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Kidepo Valley National Park
idepo Valley national park is the most wild of all the national parks in Uganda with breath taking savannah landscapes and endless views of the horizon. It is one of the less visited national parks in Uganda and so you experience the feeling of having the whole national park by yourself. On guided game drives, you will see many elephants, giraffes, buffalos, lions, baboons, and a variety of antelopes, warthogs, jackals and countless savannah birds. It is the only national park in Uganda where you can see cheetahs. Meanwhile, the park has the largest buffalo population with a herd of about 1,700 buffalos, not recorded any where else on earth. You may also go for bird watching, a guided walking safari and a nocturnal game drive.
There are different types of accommodation for each traveller from high end to budget accommodations and camping is also available for the more adventurous ones.
A Uganda safari to this scenic park is a must. It is a long distance from Kampala to Kidepo but our safaris to Kidepo have a stopover in Gulu or Kitgum to breakdown the journey and you can also fly-into Kidepo Valley National park for an experience that should not be missed.
For a traveller who loves getting off the ‘tourist track’, then you should not miss visiting Kidepo Valley National park on your Uganda Safari
Furthermore, from Kidepo Valley National park, you can easily connect to Murchison falls national park, Uganda’s biggest conservation area named after the famous Murchison falls. Gorilla Link Tours has designed Uganda wildlife safaris that combine these two national parks and if you are interested, contact us.
Because of its uniqueness and spectacular wilderness, Kidepo Valley National Park was recently rated 3rd-best National Park in Africa by CNN
Things to do
Game drive safaris in the Narus Valley
The most popular place for safari game drives in this park is the Narus Valley which is in the southern part of the park. It has water throughout the year and many animals gather in this grass rolling plains for water giving travellers the opportunity to enjoy their game drive safari with views of many animals like the elephants, buffalos, zebras, harte beast, bush pigs, warthogs and different types of antelopes.
The park has well developed game tracks to make game drives easy but a 4 x4 WD vehicle is recommended. Kidepo Valley National park inhabits about 80 mammals of which 28 are only found here. Apart from the animals mentioned above, there are predators such as the lions, leopards, cheetahs. Kidepo is the only national park with cheetahs in Uganda, but you can also find them in one of the biggest wildlife reserve known as Pian Up wildlife reserve, in Eastern Uganda.
Game drives in Kidepo Valley National park are guided by an armed ranger of Uganda Wildlife Authority. These rangers are very knowledgeable and most of them are locals who will educate you a lot about the wildlife, birds of the national park and the history of the people in the surrounding communities.
A traveller can go for full day games, or choose between morning games and evening game drives.
To be able to see animals that are only active in the night and lions hunting, you can go for a guided nocturnal game drive safari. Night game drives are only possible in four national parks in Uganda.
Birding in Kidepo Valley National park
Kidepo Valley National park is a birder’s paradise and perfect for bird watching. About 58 bird species have been recorded in the park and you can go for bird watching in the morning.
Afternoon and late evening a long the Narus and Namamukweny valleys. Some of the birds watched are the purple heron, Verreaux’s eagle, Egyptian vulture, pygmy falcon, super starling, Abyssinian roller and Abyssinian ground hornbill. Clapperton’s Francolin only found in Kidepo Valley National park.
Picnics at Kidepo Valley River banks
Kidepo river bank has a beautiful picnic site that visitors can go to. Because the Valley hardly has water throughout the year, there are a handful of animals in this area but it is still worth a visit and walk a long its bed of white sand surrounded by beautiful palm trees.
Hikes and nature walks in Kidepo Valley National park
Travellers can go for a 4 hours hike to Lomej Mountains or go for short guided walks for two hours. These guided walks can take you to Narus valley where most of the animals gather for water. Visitors can also go for hikes to Morungole Mountains to meet the special IK tribe.
Cultural community walks
Cultural community walks are a great way to interact and learn more about local cultures of people in Uganda. Walks in Kidepo Valley National park take you to the Karamajong Mantattas which are homesteads to the local people. Therefore, visitors will learn about their way of dancing, traditional clothes, hunting and their cherished jewellery.