Exploring Kidepo valley national park
Exploring Kidepo valley national park: Kidepo valley national park is Uganda’s isolated hidden national park nested in the northeastern part of the country. The national park sits on an area of 1442 sq. km home to over 76 mammals, 476 birds, soaring mountains, and seasonal rivers. Kidepo valley national park is very perfect with its flat piece of land, open grassland, rocks, and many others.
Tourists can enjoy everything in Kidepo valley national park whether on a safari vehicle or on foot. Exploring the vast Kidepo valley national park will give you a view of the different wildlife as well as the spectacular and beautiful landscape of the national park. Below are the different attractions tourists can see in Kidepo valley national park
What to explore in Kidepo valley national park?
The animals
Kidepo valley national park hosts over 75 mammals and among these include the four big mammals which are elephants, leopards, lions, and buffaloes. Tourists can see the animals of Kidepo valley national park by taking part in the game drive activities. There are different game tracks within the park to allow tourists access most of the park areas and see as many animals as they can.
The animals of Kidepo valley national park include lions, crocodiles, warthogs, ostriches, elands, cape buffaloes, Uganda kobs, hartebeests, bush pigs, defassa waterbucks, giraffes, elephants, zebras, spotted hyenas, cheetahs, side stripped jackals, patas monkeys, blue monkeys, and lions to mention but a few. Game drives in Kidepo valley national park are conducted morning, evening, and night hours.
The birds
Over 476 birds have been recorded in Kidepo valley national park and with a well-trained bird guide, bird lovers are able to see most of them in different birding spots within the park. Bird watching is among the top activities within Kidepo valley national park because the area is one of the best birding destinations in Uganda.
While on a birding tour in Kidepo valley national park, one is able to watch bird species such as dark chanting goshawk, Egyptian vulture, kori bustard, Abyssinian scimitarbill, karamajong apalis, purple heron, red cheeked cordon bleu, ostriches, fox kestrel, steel blue whydah, marsh tachagra, African grey flycatcher, red winged lark, yellow-necked spurfowl, red-billed oxpecker, brown rumped bunting, slate colored boubou, little green bee eater, long-tailed nightjars, and white billed tit among others.
The culture and tribe
Kidepo valley national park is home to IK and Karamojong who are some of the most loved cultures in Uganda. These two tribes try as much as they can to preserve their culture. The IK are less than 10,000 in number but they have tried so hard to make sure that their populations keep on increasing. The IK and Karamojong use languages that no outsider can understand.
The IK live on the slopes of Mountain Morungole while the Karamojong are spread around the park boundaries. Day visits are organized by local guides together with the park members and tourists are taken to these communities. A visit to the IK or Karamojong will take you to their homes where you will meet elders, learn about their history, visit home steads, and get to know how they live their day to day life. The IK and Karamojong entertain their guests through dances and drama at the end of the visit.
Nature walks and hiking
Lead by a well-trained guide, tourists can explore Kidepo valley national park on foot and get so close to nature. There are different walking trails within different areas of the park among which include narus valley, Kidepo valley, and Apoka region. The trails take 2 to 3 hours and the tourists keep on enjoying great views of nature, meeting animals, birds, and other attractions of the park.
Accommodation in Kidepo Valley Park
There are several accommodation facilities of different prices in and outside Kidepo valley national park where tourists exploring the park and want to spend a night or more can stay. The accommodation facilities are few which means tourists that want the best lodges and camps need to do advance bookings. The few good places where tourists can stay while n Kidepo valley national park include Apoka Safari Lodge, Apoka Rest Camp, Kidepo Savannah Lodge, and Nga’Moru Wilderness Camp among others.
Accessing Kidepo Nationalp Park
Kidepo valley national park is located 10 to 12 hours drive from Kampala and can be accessed using good safari vehicles.
Accessing Kidepo Nationalp Park by road transport: There are different routes to Kidepo valley national park which include Kampala/Entebbe via Jinja, Mbale, Kapchorwa, Nakapiripirit, Moroto, Kotido, and Kaabong district, and the other is Kampala/Entebbe via Luwero, Nakasongola, Karuma, Gulu, Kitgum, Karenga, and Kaabong to the park.
Luxury travelers and those that hate traveling for long distances but would like to explore Kidepo valley national park have flights available from different airline companies.
Accessing Kidepo Nationalp Park by air transport: flights to Kidepo valley national park take only 2 hours and 30 minutes to fly from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi Airstrip to Apoka Airstrip which is found right inside the park.
Best time to explore Kidepo valley national park
Tourists can explore Kidepo valley national park at any time of the year because the park is always open for tourism activities. For those looking at the best time to explore Kidepo, it’s the dry season that occurs from June to September and December to February. This is when the park is having little rainfall and plenty of sunshine. The game tracks are dry and easier to go through while the vegetation is short with good views of animals.
Tourists can still go explore Kidepo valley national park in the rainy season of March to May and October to November. Unlike other national parks where rainfall is received in plenty, in Kidepo it does rain for a few hours and the sunshine dries up the ground. The vegetation is tall with unclear views of wildlife while some game tracks are muddy and slippery limiting access to some park areas.