Planning a trip to Kidepo valley national park

Planning a trip to Kidepo valley national park isn’t complicated as you think. For tourists looking for the best travel destination in Uganda, Kidepo valley national park is one of the best to look at. It’s located in the northeastern part of Uganda near South Sudan borders in Kaabong district. Kidepo valley national park covers a total area of 1442 sq. km and is home to over 76 mammals, 476 birds, and 5 primate species.

The remote national park as some travelers would call it is one of the most beautiful places in Uganda you need to visit. If you have never visited this national park and you are yet to explore it, it’s time to plan your safari. Below are going to show you some of the things you need to look at when planning a safari to Kidepo valley national park.

Planning a trip to Kidepo valley national park

Decide when to go to Kidepo Valley national park

June to September and December to February are the best times to visit Kidepo valley national park. They have the driest weather and best temperatures however tourists can still try other months. What makes the dry season months good for a trip to Kidepo valley national park is that they receive little rainfall which keeps the game tracks dry and passable, the road leading to the park is dusty but in good condition and lastly, the vegetation is short with good views of each and every animal in the park.

Prices are more reasonable in the rainy season; the vegetation is very green but tourists should know that there is plenty of rainfall received. The scenery in the park is all beautiful but there are possibilities of not accessing some of the park areas because of the muddy and slippery game tracks, the vegetation is tall with unclear views of some of the park animals and the roads leading to the park are in poor conditions.

Read about Kidepo valley national park

There is a lot of information on the internet about Kidepo valley national park. Reading will help you discover things you might know about the park that you can do or see while there. Reading about Kidepo Valley before traveling is another way to increase your excitement level and get enough knowledge about the park. By reading online information you will get to know the different things about the park among which include history, culture, and wildlife.

What will you do in Kidepo Valley national park ?

There are lots of things you can do in Kidepo valley national park but as tourists, you should be knowing the things you want to do when you get there. The activities to do while in the park depend on the time you have in the park and what you are really interested in. Here is a list of activities you can do while in Kidepo valley national park.

Game drives

Game drives top the list of activities tourists can do in Kidepo valley national park. The protected area protects over 76 mammals and 5 primate species in the savannah vegetated area. Game drives of Kidepo valley national park are carried out in the morning, evening, and night hours for tourists to see the different animals that live within the park.

Moving around the Narus valley and Kidepo valley during the game drives will give you an opportunity of seeing wild animals among which include cape buffaloes, giraffes, cheetahs, spotted hyenas, leopards, roan antelopes, lions, lesser kudus, olive baboons, oryx, zebras, gazelles, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, klipspringers, blue monkeys, warthogs, patas monkeys, hartebeests, reedbucks, African wild dogs, side stripped jackals, and dik-dik among others.

Bird watching in kidepo valley national park

Kidepo valley national park is home to over 476 bird species making it one of the best birding destination national parks in Uganda. Bird watching in kidepo valley  can be added to the list of activities to do while on your birding safari in Kidepo valley national park. The bird watching activity is guided by armed ranger guides and these will take you to different birding areas in the park to enable you to see as many bird species as possible.

Bird watching in Kidepo valley national park will give you an opportunity to see bird species like Karamoja apalis, ostrich, eastern pale chanting go shawk, D’Arnaud’s barbet, superb startling, dark chanting goshawk, secretary bird, orange winged pytilia, Abyssinian ground hornbill, Egyptian vulture, white-bellied go-away bird, fox kestrel, African grey fly hoope, golden pipit, clapper ton’s francolin, eastern violet backed sunbird, red-cheeked cordon bleu, stone partridge, rupell’s sterling, verreaux’s eagle, northern carmine bee-eater, orange winged pytilia, white crested turaco, and purple herons.

Community tours

Kidepo valley national park Uganda gives tourists the best cultural tours in the whole of Uganda. This is because the Karamajong and the IK have refused to adopt the way of living of other people. A visit to any of the communities living around Kidepo valley national park will give you a true definition of African culture.

Community tours are led by local guides who know English to translate what the locals have to say. A small drive and hike leads you to the IK people who live on the slopes of the mountains. The IK live in communities so you will be welcomed by a group of entertainers to their community. You will talk to the locals to see how they live their day to day life and the elders will tell you stories of long ago.

A visit to the Karamojong people will show you that the people are not as hostile as people used to say. They are very welcoming in their community and they take tourists as friends. The Karamajong are cattle keepers and most of the men are out in the wild looking for pasture and water for their animals. The women stay home taking care of the family and children. The elderly will tell you stories of land ago and you will be able to go around the community seeing how these people live their day to day life.

Nature walks

When planning a trip to Kidepo valley national park be sure to have nature walk activities in different areas of Kidepo valley national park. Nature walks are done by tourists who love to explore nature and get so close to the wildlife, vegetation, and other attractions. Kidepo valley national park nature walks can be carried out in areas like Apoka, Kidepo Valley, Narus Valley, Morungule hill, and Kanangorok Hotspring among others.

Where to stay in Kidepo Valley national park

Planning for a trip you need to look at where you will stay in case you want to spend a night or more in the park. There are so many accommodation facilities in Kidepo valley national park where tourists of different categories can stay. The lodges range from budget to mid-range to luxury options so travelers stay where they can afford. Kidepo lodges include Apoka Safari Lodge, Apoka Rest Camp, Kidepo Wilderness Lodge, Kidepo Savannah Lodge, and Nga’Moru Wilderness Camp among others.

Choose a local tour operator

When planning a trip to Kidepo national park you will need a local tour operator to organize your safari. There are so many local tour operators within Uganda and you will need to choose one for your safari to Kidepo. When choosing a local tour operator we normally advise tourists to go with those that are licensed by Uganda Tourism Board and those that have good reviews on the internet.

Africa Adventure Vacations is one of the local tour operators that can organize a perfect safari for you to Kidepo valley national park. We do have experienced travel consultants who can help with a number of things you need to have a successful safari. What a traveler needs to do is send us an email with the travel dates, activities they would like to do, the number of days, the number of people on the safari, and the travel budget. These are used in designing the itinerary and getting the total cost needed.

After knowing how much the trip will cost you, you will have to confirm your safari by depositing a certain percentage of money which is used to secure accommodation, a guide, and a few others. As soon as that is done you will now start at looking on how you will travel. You can book your flight to Uganda, buy travel insurance, check visa requirements, and buy travel equipment among others.