Itinerary for 3 day Kidepo Flying Safari(only departs on Wednesday and Fridays)
Day 1 of the Uganda Flying Safari to Kidepo National Park: 3 Days: Fly to Kidepo from Entebbe International Airport & do an afternoon game drive
We begin our 3 Day Kidepo Flying Safari with a pick-up from your hotel in Kampala or Entebbe to Entebbe International Airport for your 2-hours flight to Kidepo – a pleasant flight over the varied Ugandan landscape – seeing the Pearl of Africa from above – simply a delightful treat and some great photo opportunities for you.
Land at Kidepo Valley Airstrip and transfer to the lodge driving via untamed landscape of Kidepo Park
Lunchtime at the lodge and you are served a culinary treat in the Ugandan Wild of Kidepo Valley National Park that will delight your senses and palate. Even while you have lunch or sit on your veranda you will be able to enjoy some the abundant wildlife found at this most unusual, one of a kind Park in East Africa bordered by South-Sudan and Kenya – a park that abounds with scenic wonders and prolific wildlife, some of which is not found elsewhere in Uganda.
Relax after lunch, drinking in all the splendor of nature, the stillness of the wild only broken by the sound of an animal near or far – welcome to Kidepo Valley National Park.
Late Afternoon Game Drive through the Narus Valley where you will see herds of buffaloes, elephants, giraffes, zebras and hopefully some lions, leopard and the elusive cheetah. Besides there are the many birds you might find along the way. This is a slow drive so that you do not miss anything, stopping wherever you wish to take pictures of the fabulous wildlife and birds, fauna and flora along the way.
One of the things that you will readily see that one thing that makes this park so very different is that there are no other vehicles, it is African wildlife without the crowds. Simply amazing – in this remote and unvisited part of Uganda’s Wild.
Enjoy the sunset and a delightful dinner at the lodge in the heart of Kidepo Valley National Park surrounded only by the sounds of the African Wild in the Bush. There is nothing like going to sleep with the sounds of a roaring lion in the distance and awakening to the trumpeting of an elephant.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Apoka Game Lodge
Medium: Kidepo Valley Lodge
Low Budget: Kidepo Valley Lodge (tents)
Day 2 of the Uganda Flying Safari to Kidepo National Park: Full Day Game Drives, Safari in Kidepo Valley National Park,
Sunrise in the Bush and to top it off a fabulous breakfast and a cup of coffee or tea while you peruse the landscape and wildlife around you in the remotest corner of Uganda and yet it is in class and style. The perfect African dream vacation.
After breakfast it is off to another exciting game drive across savannah, hills, small forests, dry riverbeds and always the rings of mountains around you. Animals and birds to see, plants and trees that will amaze you as they exist in this semi-arid region of Uganda.
We are off to Karankorog Hot Springs with lots of wildlife along the way. No game drive is the same even if you took the same route twice, there is always something new to seen and found. The scenery, animals, birds will amaze you and it is best to keep the camera close at hand to get the best shots along the way.
Lunch at Apoka Lodge – each meal being a unique treat
Then it off for an afternoon with Karamajong people for a cultural tour as to how this proud tribe that has refused most influences for change. Their love for cattle is comparable to the better-known Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania. Their ways are unique to them, and they are a proud warrior like people who believe that is their God given right to cattle, even cattle belonging to others. You will see how they live, how they prepare food, dance, enjoy life and what their cattle means to them.
Here you will have an experiential visit with the Karamajong, see their homesteads which are called Manyatas and also the Kraal’s where the animals are kept. Simply an enriching, cross-cultural time. Like the landscape, the Karamajong are a rugged people who for the most part continue in their cultural lifestyle.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Apoka Game Lodge
Medium: Kidepo Valley Lodge
Low Budget: Kidepo Valley Lodge (tents)
Day 3 of the Uganda Flying Safari to Kidepo National Park; 3 Days: Do morning game drive and fly back to Entebbe
Undertake another game drive in the park to explore more game and those that you might have missed the previous day and gain more opportunities for photo shooting after which you connect to the lodge for lunch and then drive to Apoka Airfield for the flight departure at 15:00 hours back to Entebbe arriving at 16:30 hours.
The 3 Day Kidepo Flying Safari at Kidepo Valley Park comes to end here.
About Kidepo Valley National Park
Kidepo Valley National Park is a 1,442 square kilometers (557 sq mi) national park in the Karamoja region in northeast Uganda. Kidepo is rugged savannah, dominated by the 2,750 metres (9,020 ft) Mount Morungole and transected by the Kidepo and Narus rivers.
The park is located approximately 520 kilometers (320 mi), by road, northeast of Kampala, Uganda’s capital and largest city.
The northwestern boundary of the park runs along the international frontier with South Sudan
Gazetted as a national park in 1962, it has a profusion of big game and hosts over 77 mammal species as well as around 475 bird species.
Kidepo is Uganda’s most isolated national park and also the most magnificent, for Kidepo ranks among Africa’s finest wildernesses. From Apoka in the heart of the park, a savannah landscape extends far beyond the gazetted area, towards horizons outlined by distant mountain ranges.
The local communities around the park include pastoral Karamojong people, similar to the Maasai of Kenya, and the IK, a hunter-gatherer tribe.
The park contains one of the most exciting faunas of any Ugandan national park. Along with the neighboring Karamoja region, it houses many species found nowhere else in Uganda, including the greater and lesser kudu, eland and cheetah. 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, Defassa waterbuck, Bohor reedbuck, Jackson’s hartebeest and Oribi.
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. Of the 56 species recorded, 14 – including Verreaux’s Eagle, Egyptian Vulture and Pygmy Falcon – are believed to be endemic to the Kidepo and Karamoja region. There has, however, been no comprehensive survey of birds in Kidepo and visitors stand a good chance of adding to the current list.
Access: Schedule Eagle Air flight once a week and charter flights, civil aviation manages an airstrip 3km away from the park headquarters.
Activities on Kidepo Valley NP Safari: Uganda Safari to Kidepo National Park; 3 Days Uganda Wildlife Flying Safari to Kidepo
Day 1 of the Uganda Flying Safari to Kidepo National Park; 3 Days: Fly to Kidepo from Entebbe International Airport & do an afternoon game drive
Game Drives in Kidepo
Discover the wonders of the wilderness in an open top safari vehicle, Kidepo Valley National Park is truly a land of unspoiled beauty. Lions, cheetah, ostrich elephants, giraffes, zebra as well as many antelope species inhabit these grasslands.
Game Walk in Kidepo: Uganda Safari to Kidepo National Park; 3 Days Uganda Wildlife Flying Safari to Kidepo
Day 1 of the Uganda Flying Safari to Kidepo National Park; 3 Days: Fly to Kidepo from Entebbe International Airport & do an afternoon game drive
Kidepo Valley National Park is one of the two parks in Uganda where you are able to get out of the vehicle and explore the savannah by foot. An armed guide will accompany you as you venture along the dry riverbeds, over rocky outcrops and through bush land to track the resident wildlife. Being able to reach out touch the environment and feel the African savannah beneath your feet is a truly understated experience.
Karamojong Village community visits
The Karamojong people have been settled in Northern Uganda since 1600 A.D. Originally from Ethiopia, the name Karamojong is derived from a phrase meaning ‘the old men can walk no further’. The main livelihood for the Karamojong is cattle herding and livestock have a significant importance in the day to day lives of a Karamojong community. Apoka Lodge has established a good relationship with a nearby Karamojong community and the opportunity is there to visit the village and learn about this history of this interesting community and its culture and traditions.
