Kidepo Valley National Park
Kidepo hugs the Kenyan and South Sudan borders and makes for one of Uganda’s most dramatic photo opportunities. It is that iconic African destination renowned for images of over 10,000 buffalos that lumbering past the backdrop of mountains with an hour glass shape. The park is famous for its rich concentration of lions, and prides of up to 6 are not uncommon. There are plentiful zebra, giraffe and antelopes and leopards are also found. Nocturnal are few, but you are likely to see a cheetah during the night game drive. This is thanks to the flat open landscape which makes animals easy to spot.
Other specials include elephants, bat eared fox, side-striped, buffalos and black-backed jackals. The park is a well conserved haven of 12 antelope, including elands, jackson’s hartebeest, klipsringer, oribi and Uganda kob.
In terms of climate, it is a semi-arid destination, but at the right time it can be green and lush.
This vast wildlife estate is named after a seasonal river. Its shoreline is endowed with a forest of towering borassus palm trees, most of which were dispersed by elephants. Fed by the waters of craters lakes of distant mountains, this river is vital to the park’s well-being. Without its dense, reedy oases, Kidepo and its wildlife could not exist. It is the starting point for a string of iconic rift valley landscapes and safari activities too, from game drives, nature walks and bird watching.
The abiding memory of Kidepo for most travellers are the evening game drives, when the sunset turns to gold and the air is filled with a fog of dust in which parades of trudging giraffes and elephants appear as ghostly silhouettes.
Kidepo is truly a special place to visit partly because of the variety of experiences that one can do on their way to it. This makes the nine hour journey to it from Kampala less exhausting. What you will experience largely depends on the route through which you chose to access the park. If you opt for the eastern Uganda route that is en-route Mbale, you will encounter Uganda’s highest waterfall, Sipi. You will explore Nyero, home to Uganda’s most beautiful rock art, as painted in prehistoric times. It is also possible for you to go horseback riding or white water rafting in Jinja, but in this case, you will need an extra day as the excursion takes a minimum of four hours.
On the other hand, if you chose to travel to Kidepo via central Uganda, you will encounter Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary where you will have a bush walk. A stopover at Gulu District will treat you to the flavourful foods of the Luo ethnic tribes such as Acholi and Langi.
Clients in need of a luxurious transfer can take advantage of the scheduled or chartered flights that Aerolink makes to it every week. It is a domestic airline that is based in Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport. The flight takes roughly two hours and costs roughly $420 for a return ticket inclusive of taxes.
