Sighting Lions in Kidepo Valley National Park: Kidepo Valley national park is located in the country’s far northeast. The park has a truly wilderness aspect to it and is ideal for the adventurous tourist. During the dry season, it offers superb animal watching, with some species rarely seen elsewhere in the nation.
The national park has a lion population that is rapidly rising, with roughly 132 individual lions roaming the huge isolated safari area. In your view, the park is the finest site to watch lions during your Uganda wildlife tour.
The park is dominated by two valleys (Kidepo Valley and Narus Valley) on each side of mostly steep terrain. Many vantage points provide expansive views of the Narus Valley. Acacia trees, desert dates, and rocky outcrops dot the open grassland.
Sighting Lions in Kidepo Valley National Park.
Lions in Uganda’s Kidepo Valley National Park are frequently seen in the Narus Valley area, especially during the dry season when the Narus Valley is the only location to get water. The valley serves as a water reservoir for the park’s animals; antelopes, a favorite food of lions, frequently graze around the valley, providing a reliable water source for them to drink from. The valley has also taught the lions.
The lions frequently ascend into the sausage trees or on top of the Kopje for a better view of the park, allowing them to check for prey across a distance of up to 10km on a clear day.
Other Wildlife Sighted in Kidepo Valley National Park.
The park’s animal list is rather amazing. Twenty predator species live here, including many that are not found in any other Ugandan park (including cheetah and black-backed jackal). Leopard and lion are both common. Elephant, Burchell’s zebra, buffalo, and Rothschild’s giraffe are all common, but black rhino is now extinct. There are twelve antelope species present, some of which are unique to the country.
What is the best time to sight lions in Kidepo valley national park.
The middle and end of the Dry season, which is September to March, is the optimum period for wildlife watching since animals congregate around reliable water sources. During the Wet season, which is from April to August, animals scatter from the valleys and go to higher terrain, making it more difficult to detect them.
Activities in Kidepo Valley National Park.
Game Drive Safaris
Kidepo Valley National Park offers game drives in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Morning game drives in the national park begin as early as 6 a.m., while night game drives begin at 6 p.m. On a game drive, guests may see zebras, buffalo, lions, leopards, giraffes, jackals, hyenas, elephants, duikers, and many more wildlife creatures.
Birding
Birding in Kidepo National Park is recommended for birding enthusiasts, and among the bird species that tourists can see are the Yellow-billed Shrike, Taita Fiscal, Rufous Chatterer, Karamoja Apalis, and Ostriches, to name a few. The park has around 475 bird species, with approximately 23 of them being indigenous to the area.
Cultural/Community Tours
During your Uganda Wildlife Safaris to the park, guests may embark on a unique cultural experience with cultural community tours in Kidepo National Park. Visitors may meet with locals in the surrounding IK people and Karamojong villages and learn about their distinct traditions. During your interaction with the Karamojong, you will see their traditional homesteads, which are similar to those of the Masaai in Kenya and Tanzania, instruments such as knives, stools, arrows, spears, see their unique dress code, beads, visit art and craft shops at the park’s entrance, and enjoy entertainment from groups such as the Nyangia ethnic group, Lake Karaka, Emuya of Naporre, which entertains visitors through dance, music, and drama.
Where to stay during Kidepo Valley National Park.
There is a growing number of safari lodges and tented camps in and around Kidepo Valley National Park. However, for clients travelling with Explore Rwanda Tours, we like to recommend staying at Adere Safari Lodge, Kidepo Savannah Lodge, UWA Bandas and Apoka Safari Lodge.
How to get Kidepo Valley National Park.
When visiting Kidepo Valley National Park, you have the option of taking either air or road transportation. You may fly from Entebbe airport to Kidepo Valley National Park in one hour and thirty minutes using scheduled or chartered aircraft. By road, a private car may take you from Kampala through Mbale, Nakapiripirit, Moroto, Kotido, Kaabong, and Kidepo Valley National Park, which takes 12 hours on asphalt. You may alternatively travel from Kampala to Kidepo Valley National Park through Mbale, Soroti, Moroto, Kotido, and Kaabong, which takes 13 hours. There are also public buses that go daily from Kampala to Jinja, Mbale, Soroti, Kotido, Kaabong, and Kidepo Valley National Park, covering a distance of 16 hours.
In summary; the national park is one of the best pristine wildlife destinations in Uganda, home to endemic wildlife species such as the Cheetah, Caracal, Mountain Reedbuck, and Kudu, as well as rare bird species such as the Ostrich and Kori Bustard, which can only be seen in this national park with unique tribes, providing wonderful lifetime experiences and on your wildlife safari in Uganda.
