Kidepo valley national park is found in Uganda’s most remote corner to the northeast situated between Kenya and Sudan, Kidepo valley is the most isolated national park ranking among Africa’s top wilderness, it covers an area of 1442 square kilometers extending through the large savannah stretching towards the outlined mountains at a distance transected by Kidepo and Narus rivers, gazette as a national park in 1962 open savannah is dominant in the national park, hills have dry montane forest due to the harsh weather conditions and many of the hills are capped by rock kopjes which give excellent views of wildlife in the national park.
Kidepo Valley National Park Animals
The park has some of the most interesting fauna of any other Ugandan national park some of which are restricted to Kidepo valley national park, localized animals include the bat-eared fox, cheetah, striped hyenas, other mammals for example the black-headed and side stripped jackal, the greater and lesser kudu, mountain reedbuck, cape buffalos, elands, bushbucks, Jacksons Harte beasts, Rothschild’s giraffe sometimes known as the Ugandan giraffe, Deffasa waterbuck, lions among many animal species. It’s home to over 400 species of birds second in population after queen Elizabeth national park, in Kidepo birds like ostrich, secretary bird, Abyssinian roller, red-throated bee-eaters, Abyssinian ground hornbill, Egyptian vulture, and pygmy falcon to mention a few.
Activities in Kidepo National Park
The flora of the park encompasses an open savannah grassland dotted with a mixture of acacia and other perennial grass, dry thickets, and shrubs it has a very high biodiversity of plant species, the Borassus palm are common along the rivers of Kidepo and Kulo. The Narus valley throughout the year has the highest population of animal species it is well provided with game tracks that give easy route to excellent views of Morungle mountain range east of Apoka, the region has permanent water and on the other hand, there is very little wildlife found in the Kidepo valley, it dry at most times of the year and the Kidepo river is a seasonal river that dries off in the hot days.
Tourist Attractions in Kidepo Valley National Park
There are a number of exciting tourism activities in the national park, to begin with, the game drives start in the morning seeing wildlife to both the Narus and Kidepo, visit the Karamojong community a group of pastoralists who keep migrating from point to point with their cattle, they keep constructing temporal small Karamojong houses called manyattas, visitors can be arranged for this cultural tour, they will know the Karamojong culture norms and customs, bird watching, hiking and nature walks, tour the Kanatarok hot springs.
Kidepo National Park Accommodations
The park can be accessed all year round despite its hot dry conditions it receives rainfall once a year in the months of April and the rainfall is light, it can be reached by road or air, driving through the winding beautiful rolling hills to the national park approximately 740square kilometers via Mbale to Kidepo and 571 kilometers from Kampala passing via Karuma-Gulu-Kitgum and Kidepo, chatter flights can be organized in Entebbe or Kajansi flying to and from Kidepo, there is available accommodation ranging from best budget to luxury, and high end for example, the Apoka lodge and the Kidepo savannah lodge.
