Location: Kaabong District Map
Area: 1,442 sq km (557 sq mi)
Kidepo Valley National Park, located in the far north-east, is
about 850 kilometers from the Ugandan capital Kampala and to reach
it by land it takes two days of travel with an off-road vehicle. It
borders Sudan and is close to the border with Kenya. Born as a "game
reserve", it was declared a national park in 1962 immediately after
the country's independence. Less known, touristically speaking, but
with one of the highest degrees of biodiversity in the country. It
extends for 1442 km2 at an altitude between 900 and 2750 meters and
shows itself with its tree-lined savannah, mountain and gallery
forest, palm plantations and rocky heights. It is inhabited by
around 80 species of mammals including buffalo, elephant, lion,
zebra and ostrich. The only park in Uganda where it is possible to
spot the jackal, antelopes and gazelles such as the beisa oryx, the
greater kudu, the Grant's gazelle, but also the caracal and the
cheetah. Rothschild's giraffes and elands are also being
reintroduced.
Two main rivers flow within it and remain dry
on the surface for most of the year: the Kidepo in the north and the
Narus in the south.
Kidepo Valley National Park was established as a game reserve under the British colonial government in 1958. To this end, the Ik people were expelled from the fertile Kidepo Valley, contributing to famine among the Ik. In 1962 the reserve was converted into a national park.
The
landscape of the Kidepo Valley National Park consists of two valleys
with the two rivers Kidepo and Narus and is surrounded by a
mountainous landscape with Mount Morungole. The vegetation is
characterized by tree and bush savannah, dense borassus palms can be
found on the banks of the Kidepo River. Dense forest grows on the up
to 2740 m high Napore Mountains in the south-west of the park. In
the rest of the national park, the height above sea level is 900 to
1200 m, the annual precipitation is 450 to 1000 mm.
The
wildlife, which is hard to find in other parts of Uganda, consists
of 86 species of mammals and around 500 species of birds. Permanent
residents include greater kudu, red hartebeest, chubby and
Rothschild's giraffe, as well as lion, leopard, striped hyena and
cheetah, while herds of elephant totaling about 600 animals and
herds of African buffalo frequent the otherwise arid park in search
of temporary watering holes.
The list of mammals in the Kidepo Valley includes more than 80 species, 26 of which are not found in any other park in Uganda. Spotted hyenas, lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants, giraffes, zebras and African buffalos are found here. There are also about 500 species of birds known.
The park is little visited because it is difficult to access, especially during the rainy season, which lasts from April to September.