Kidepo Valley National Park is a unique conservation area in the northern corner of Uganda, it is an isolated park presenting endemics that can only be seen here and not in any other national park, Examplesof species include the rock hyrax, cheetahs, bat-eared fox mention a few, the park is divided into 2 the Kidepo valley and the Narus valley, the attractions of the park range from beautiful Morungule mountains surrounding the national park, flora and Fauna, the vast savannah grassy lands, hot springs, the dotted Borassus palms lined along the seasonal rivers are lovely, these allow participating in the park activities like game drives, visiting the local community, guided nature walks.
Tourist activities in Kidepo ValleyNational Park, game drives in Kidepo Valley National Park take Valley National Park place using 4*4 open game viewers or safari land cruisers, a professional guide accompanied by a Uganda wildlife game ranger accompanies guests to the park through the well-distributed trails. Game drives are done in sessions in the morning beginningat 6:00 amto catch the morning risers, expect to see animals like buffaloes, African elephants, leopards, cheetahs, greater and lesser kudus, Jackson hartebeests, cheetahs, oribi, waterbucks, elands it is hard to miss birds while on game drives, afternoon drives begin at 2:00 pm and end in sundowners. This is one of the few places in Uganda where doing night game drives is allowed in search of nocturnal species.
Guided nature walks are one of the most interesting things to do while in the national park, travellers have the chance to explore the park on foot, andaccording to Uganda Wildlife Authority, the walk can be short or longer depending on the guestsyou will get to see the amazing beautiful topography and stunning views of the savannah, the walks are mostly done in the plains to the north along the mountains, expect to meet animals at a distance like waterbucks, warthogs, elephants, the phenomenal sound of birds is beautiful to here while on a walk, it is possible to do a bush breakfast while on a guided nature walk.
Cultural tours in Kidepo Valley National Park are impressive and amazing, there are Karamojong communities visited while on your Ugandan safari to the Kidepo Valley National Park, they live in small villages called manyattas in Lorukul, Kawalakal and IK tribe in the Morgue mountains, enjoy the traditional performances of the tribes, stories on how they live, travellers pay $30 to the get a chance to visit the community in the evenings then you return on a game drive and sundowners.
Birding in Kidepo Valley National Park, there are over 480 birds have been recorded here some of which are endemics to the destination, for example, the Karamojong Apalis, the destination is the second-best conservation area of Uganda to seebirds, in each square kilometer it is possible to have sighted different species, like secretary birds, broad-tailed warbler, African grey flycatcher, sparrow weaver among others.
Kidepo Valley National Park is situated in the northern part of Uganda in the Kabongdistrict, it was gazette in 1962 as a way of protecting wildlife in the national park, it is enclosed by mountains, hills and valleys, known for its endemic species, it can be visited all year round but best during the dry season between the months of December-February and June- September. It can be accessed by road through Kampala – Gulu highway, it takes approximately 11 hours to drive to the destination, and flights from Entebbe International Airport of Kampala Kajjansi can be arranged to the Kidepo airstrip.