Kidepo Valley National Park in North Eastern Uganda

Kidepo Valley National Park covers an area of 1,442 square kilometers in the rugged, semi-arid valleys of Karamoja province in the far northern Eastern part of Uganda near South Sudan and Kenya border. The park is one of Uganda’s most remote and spectacular national parks. Its beautiful nature makes it ideal for Uganda safaris and tours.

Kidepo National Park has scenery unsurpassed in any other park in East Africa as well as great numbers of floral and fauna species. Its vegetation is of open tree Savannah varying much in structure, size and composition. Mountain forest dominates some of the high places, while areas along the Lorupei River support dense Acacia geradi forests. Where few tourists undertake expeditions to the park, its spectacular beauty interests are those that go there. The ideal time for visiting the park is March-April for all the specials and many transit migrants. But visiting is good for all year-round visiting and a tour would roughly take 4-7 days to exhaust all the tour activities in the park.

Major Bird Species in Kidepo Valley National Park.

For bird watchers over 475 species, the second biggest number next to Queen Elizabeth National Park are there to see. Birds like the black-breasted barbet and Karamoja Apallis, among the Great Lakes Region’s rarest species, are mostly watched at the park.

Kidepo Valley National Park is naturally endowed with a number of birds that can give great times watching by any tourist. These include Ostrich, African Swallow-tailed Kite, Eastern Pale Chanting Goshawk, Pygmy Falcon, Fox Kestrel, Stone Partridge, Clapperton’s and Heuglin’s Francolins, Yellow-necked Spur-fowl, Kori, White-bellied and Hartlaub’s Bustards, Eastern Yellow and Jackson’s Horn-bills Violet-tipped Courser, Black-headed Plover, Four-banded Sand Grouse, Bruce’s Green Pigeon and Rose-ringed Parakeet.

Also on the list are white-crested turaco, White-bellied Go-away bird, White-faced Scoops Owl, Isabelline and Heuglin’s Wheaters, Long-tailed and Standard-winged Night-jars, Little Green Bee-eater, Abyssinian and Rufous-crowned Rollers, Foxy and Red pate Cisticolas, Abyssinian Ground, Red-fronted and Black-breasted Barbets, Brown-backed Woodpecker, Singing Bush lark, Red-winged Lark, Ethiopian Swallow, Pied, African Grey Flycatcher, Karamoja Apalis, White-bellied Tit, Mouse-coloured Penduline Tit, Northern White-crowned and Yellow-billed Shrikes, Slate-coloured Boubou and Fan-tailed Raven.

Others that cannot jump a visitors sight include superb starling, Red billed Oxpecker, Eastern Violet backed, Pygmy and Beautiful Sun birds, Rufous and Chestnut Sparrow, Yellow-spotted Petronia, White-headed and White-billed Buffalo Weavers, White-browed and Chestnut- crowned Sparrow Weavers, Grey-capped Social and Speckle-fronted Weavers, Green-winged, Orange-winged and Red-winged Pytilias, Black-bellied and Black-faded Waxbill, Steel-blue and Straw tailed Whydahs, Brown-rumped Bunting.

Activities at Kidepo Valley National Park .

Bird Watching

The park has Apoka Rest Camp and Park Headquarters facing the swallow, southern Narus Valley which is a great spot to begin a wonderful Kidepo birding. The beautiful Silver bird and small bands of Yellow-billed Shrike common on thorn trees around camp as well as other types like Vinaceous Dove, Hoopoe, Nubian Woodpecker, Mosque Swallow, Ruppell’s and Superb Starlings, Scarlet-chested Sun bird, Little Weaver and Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu.

A permanent water hole at the edge of camp attracts swallows and a variety of seed eaters including Yellow-rumped Seed eater. It is fondly visited at night by Four-banded Sandgrouse, Elephant, Buffalo and occasionally Lion. Clapperton’s Francolin, Black Coucal, African Moustached and Broad-tailed Warblers, Marsh Tchagra and Crimson-rumped Waxbill may be seen in the rank grass along the normally dry stream bed adjacent to camp or along the track to Apoka lodge.

Animals to watch in Kidepo Valley National Park

Kidepo has about 80 species of mammals 28 out of which are also found in other National Parks Uganda. Among them are bat-eared fox, carcal, cheetah and Klipspringer and many more. During President Idi Amin regime (1971-1979), Kidepo like many other Ugandan National Parks suffered much as many animals were killed due to poaching which left many game herds depleted, meaning that the park is still recovering.

Mammals like Elephant, Common Zebra, Buffalo, Bohor Reed-buck, Water-bucks and Kongoni have shown a remarkable increase in numbers.  Predators for instance spotted Hyenas, Leopard and Lion and others many and seen commonly in the park. The Narus Valley has Oribis in abundance and the Guenther’s Dik Dik are everywhere in the dry thorn thickets in the north. Senegal Galago and Side striped Jackal may be found in the rest camp at night and White-tailed Mongoose is common but more likely to be found on a night drive. Reptiles are also quite common in the park.