Kidepo Guided Nature Walk in Kidepo Valley National Park takes you to explore the best of the national park, the biodiverse environment is the true African wilderness located in Uganda’s distant corner of the north eastern Uganda, it is close to the borders between Kenya and south Sudan, the sparsely populated Karamojong region is one of the most magnificent wilderness to experience, it is a place to see the so called big four of the wilderness ( buffaloes, African elephants, leopards and lions) it is said to have the highest concentration of African buffaloes per square kilometers, other species present in the national park include endemics like the rock hyrax, cheetahs, ostrich , bat eared fox, and over 400 species of birds. The park covers an area space of approximately 1442 square kilometers, remote as it is the park is one of the finest destinations to witness the trueness of Africa!
Kidepo guided nature walk is done on foot, guests explore through the park along the attractive dry river beds of the Kidepo seasonal rivers dotted with borassus palms and sausage trees, guided nature walks will give a chance to get closer and blend in with wildlife, along the hike an experienced guide from the Uganda wildlife authority, en route they will tell you so much about the park animals, plant species, butterflies, reptiles among others, walks stretch for even up to 4 hours to the Lomej mountains, for shorter hikes they will take 2 hours beginning at the Apoka tourist center.
The best time to do nature walks in the park is during the dry season between December –March and June –September, during this time the trails are shorter and hence easier to take a walk through the park, you will encounter animals like waterbucks, zebras, Jackson hartebeests, buffaloes, and birds of the park, it is one of the best places to see birds in Uganda, these are best spotted on nature walks. To enjoy a guided nature walk it is important to pack right, you will needlong sleeved shirts and trousers, insect repellants, cameras, hiking boots, warm clothes for the evenings as they get colder.
Besides Kidepo guided nature walks, there are other activities to do in the national park including game drives , these are conducted using 4*4 wheel cars to beat the tough terrain of the park, catchy park is home to many animal species that can be seen on game drive including lions, buffaloes, leopards,waterbucks, bush bucks, elands, zebras, among others. Birdwatching in Kidepo valley national park, the park is among the important birding sites of Uganda there are over 400 species of birds present in the biodiverse ecosystem 60 of which are endemics of the region including those of the great Albertine rift valley regions. Cultural encounters to the Karamojong community these are the natives of the karamjoa region. Living in small home steads called manayattas, they will show you how they do their day today activities and at least finish the day with a dance from the community members.