Organizing a flying safari to Kidepo National Park.
Are you planning a trip to a prime national park in Uganda to see exotic animals? Our professional safari advisers are accessible 24/7 and will respond to your query within 30 minutes to assist you create a personalized package that fits your needs and your budget here at Katland Safaris.
You should find a firm with expertise in destination management if you want to arrange a flying safari to Kidepo National Park. Popular with fly-in safaris, the amount of time visitors spend in Kidepo Valley National Park depends on their interests and the amount of days they have.
Upon Kidepo Valley National Park
The park stretches all the way to the northeastern corner of Uganda, on the border with Sudan and Kenya to the south. Overlooking Mount Molongore, Narus Valley, and the seasonal Kidepo Valley River, the park’s 1442 square kilometers are mostly covered by savannah grassland.
Given its relative isolation from popular tourist destinations like Entebbe Airport and Kampala, this national park is one of the few that has remained largely undiscovered. However, that is beginning to change as flights to the park are becoming more widely available.
In 1958, the park was gazetted as a national park in an effort to curb poaching and tsetse fly control efforts. Some of the displaced peoples, like the Ik and Karamajong, made the journey to the planned relocation locations, while others fled to neighboring Kenya and Sudan to escape the widespread starvation that hit the area.
Over the years, the park has flourished, becoming home to more than 450 bird species and 80 animal species, 28 of which are native to the area. This makes it an ideal safari destination for people of all interests.
Flights and when to travel.
Aerolink and Kampala Executive Aviation are now the most dependable of the several Kidepo operators. Scheduled flights depart from Entebbe and arrive in Kidepe Valley National Park in about an hour. The scheduled departure time for all flights is 15:30 hours, and passengers are required to check in one hour before to takeoff.
As a connecting flight, the plane may make a stop at Murchison Falls National Park’s pakuba or bugungu airstrips to collect passengers on route to Kidepo Valley National Park. You should also know that in order to take off from Kidepo, every scheduled aircraft requires a minimum of 4 passengers. If your party is less than 4, you will be required to pay for additional seats. They will always keep you informed if there is a weather delay that might affect your flight schedule.
Any trip you plan should be structured around the flight schedule to Kidepo Valley National Park, which is every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Depending on your trip length, you may spend three, four, five, or even more days in the park.
If you can afford to charter a flight, you may travel to and from whatever date you like. However, there is an alternative to charted flights that does come with a fee.
Where can I stay?
Kidepo Valley National Park has a wide range of affordable accommodations, the most of which are within an hour’s drive of the airstrip. Apoka Safari Lodge is a great alternative for anyone seeking a luxurious stay in the park. It offers the greatest service and provides great value for your money.
Apoka Uwa Bandas are a good choice for those on a budget, while Kidepo Savannah Lodge, Nga Moru Wilderness Camp, and Adere Safari Lodge are good selections for those in the middle of the price range. Bring your own food with you; this place doesn’t provide any.
Organizing the journey.
Since there aren’t many service providers for flying safaris to Kidepo National Park, you’ll need to plan ahead if you want to make sure you don’t miss out on essentials like flights and lodging. That’s where Katland Safaris comes in; they’ll make sure you have everything you need for your trip, including domestic flights, lodging, transfer vehicles, and tour guides.
The optimal time to go on a trip.
Though visitors may take use of the park’s facilities year-round, the driest months—July, August, September, and December–January—are ideal for a visit. For one, the heat brings out the park’s few water sources, making them ideal viewing spots for wildlife.
Two, the roads are dry and much easier to navigate than they are during the wet season, when mud and slippery surfaces make for a less pleasant experience.
Tourists should not hurry through their time at Kidepo National area; rather, they should allow at least four days to fully experience the area and see all that it has to offer. The likelihood of seeing cheetahs and leopards in Kidepo National Park is much lower than in other national parks.
No matter the season, a 4×4 Landcruiser is always a good choice for tours to Kidepo Valley National area because of the terrain and character of the area.
The Kidepo Valley National Park must-do attractions.
Drives for games.
With more than 80 species of animals and 28 species of mammals unique to the Karamoja area, visitors to Kidepo Valley National Park are in for a visual feast—and one of the most well-known and consistently satisfying national parks in Uganda for game watching.
Sighting is much simpler in the terrine since it is flat. You may go on game drives in the morning, evening, or even at night in search of nocturnal species; there is no set time for games. Lions, leopards, cheetahs, zebras, Uganda Kobs, orbis, kudus, buffalos, oryx, elephants, giraffes, striped hyenas, reedbucks, waterbucks, duikers, crocodiles, and many more creatures are among those that may be seen.
Events across cultures.
The Karamajong people are herders and nomadic people who live in close proximity to the park. Visiting this area is a great way to immerse yourself in their culture. Cattle herders, they live in temporary settlements called manyattas and go about grazing their animals.
They take great delight in tending to big herds of cattle, which are a status symbol and a sign of their abundant fortune. In traditional marriage rituals, this animal is also utilized as the bride price. Visit Kidepo for a day and immerse yourself in the local culture; doing so will give you a taste of Ugandan life and traditions. The money you pay will go toward building boreholes so the locals can access clean water, which is a major concern due to the region’s semi-arid climate.
Those peeps. They are the original inhabitants of the mountain ranges of Mount Molongore and remain in the northern regions. With a population of few thousands and a culture on the brink of extinction, they were forcibly removed when Kidepo Valley National Park was designated a national historic site by UNESCO.
They subsisted mostly on hunting, gathering fruits and vegetables, and tending to beehives. There are a lot of adolescent weddings, and meeting one’s fundamental survival requirements is a prerequisite for finding a spouse. They see having offspring as a divine gift and practice polygamy.
Those who want to visit the village should bring gifts and presents to help alleviate their poverty, and they should also hire an indigenous guide to accompany them on the tour.
Exploring the Birds
It is easier to see birds in this park because to the terrine and flora, and the park is home to a wide range of bird species. The park is a great place for birdwatchers to go since it is home to over 450 different kinds of birds. Ostrich, secretary bird, small green bee-eater, Kori bustard, pygmy falcon, and Karamoja apalis are some of the species to keep an eye out for. Notable among Kidepo’s 58 bird species are owls, crews, and raptors, such as the Pygmy Falcon, Egyptian vulture, and Verreaux’s eagle.
Guided nature hikes in the park and a visit to the hot springs are two more noteworthy things that you may undertake if you have the time.
Re: safaris with Katland
Local firm Katland Safaris has been running tours in Uganda for 10 years, so they know the ins and outs of package tours in the country. Because of our expertise, we are the ideal choice to plan this excursion for you. Get in touch with us, and we promise to respond to your inquiry within 30 minutes.
