KIDEPO VALLEY NATIONAL PARK

Kidepo lies in the north-eastern corner of Uganda that borders Kenya and the Sudan. It is a breath taking expanse of savannah landscapes, ringed by rugged mountains and seldom visited by tourists.

Isolated, beautiful and a haven for dry country predators such as lion and cheetah, Kidepo safari tours are well worth the extra effort required to reach the north of Uganda.

Kidepo-Valley-park

SAVANNAH SAFARIS

With 86 mammal species and almost 500 bird species, the 1,442 km2 of Kidepo Valley offers exceptional safari tours.

Kidepo appears to have more in common with the national parks of Kenya than the rest of Uganda. Its semi-arid wilderness is isolated by Mount Elgon and the plains of the Karamoja region and hosts 28 species of mammal found no where else in Uganda.

The savannahs at Kidepo are studded with inselbergs and rocky hills which make for excellent viewing of the plains and nearby acacia forests.

Recent security problems in the Karamoja region mean that many visitors now arrive by domestic flight from Kampala rather than take the traditional dry and dusty cross country drive.

Kidepo Wildlife

  • Kidepo’s 20 species of predator include lion, leopard, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal and side-striped jackal.
  • Species unique to the region include cheetah, bat-eared fox, striped hyena, aardwolf and caracal.
  • Large herbivores include elephant, giraffe, zebra, warthog and buffalo.
  • Antelopes include greater and lesser kudu, Chandler’s mountain reedbuck, klipspringer, Jackson’s hartebeest, oryx, oribi, eland, dik-dik, bushbuck and reedbuck.
  • Five primate species are found in the park including the endemic Kavirondo bush baby and local patas monkey.

Birds

Kidepo boasts 465 species of birds including 58 birds of prey, with 14 endemics including Egyptian vulture, pygmy falcon and Verreaux’s eagle.

Unusually for Uganda, almost a quarter of the birds are dry country species such as ostrich and the Kori bustard.

Also of interest are the 56 raptors, white-bellied go away bird, Abyssinian roller, Abyssinian scimitar-bill and Jackson’s hornbill