7 Day Kidepo Park safari – Murchison Falls Park Safari: There is no other park in Africa such as Kidepo Valley Park – rugged, remote, undiscovered, off the tourist path, home to some of the most fabulous wildlife in Uganda and by including Murchison Falls Park with the River Nile, its abundant wildlife, chimpanzees and rhino trekking it becomes the perfect 7 Day Kidepo Park Safari – Murchison Falls Safari.
Kidepo Valley National Park borders Southern Sudan and Kenya. Most safari enthusiasts never reach this what CNN calls the 3rd best Park in Africa for stunning scenery and wildlife that is still Africa as it used to be, 50 some years ago with less than 10 new visitors a day, it is the African Wild without the crowds
Since 2014 Murchison Falls Park is now the top Uganda Safari Destination. We have combined the best of the rawness of Kidepo Valley Park and the largest park in Uganda – Murchison Falls. A 7 Day Safari into the most rugged Area of Uganda – Kidepo Valley National Park, the most remote Park in Africa, and Murchison Falls Park.
Itinerary for Kidepo Park Safari and Murchison Falls Safari - 7 days
Day 1: Drive from Kampala to Kitgum, Stopover at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
You will be picked by our driver/guide at your hotel or residence in Kampala after you have had breakfast ready to start your tour to the most isolated national park in Uganda and we will drive you through the plain and remote vegetation to the northern part of the country.
Along the way, you visit and track White Rhinos at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. This sanctuary has now been established to breed black and white rhino and restore Rhino populations in Uganda's protected areas in a later stage.)
We then continue driving with a stopover for lunch in Gulu, before arriving in Kitgum for night overstay and dinner at Bomah hotel.
Day 2: Transfer to Kidepo Valley National Park, Game Drive
Be up for an early cup of tea/coffee and continue with the journey for your Kidepo park safari. Arrive in time for lunch, and after set out for the first game drive in Africa's most spectacular wilderness. Drive through the Narus valley for great wildlife sightings including herds of buffalos, elephants, giraffes, zebras, hyenas, and cheetahs. There are incredible picture moments, and the drive is really slow so you can ask for a stop at whatever point you want.
Return to the lodge to relax and later have dinner and overnight.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Adere Safari Lodge (or request upgrade to Apoka Safari Lodge)
Medium: Kidepo Savannah Lodge (room with ensuite bathroom)
Low Budget: Kidepo Savannah Lodge (tents)
Day 3: Game Drive Safari in Kidepo National Park, Kanangorok hot springs
Start with an early breakfast and then go for a game drive along the trails of Kidepo Valley. The park inhabits one of the most exciting faunas of any Ugandan park, with over 80 species of mammals several of which are endemic to Kidepo National Park like the cheetah, the striped hyena the caracal, and over 465 bird species including the ostriches.
Day 4: Kidepo valley national park Game drive
Wake up to a marvelous breakfast, sipping from your cup of tea/coffee while you savor the panoramic views of the spectacular wilderness and wildlife around you. This is the dream vacation that all travelers imagine of an Africa safari vacation and see in photoshopped safari pictures but can only be experienced in Kidepo Valley National Park.
Set out for another exciting game drive across the open savannah, rocky outcrops, hills, forests, and rings of mountains. There are lots of unique features, animals, and birds to observe and you won't stop wondering how certain plants survive in this highly dry region. Drive to the Kanangorok Hot Springs for incredible picture moments and lots of animals more so the lions resting on rocky outcrops.
Return to the lodge for lunch and relax.
Later set out for a cultural tour of the unique Karamajong people that live around the park. Similar to the park, the Karamojong ways of living are not only very unique but are also untouched, that is, they have not been externally influenced as is the case with most Uganda tribes. One can say they have totally and also shunned any form of civilization. They are cattle keepers and hold a belief that all cattle in this world belong to them. They almost live solely to fight for their cattle, I mean even that which is not really theirs. They are an interesting bunch of people with such uniqueness, their dancing, dressing, housing (Manyatta huts), feeding, cooking, and day-to-day lifestyle is an incredible cultural experience you should look forward to on your safari to Kidepo Valley National Park
Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Adere Safari Lodge (or request upgrade to Apoka Safari Lodge)
Medium: Kidepo Savannah Lodge (room with ensuite bathroom)
Low Budget: Kidepo Savannah Lodge (tents)
Day 5: Murchison Falls National Park
We set off at 7 a.m. after our morning breakfast and drive to Murchison Falls.
Murchison Falls National Park is the largest in Uganda at 3,840 square kilometers. Here is the awe-inspiring Murchison Falls where the River Nile hurls itself in convulsions through a narrow crevice and then plunges 40 meters in one breathtaking leap.
The park has a variety of vegetation ranging from riparian forests and swamplands to broad savannah and provides visitors the opportunity of seeing large concentrations of wildlife including lion, leopard, civet, hyena, elephant, giraffe, buffalo, hippo, crocodile, a host of smaller game, small primates and many bird species, including the rare shoebill stork. The park is especially famous for crocodiles and hippos.
Apart from game viewing, the launch trip to the bottom of the falls is another memorable adventure giving you the experience of the mighty Biblical Nile.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Cottage at Murchison River Lodge| Deluxe Room at Paraa Safari Lodge
Medium: Murchison River Lodge | Pakuba Lodge
Low Budget: Fort Murchison Lodge (Tents) | Red Chilli Rest Camp
Day 6: Murchison Falls National Park
After breakfast head to the delta in search of birdlife and enjoy the game drive to look for lions, giraffes, herds of elephants, buffaloes, and many more.
We will drive back to the lodge for lunch before taking an afternoon boat cruise to the foot of Murchison Falls. This boat trip along the Nile is often cited as being the highlight of a trip to Murchison since it allows you to get up-close and personal with the animals. Along this stretch of the river, there are reported to be around 4,000 hippos in addition to some enormous Nile crocodiles.
The birdlife is stunning with brightly colored kingfishers and bee-eaters darting along the riverbanks. If lucky, you may see the rare and prehistoric-looking shoebill, which is a cross between the dodo and a dinosaur. The boat takes you to the base of the falls which only adds to their impressiveness.
Accommodation:
Luxury: Cottage at Murchison River Lodge| Deluxe Room at Paraa Safari Lodge
Medium: Murchison River Lodge | Pakuba Lodge
Low Budget: Fort Murchison Lodge (Tents) | Red Chilli Rest Camp
Day 7: Drive to Kampala
Depart in the morning after having breakfast to Kampala with a stopover for a lunch break on route at Kabalega dinners and drop off at your residence or hotel and that will be the end of the trip.
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 meters (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 Safaris
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
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 on foot. An armed guide will accompany you as you venture along the dry riverbeds, over rocky outcrops, and through bushland 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 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 the history of this interesting community and its culture and traditions.
