watching activities, the rainy season is the best time to visit Kidepo valley national park. This is because vegetation is tall and there is enough food for the birds in the park. The migratory birds from North Africa, Asia, and Europe are also in the park looking for good weather conditions and food. This increases the number of bird species to watch while in the park.