Kidepo

Kidepo Valley is Uganda’s most remote and least explored national park, yet the Uganda Wildlife Authority calls it one of Africa’s most breathtaking wilderness areas. Gazetted in 1962, it lies in the semi-arid valleys of Karamoja, bordering South Sudan to the north-west with Kenya just to the east, and it is home to more than 77 mammal species and a bird checklist of over 476, including several found in no other Ugandan park.

Its wildlife is recovering strongly. Elephant numbers have grown from about 200 in the 1990s to between 650 and 1,000 today, and the park is one of the best places to see Rothschild’s giraffes, which recovered from just three individuals in the mid-1990s to more than 50 thanks to breeding and translocation. Nearby live the Karamojong, semi-nomadic cattle-keepers, and the Ik, a small community in the mountains bordering Kenya.

In the dry months the Narus Valley, with its reliable water, is the park’s prime game-viewing area, drawing large concentrations of buffalo and elephants as the Kidepo and Narus rivers shrink to scattered pools. That concentration of wildlife around water is what makes the dry season so rewarding here, though the remote location means any visit needs careful planning with an operator, whether by air or by road.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority recommends flying, as the park is far from Kampala, and flights between parks are usually arranged by tour operators from Entebbe International Airport. Driving is possible: the most direct route runs through Gulu to Lokumoit Gate, and can be broken with an overnight stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, Gulu or Kitgum, while two longer routes cross the Karamoja subregion to Nataba Gate.