The Ultimate Travel Guide to Kidepo Valley National Park : Kidepo valley national park is one of the great Uganda safari destinations which you will fall in love once you visit, this isolated safari destination hosts a variety of flora and fauna which you should look forward to encounter.
Kidepo Valley national park has some of the scenic landscapes which will captivate you and hosts the largest variety of mammals of national parks in Uganda, the park is also a birder’s haven hosting a huge population of birds.
WHERE IS KIDEPO VALLEY NATIONAL PARK
Kidepo Valley national park is a remote Uganda national park situated in the rugged, semi-arid valleys between Uganda’s borders with South Sudan and Kenya. Kidepo is found in the Karamojong region, in North eastern Uganda and is surrounded by mountain ranges, isolated savannah landscapes.
8 BEST TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN KIDEPO VALLEY NATIONAL PARK
Kidepo Valley national park is a true hidden gem in Uganda and an amazing wildlife destination, the park is a home to array of attractions as listed and detailed below.
- Narus Valley
The Narus Valley is the best place for game drives in Kidepo Valley national park, the valley is named after a local slag Narus meaning a muddy areas, the valley was formally known as the water provision point.
The valley contains the only permanent water points in the park which makes it the perfect location for spotting the big game during the game drives as they congregate around the river for most of the year.
The valley is fed by Narus river which flows in a northwesterly direction through the southern portion of Kidepo Valley national park joining the larger Kidepo river near Komoloich about 13 kilometers after enterting Eastern Equatorial state of South Sudan.
Some of the animals you will find in the Narus valley include cape buffaloes, elephants, leopards, warthogs, cheetahs, giraffes, zebras among others.
Narus Valley has 4 loop circuits that are used during the exploration and they are close to Apoka.
- Kidepo valley
Kidepo Valley is a relatively dry valley and due to lack for water it attracts a few numbers of wildlife, however it is still worth visiting during a Uganda safari experience. In the valley, you will visit the dry Kidepo River for a stroll along its 50 meters wide bed of white sand between banks covered with borassus palms.
Kidepo valley is named a local word meaning to pick from below and the it is visited by people coming to gather fallen borassus fruit for fermenting to make palm beer.
3. Kidepo river
The Kidepo River is a seasonal river and in the dry season it does not look river as it turns into a 50- meter wide bed of white sand stretching as far as the eye can see on each side. The river beds are lined with Borassus plams and remaining vegetation from the wet season, during the brief rainy seasons which are 2, Kidepo River becomes a refuge for many animals inhabiting in the park. Camping is allowed at the river bed.
- Kanangorok hot springs
The Kanangorok hot springs are remarkable attraction in Kidepo Valley national park located on the border of South Sudan border and Uganda, from the hot springs you enjoy magnificent mountain ranges.
- Lorokul Cultural Group
The Lorokul Cultural Group is a perfect place to visit if you wish to learn about the Karamojong tribe, the group is located just outside the park. The Karamjong are notorious cattle herders and they are very welcoming and willing to share their culture and traditions with visitors to the area. The remote Karamojong are one of the most interesting tribes to visit in Uganda as they still poses their culture and traditions which haven’t been destroyed by modernity and technology.
Lorokul Cultural Group showcases different activities such as livestock rearing, milking for cattle, cleaning of the kraal, be entertained by dances and drama, visit to the manyattas among others.
- Mount Morungole
Mount Morungole is the highest point in the area and is a source to both the Narus and Kidepo rivers that feed Kidepo Valley national park, the mountain is a home to the smallest ethnic group in Uganda – The IK.
Mount Morungule is a finest place for hiking experience in Kidepo Valley national park and offers hikers a chance to see forest vegetation and capture incredible photos.
- Birds
Kidepo Valley is recognized as an Important Birding Area with over 475 different species of birds including the Clapperton’s Francolin which is only found in here in Uganda. Birds in Kidepo Valley national park include Superb Starling, Vinaceous Dove, Brown-backed Woodpecker, Hoopoe, Little Green Bee-eater, Long-tailed & Standard-winged Nightjars, White-bellied Tit , Mosque Swallow, Karamoja Apalis, Nubian Woodpecker, Red-fronted & Black-breasted Barbets, Pygmy Falcon, African Grey Flycatcher, Ruppell’s & Superb Starlings, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Ostrich, Eastern Yellow & Jackson’s Hornbills, Red-winged Lark, Little Weaver & Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, Fan-tailed Raven, White-bellied & Hartlaub’s Bustards, Abyssinian & Rufous-crowned Rollers, Eastern Pale Chanting Go-shawk, Slate-coloured Boubou, Green-winged, White-faced Scoops Owl, Orange-winged & Red-winged Pytilias Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Four-banded Sand Grouse, Red billed Oxpecker, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Abyssinian Ground, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Rufous & Chestnut Sparrow, Black-headed Plover, Kori, Pygmy & Beautiful Sunbirds, Violet-tipped Courser, among others, The Ultimate Travel Guide to Kidepo Valley National Park.
- Wildlife
Kidepo Valley national park is a home to a huge population of wildlife with over 80 species with 28 species that cannot be found in any park in Uganda including Caracal, Stripped Hyena, Aardwolf, Cheetah, Bat-eared Fox and Hunting dog are carnivore species unique to Karamoja region and protected within Kidepo. There are also rare species including the Greater and Lesser Kudu, Chandlers Mountain Reedbuck, Klipspringer, Dikdik, Bright Gazelle, Beisa Oryx, and Roan Antelope.
Common animals in Kidepo Valley national park include Elephants, Zebra, Bush Pigs, Rothschild Giraffes, Eland, Jackson’s Hartebeest, Buffalo, Oribi, Lion, Leopard, Spotted Hyena, Black-backed and Side-backed Jackal.
Kidepo Valley national park is the best park in Africa for great buffalo herds.
Book your Uganda safari to Kidepo Valley national park today.
