KIDEPO NATIONAL PARK
Kidepo national park is found in karamoja region in the north eastern part of Uganda region, near karenga in kaabong district close to the boarder of Kenya and south Sudan. It was established in 1958 as a game reserve and later turned in to a park in 1962 with the aim of protecting and conserving the environment making t the oldest amongst others. It remains a true interpretation of tourism in Uganda but remains unknown to many. Most Ugandans don’t visit Kidepo because of its remoteness, this is because they are more familiar with other parks like Murchison falls, Bwindi National Park, and Queen Elizabeth national park which they readily recommend to their international friends.
Kidepo national park is famously known and commonly visited because it’s considered as a birders paradise as it is ranked among the best birding safari areas in the country and its beautiful scenery with standing mountains. Kidepo national park is known as a true African wilderness due to many factors including the following: its pure savannah, rugged hills surrounding kidepo, pure savannah woodland, beautiful scenery, very few roads, and very few communities.
Best time to visit Kidepo national park
To avoid the intense dry season heat and messy roads during the rainy seasons, tourists are recommended to visit Kidepo Park from august to September. It’s also highly recommended to visit the park from December to February if you don’t mind the heat in the park, during this period it’s when animals are concentrated near water points which makes it easier to spot some wildlife. Kidepo national park is, however located in a semi-arid region and can be visited throughout the year.
Getting to Kidepo Valley national park
Kidepo national park can be reached by both road and air, road conditions are sometimes poor and a 4WD vehicle is essential
It has four possible routes by road
Routs passing west of Lake Kyoga through acholiland
- Kampala, Karuma, Gulu, Kitugum, Kidepo equivalent to 571 km (10 hours)
- Kampala, Karuma, Lira, Kotido, Kaabong, Kidepo equivalent to 705km (12hours)
Route passing east of Lake Kyoga through karamoja
- Kampala, Mbale, Sironko, Moroto, Kotido, Kaabong, Kidepo equivalent to 740km (12hrs)
- Kampala, Mbale, Soroti, Moroto, Kotido, Kaabong, Kidepo equivalent to 792km (13hrs)
The most usual route passes through gulu and kitugum. Visitors should plan to stay overnight in one of these towns or at Chobe near karuma in Murchison falls national park.
For flights, you can book with Aeron link or Bar Aviation where you can follow carriers that run relatively expensive but scheduled, it takes 2 to 3 hrs to Kidepo national park making it the quickest and most effective way to the park.
Attractions in Kidepo national park
The attractions in Kidepo national park are the key features that the park possess which attracts a quite number of travelers to come to visit the park. Kidepo national park is referred to as a true African wilderness and many visitors who have visited the park can witness it. The remote nature of Kidepo national park makes it worth exploring with a lot to discover which includes the following attractions;
- Apoka tourism center:
- It acts as a hub of all activities in the park for example; it has vehicles for hire to the travelers
- It’s a station for park guides and rangers.
- It has many lodges around the center.
- It has cooking equipments for hire for visitors who are camping.
- It has canteens which sells beverages and offers a great scenic view of animals which will be going to drink water at Narus valley.
- Mt. Morungole: when visiting the park, tourists interested in hiking can visit mount morongole which acts as boundary between the park and the famous IK people which is the smallest ethnic group in Uganda with their own unique culture. The IK people live on top of the mountain and visitors who want to visit will walk on foot with a park ranger.
- Kidepo valley: it’s among the main attractions because it harbors a number of bird species which makes it a good destination for bird lovers to visit.
It’s crossed by Kidepo River which is known as its main source and it’s more famous of the kanangorok Hot springs a natural spa in the wilderness.
- Namamukweny valley: it’s found in the north western part of the park. Namamukweny is a Napore word meaning places with no birds but it’s simply the opposite because the valley is a great birding area with bird species like greenwood hoopoe, common bulbul, Abyssinian. It’s located in the north west of the park and can be accessed car or on foot.
- Lomej Hills: these are a short drive from the headquarters. They are a good viewing point for birds and wild life including the mountain reedbuck.
- Lonyili Mountain: it’s largely covered in Montana forest and home to primates such as colobus monkeys. Due to poor conditions in this area, the road is currently out of use. There are plans to repair; you are strongly advised to contact the UWA for updates before embarking on your journey to the mountain.
- Narus valley: it’s rolling grassland plain enclosed by distant mountains. It has permanent water and wild life in the park congregates here. Many creatures such as lions, buffalos, giraffes, oribis, can be seen in the valley.
Activities in Kidepo valley national park
There are many different activities to do in Kidepo valley national park keeping one busy all throughout the time. The different activities in Kidepo national park include the following;
Game drives.
The game drives in Kidepo national park offer the best game viewing Uganda safari experience for travelers. You will encounter thousands of game animals while on the park game drive.
The game drives of Kidepo national park are mostly done in the mornings but however, even evening game drives a possible. Night game drives are hardly done in Kidepo national park due to some security reasons. Expect to spot many game animals on the parks game drive.
Nature walks.
Nature walks in Kidepo national park can be done around Apoke camp at any time of the day where visitors have a view to different species of animals like elephants, and reedbucks. You can fill the real cool breath of your foot lands on the great soil of Kidepo. Visitors get up close with different wild life species and also enjoy stunning views of the park under guided tours.
Birding
There are top birding areas in Kidepo for example around Apoke rest camp, around the fringes of Narus valley, namamkwenyi valley among others. The bird life in Kidepo national park is good year around. The park has a checklist of more than 470 species which includes ostriches and east Africa’s only naturally occurring populations of rose-ringed parakeet and clappertons francolin. Birding in Kidepo can be done year out, and most preferably done in the morning and evening time.
Cultural tours.
Cultural tours involve a visit to the local communities where unique and awesome cultures are discovered like the IK people and Karamojong people. Many cultures differ throughout the whole world but some tribes even hardly show case their culture but the Karamajong and the IK tribes in Kidepo are very rich in culture from everything they do.
The Karamojong.
They believed to have migrated from Ethiopia 1600AD. The Karamajong people move from place to place especially during dry season looking for pasture for their animals on which thy mainly survive. The Karamojong people live in very large homes protected by a throned and wood fence but inside of it there are many families fenced with in. In the Karamojong culture, a man is considered a man after wrestling with a woman, after a man defeating a woman he can take a woman for marriage and the bride price is negotiated and he is considered very weak after losing to a woman and must marry from elsewhere.
The IK
Thy live in the mountains of Murongole of Kidepo valley numbering about 10000 people making it the smallest ethnic group living in the north eastern part of Uganda. They were mainly hunters but now thy do subsistence farming and honey production. Polygamy in the ik people is part of the family life. Thy pay bride price using goats , money , and bee hives instead of cattle which thy used to keep but thy feared due to constant raids from the neighboring tribes especially the Karamojong people.
Accommodation in Kidepo national park.
You can find the best accommodation properties for your stay to this amazing remote place. There are a number of wildness camps and lodges available to ensure that your experience is memorable. The park has fewer accommodation options compared to the other large parks in Uganda. For those who want to connect with the nature, there are several campsites within the park, you can choose from a range of places to stay. The lodges in the park are divided in three categories which include; budget, mid rang, and luxury options. Ones travel budget and interest determines the choice of accommodation. Some of these accommodations are constructed inside the park overlooking the wilderness others outside the park gates. Depending on your choice, these lodges provide comfort and moderate amenities to guests.
Apoke safari lodge.
The lodge is an up market lodge that is located in the park with 10 luxury rooms, 4 twin rooms accommodating 2 to 4 each and 6 double rooms accommodating 2 people each. The lodge offers accommodations including the following; mosquito nets, private verandas on each room, sitting room, extra-large towels, dressing gown, big hand hewn beds with soft duvets.
Apoke rest camp.
It’s a budget lodge in the park that is run and managed by UWA offering 16 self-contained cabins and a hostel offering 14 basic Bandas each comprised of two beds.
Nga’moru wilderness camp
The lodge is a mid-range offering spectacular views of wildlife, savannah plains, Mt Murongole and ideal environment for relaxation. The accommodation includes 3 caban rooms which accommodates 1 to 4 single beds, 3 safari tents accommodating 1 to 2 single beds.
