Budget safaris in Kidepo valley national park
Budget safaris in Kidepo valley national park: Kidepo valley national park is among the national parks which tourists would love while on a safari in Uganda. The national park is located far in the northeastern part of Uganda in a district called Kaabong. Kidepo was gazetted in 1962 and hosts a lot of wildlife among which include 76 mammals, 476 birds, and 5 primate species.
Several tourists would love to visit Kidepo Valley national park because of the so many attractions found there. The national park has been listed several times as one of the best travel destinations to visit in Africa and budget travelers out there could be worried about the price of visiting such as wonderful destination.
Budget safaris in Kidepo valley national park
Tourists that want to have budget safaris in Kidepo valley national park need to use a local tour operator that offers budget safaris to the park. The best local tour companies are those licensed by Uganda Tourism Board therefore you need to be wise about which one to use for your safari in Uganda. Best tour companies have the best prices and are quick to respond to inquiries.
Safaris to Kidepo valley national park can become even cheaper if local tour operators help tourists to form a group. This is because some of the costs are shared for example, transport, accommodation, safari vehicle, and much more. Budget travelers who are hoping to visit Kidepo valley national park can engage in the following activities once there.
Game drives
Budget travelers only need to pay park entrance fees, access the protected area and carry out free game drive activities. Day game drive activities are free in Kidepo valley national park unless one wants to hire an UWA ranger guide. Exploring the Narus Valley and Kidepo Valley areas will give you an opportunity of seeing some of the 76 mammals recorded within the park.
Game drives in Kidepo valley national park are worth it as tourists get to see animals such as lions, cheetahs, buffaloes, side-striped jackals, zebras, buffaloes, spotted hyenas, warthogs, elands, Uganda kobs, defassa waterbucks, hartebeest, giraffes, leopards, roan antelopes, dik-dik, reedbucks, aardvark, oryx, kudu, and bright gazelles to mention but a few.
Bird watching in Kidepo valley national park
Bird watching in Kidepo valley national park is for all categories of travelers because UWA made prices affordable. Tourists who love bird watching can carry out the activity while on their budget tour in Kidepo valley national park. Over 476 bird species live in Kidepo valley national park and I think this is a great activity for bird lovers who visit do safaris there.
On a budget tour in Kidepo valley national park, you purchase a bird watching permit you will be given an armed ranger guide to lead you to some of the best bird watching areas within the park. Visiting different locations will increase your chances of seeing several bird species recorded in the park.
A birding activity in Kidepo valley national park can give you a chance to see bird species such as red and yellow barbet, little bee-eater, Karamoja apalis, black-breasted barbet, ostrich, dark chanting goshawk, kori bustard, golden pipit, chestnut weaver, Abyssinian scimitarbill, d’arnaud’s barbet, purple grenadier, Jackson’s hornbill, fox krestel, rufous chatterer, red-throated bee-eater, white-bellied go-away bird, slate colored boubou, and yellow-necked spurfowl among others.
Nature walks and hiking
Kidepo valley national park has got a gorgeous landscape comprising savannah vegetation covered with a number of hills, rivers, and a hot spring. During nature walks, tourists are led by armed ranger guides to different areas of the park where they get so close to nature. While moving around the bushes of Narus Valley and Kidepo Valley, tourists can meet animals, butterflies, chameleons, birds, and much more.
Nature walks and hiking Morungole mountain ranges will give tourists an opportunity to see sources of rivers like Kidepo and Narus because this is where they start from. Tourists also get an opportunity of having great views of the national park, surrounding areas and get to meet a few wild animals that live on the slopes of the mountain.
Community visits
You don’t need a lot of money to visit a community around Kidepo valley national park. This activity is affordable to all categories of travelers including budget travelers. Cultural visits to Kidepo valley national park are done in the communities of Karamajong and IK where tourists learn about culture and history. Money collected from this activity is given to the community to invest in their project and others to improve their way of living.
Getting to Kidepo national park
On a budget safari to Kidepo valley national park, tourists need to use road transport because it’s affordable and cheaper compared to air transport. Yes, road transport is long but you will reach Kidepo valley national park in a single day. It takes 10 to 12 hours to get to Kidepo valley national park and tourists do get great views of different attractions along the way.
To get to Kidepo valley national park for budget safaris, you can use two different routes. There is the eastern route that starts from Kampala/Entebbe via Jinja, Mbale, Soroti, Moroto, Kotido, and Kaabong, and then the western route starts from Kampala/Entebbe goes through Luwero, Nakasongola, Gulu, Kitgum and Kaabong. Good safari vehicles need to be used on this long journey because some parts of the roads are not well constructed.
Accommodation on a budget trip to Kidepo valley national park
Budget travelers that want to spend a night or even more on their budget safari in Kidepo valley national park have lots of accommodation facilities that they can use. There are budget lodges and camps in Kidepo valley national park affordable and have good services, Budget lodges include Apoka rest camp, Kidepo savannah lodge, and Nga’moru Wilderness Camp among others.
Best time to have budget safaris in Kidepo valley national park
Tourists can have budget safaris in Kidepo valley national park at any time of the year but the low season would be the best. March to May and October to November are the best to have budget safaris in Kidepo because a few tourists visit the park and tour packages are discounted. The weather is characterized by some rainfall but this dries up during the day when the sunshine is plenty.
Budget travelers can still visit Kidepo valley national park during the dry season from June to September and December to February. This is when the park is receiving little rainfall and plenty of sunshine. The game tracks are easier to drive through because they are dry and the vegetation is shirt giving tourists a clear view of the animals.
