Kidepo Valley Profile

Kidepo Valley is Uganda’s most isolated national park, but the few who make the long journey north through the wild frontier region of Karamoja would agree that it is also the most magnificent, for Kidepo ranks among Africa’s finest wildernesses. During the dry season, the only permanent water in the park is found in wetlands and remnant pools in the broad Narus Valley near Apoka. These seasonal oases, combined with the open, savannah terrain, make the Narus Valley the park’s prime game viewing location.

Kidepo Valley National Park

Areas of Interest

Apoka Tourism Centre

Overlooking the game-rich Narus Valley and home to an up-market lodge and simple UWA-run cottages, Apoka is the park’s tourism hub. Ranger guides stationed at Apoka escort tourists on game drives and walks. If you don’t have your own transport, you can hire park trucks. There’s a craft shop with books and souvenirs, and you can purchase bottled water, sodas, and alcoholic beverages there. Food is cooked on request, and individuals who wish to cook for themselves can hire cooking gas and utensils.

Narus Valley

Narus Valley is a rolling grassland plain enclosed by distant mountains. The valley has permanent water, and for much of the year, the park’s wildlife congregates here. Thus, the area is well provided with game tracks, with four loop circuits exploring the valley around Apoka. Many creatures such as lions, Jackson’s hartebeest, buffaloes, giraffes, oribis, and reedbucks can be seen in the valley. Less commonly seen are cheetahs and leopards. 

Kidepo Valley and Kanangorok Hot Springs

For most of the year, a lack of surface water means that little wildlife is found in Kidepo Valley, though it is still worth the drive to visit the dry Kidepo River to stroll along its 50m wide bed of white sand between banks covered with Borassus palms.

Kidepo means to pick from below and the valley was visited by people coming to gather fallen Borassus fruit for fermenting to make palm beer. The Kanangorok Hot Springs lie 11km beyond the Kidepo River on the Sudan border. This is a glorious place to sit and view the mountains beyond the frontier.

Mount Morungule

Mount Morungole stands at 2,750m and is crossed by the Kidepo and Narus Rivers that nourish the park’s wildlife and this natural habitat as a whole. The Morungole Range marks the southern boundary of the park and rises from the plains a few kilometers northeast of Apoka. This region can be explored on foot with a ranger. The mountain slopes are home to the IK people, the smallest ethnic group in Uganda, with their own unique culture.

Namamukweny Valley

Namamukweny is a Napore word meaning a place with no birds or a lonely place with few people, though, regarding the birds, quite the opposite is true! The valley hosts a large variety of bird species, including the Eastern Paradise Whydah, White-crested Turaco, Common Bulbul, Abyssinian Roller, and Green-Wood Hoopoe, among others. It lies in the park’s northwest and is accessible by car or on foot.

Lomej Hills

The Lomej Hills is a short drive from the headquarters. They are a good viewing point for birds and wildlife, including the mountain reedbuck.

Lonyili Mountain

Lying between Kitgum and the Sudan border, Lonyili Mountain is largely covered in montane forest and is home to primates such as colobus monkeys. Due to poor conditions in this area, the road is currently out of use. There are plans to repair it – you are strongly advised to contact UWA for updates before embarking on your journey to the mountain.

Wildlife and Birding Summary

Kidepo Valley National Park

Wildlife

The park contains one of the most exciting faunas of any Ugandan national park. Carnivores here include the lion, leopard, spotted hyena, and black-backed and side-striped jackals. Other large species regularly seen here are elephant, Burchell’s zebra, bushpig, warthog, Rothschild’s giraffe, Cape buffalo, bushbuck, bush duiker, and Defassa waterbuck, Bohor reedbuck, Jackson’s hartebeest, and oribi.

Birds

The park boasts an extensive bird list of around 475 species, making it second only in Uganda to Queen Elizabeth National Park. A few species of note are the Ostrich, Kori Bustard, and Karamoja Apalis.

Kidepo is notable for its birds of prey. Fourteen of the 56 recorded species appear to be endemic to the Kidepo and Karamoja region, including Verreaux’s Eagle, Egyptian Vulture, and Pygmy Falcon. 

Activities

Birding

Apoka Rest Camp is a great spot to begin your Kidepo birding experience. Birding on the fringes of the Narus and Namamukweny Valleys offers opportunities to see birds such as the Abyssinian Roller, Purple Heron, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, and Clapperton’s Francolin (found only in Kidepo). You can arrange the activity for both morning and evening

Cultural Encounters

Lorokul Cultural Group

The notorious, cattle-herding Karamojong occupy northeastern Uganda, in an area covering one-tenth of the country. Discover the unique culture of the Lorukul Cultural Group, a community located just outside Kidepo Valley National Park.

Hiking/Nature Walks

The Lomej Mountains are reachable on foot in four hours, and the hike starts at 7 am. Shorter guided walks of about two hours pass through the Narus Valley, extending over a 5 km radius from Apoka Tourism Centre.

Visitors can wander along the splendid Kidepo River Valley between the banks of an attractive Borassus palm forest. You can reach Namamkweny Valley in one hour from Apoka.

Visitors can also meet members of the IK community during prearranged hikes to the Morungole Mountains outside the park.