Tourist Activities in Kidepo National Park.
Kidepo Valley National Park is one of the most remote national parks in Uganda and Africa’s wildest area. This is one of the least visited destinations in the country, yet it’s rewarding with a variety of tourist activities that travellers can enjoy on their safari in Kidepo Valley National Park. It is located in the northeastern corner of Uganda, bordering Kenya and South Sudan, spanning an area of about 1,442 square kilometers. It’s about 700 kilometers from Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, to the park. Kidepo is the only park in Uganda with the highest number of buffaloes, up to 10,000 individuals, and it hosts common ostriches, which attracts various visitors to see them.
It has a rich biodiversity, with over 79 mammal species, including lions, elephants, caracals, cheetahs, kudus, leopards, bat-eared foxes, buffaloes, hyenas and more. It also has up to 490 bird species, such as water birds, savannah birds, migratory birds, birds of prey and the park’s endemic species. The tourist activities in Kidepo Valley National Park include game drives, bird watching, walking safaris, cultural encounters and nature walks. If you are a nature enthusiast planning your safari in the Pearl of Africa, Kidepo Valley National Park should be added to your bucket list, as it offers a true African safari experience.
Top Tourist Activities in Kidepo National Park.
Bird Watching
Kidepo Valley National Park is one of the best bird watching safari destinations in Uganda, hosting up to 490 bird species, including birds of prey, savannah birds, migratory birds, and the park’s endemic species. The park’s unique bird species attract thousands of bird enthusiasts and ornithologists to indulge themselves in these unique bird species. Some of the birds to encounter include Abyssinian Scimitarbill, Purple Heron, Clapperton’s Francolin, Fulvous Whistling-Duck, Egyptian Goose, Garganey, Ring-necked Francolin, Orange River Francolin, Blue Quail, Harlequin Quail, Common Quail, Clapperton’s Spurfowl, Red-necked Spurfowl, Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Speckled Pigeon, Mourning Collared-Dove, Lemon Dove, Dusky Turtle-Dove, Purple Heron, Yellow-billed Egret, Hamerkop, Pink-backed Pelican, Osprey, Bruce’s Green-Pigeon, Four-banded Sandgrouse, Denham’s Bustard, White-bellied Bustard, Hartlaub’s Bustard, Black-bellied Bustard, Buff-crested Bustard, Great Blue Turaco, White-bellied Go-away-bird, Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove, Common Ostrich, African Pygmy-Goose, Knob-billed Duck, Spur-winged Goose, Helmeted Guineafowl, Western Crested Guineafowl, Stone Partridge, Crested Francolin, Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill, Crowned Hornbill, African Gray Hornbill, Jackson’s Hornbill, Spotted Thick-knee, Pied Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Black-winged Stilt, Black-headed Lapwing, Three-banded Plover, Long-toed Lapwing, Wattled Lapwing, Crowned Lapwing, Spur-winged Lapwing, Little Ringed Plover, Greater Painted-Snipe, Lesser Jacana, African Jacana, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper among others.
Game Drives.
Game Drives are among the thrilling tourist activities in Kidepo Valley National Park, which attract thousands of travellers to come and explore the true African wilderness and its stunning views and rich biodiversity. These are best done in the morning, evening and night hours when animals are active. The morning game drives allow visitors to see predators roaming around the park, and antelopes grazing or running away from the predators. The evening game drives allow them to spot various animals concluding their day or nocturnal animals preparing for the night, and the night game drives give travellers an opportunity to see nocturnal animals like hyenas, leopards, bush babies and more. These animals rest during day time and are more active at night. While on game drives, visitors have a chance to see various bird and animal species like caracal, cheetahs, lions, leopards, hyenas, kudus, bat-eared foxes, buffalo, aardwolves, and more. Bird lovers will be delighted in hundreds of birds that call this awesome park home likeHamerkop, Pink-backed Pelican, Osprey, Bruce’s Green-Pigeon, Four-banded Sandgrouse, Denham’s Bustard, White-bellied Bustard, Hartlaub’s Bustard, Black-bellied Bustard, Buff-crested Bustard, Great Blue Turaco, White-bellied Go-away-bird, Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove, Common Ostrich, African Pygmy-Goose, more.
Walking Safaris.
Walking safaris are one of the best tourist activities to do in Kidepo National park, which allow travellers to explore the park’s unique, stunning views and rich biodiversity on foot. This is the most liked activity in the park by nature lovers, which allows them to immerse themselves in nature. It’s a guided activity led by an armed park ranger who protects the participants from wild animals and a guide who is knowledgeable about the park’s inhabitants that they encounter. This is best done in the morning or evening hours when temperatures in the park are cooler. The park has specific places suitable for walking safaris like Narus Valley, Kidepo Valley, areas around Apoka Rest Camp, Mount Morungole, East Kakine, among others. During this safari, visitors will be able to see various bird species, wildlife, the stunning views of the savannah grasslands, and visit communities around the park.
Community Encounters.
Cultural encounters are the most sought -after tourist activities in Kidepo Valley National Park by most travellers visiting the park. The park is surrounded by two unique tribes, the Ik people, which is a small hunter-gatherer tribe living in the mountains bordering Kenya, whose traditions are under a threat and the Karamojong, a semi- nomadic pastoralist group and their tribe, the Maasai, in Kenya, known for their cattle keeping traditions. Visiting these communities gives travellers a chance to learn more about their traditions through storytelling, how they use traditional herbs to cure diseases, traditional dances and more.
