If there are a few most splendid tourist destinations that you shouldn’t miss to a visit while on safari in Uganda then Kidepo National Park is one of them. This park lies in the extreme northeastern Uganda just at the border with South Sudan and Kenya. It is popular as a true wilderness paradise and offers largely the big game and several savanna grassland wildlife species. Recently, it featured as Africa’s 3rd best national park and it offers refuge mainly to more than 77 mammal species, 460 bird species and its wildlife species mainly comprise of lions, leopards, bat eared fox, side striped jackal, giraffes, buffaloes, elephants and many more. It is visited mainly for game drives, nature guided walks that take you through the spectacular Mount Morungole, hiking, cultural encounters at the Karamojong manyatta, explore amazing hot springs at this park especially Kanangorok.
It is very isolated around the Karamoja region and if you are planning to spend your vacation in this park then you will spend at least an entire day while on road trip in Uganda and you will need 3 or 4 days if you are to explore about this park fully. Kidepo Valley National Park is 700 kilometers’ drive away from Kampala. It can be reached both by road and air. Once you land in at Entebbe International Airport about 46 kilometers’ drive from Kampala, you will choose from the many routes which lead up to this park. If you are driving, you will take the Kampala via Mbale route and the other takes you from Kampala via Karuma.
If you are driving, expect to catch a glimpse at the spectacular surrounding areas and don’t miss to pay a visit to Ziwa rhino sanctuary where to track rhinos that make up a complete list of the big five game in Uganda and then proceed to Gulu and Kitgum up to Kidepo Valley National Park about 571 kilometers. Around Mbale, don’t miss to visit the Sipi waterfalls for amazing hiking adventure or make a stopover at Jinja and engage in most of adrenalin adventures like white water rafting, bungee jumping and others.
The other routes include the Kampala-Karuma to Lira to Kotido to Kaabong and then to Kidepo and this covers around 705 kilometers and if you are coming from east of Lake Kyoga via Karamoja the possible routes include the Kampala to Mbale to Sironko to Moroto to Kotido to Kaabong and then to Kidepo Valley National Park and this route covers about 740 kilometers. There is also Kampala to Mbale to Soroti to Moroto to Kotido and then to Kaabong and you connect to the park which is over 792 kilometers’ drive. However, the commonly used routes include those that take you via Gulu and Kitgum and a four wheel drive safari vehicle is ideal for your road trip to this park.
Alternatively, you can take a flight from Entebbe Airport using eagle aviation or from Kajjansi airfield and land in nearby airstrip in Kidepo National Park at Apoka and interestingly, there are plans to make Lomeja an international airport to ease visitors’ connectivity. Equally, in order for you to access this park, you will need a passport and visa as well as any relevant travel document from your tour agent.
In conclusion, if you are looking for the best safari destinations that reward visitors with true African experiences then count Kidepo Valley National Park a must to visit during your next vacation in Uganda. You can get to this park using the listed options and you will achieve your dreams.