Introduction
One of the most alluring destinations in the country, boasting an intense wilderness atmosphere, rugged mountain scenery, and exceptional game viewing and birdwatching. This park lies in the far northeast, isolated from the rest of the country by the sparsely populated, arid badlands of the Karamoja region. The mountainous terrain is broken by the Narus valley in the southwest and the Kidepo valley in the northeast. Kidepo protects one of the most exciting faunas of any Ugandan national park. The bird checklist of 463 confirmed and 26 unconfirmed species is second only to Queen Elizabeth National Park. More than 60 of the birds listed have been recorded in no other Ugandan national park. That said, the variety of butterflies and other smaller creatures is far less than that of the forested national parks of western Uganda.
Activities and Experiences
and the wild! An unforgettable track of true African wilderness
Five primate species occur, including the localized Patas monkey. Predators are particularly well represented with 20 resident species. Of these, the Black-Backed Jackal, Bat-Eared Fox, Aardwolf, Cheetah, and Caracal are found in no other Ugandan national park. Twelve antelopes spp occur in this park, in which the Greater Kudu, Lesser Kudu, Guenther’s Dik-Dik, and Mountain Reedbuck are seen nowhere else in Uganda.
Kidepo and birding!
Kidepo’s long bird checklist is made even more impressive by the relatively smaller size of the park and the fact that as many as 100 of the birds listed are either dry-country spp, which within Uganda are particularly confined to Kidepo, or else northern or eastern spp, which have been noted elsewhere only in the north of Murchison Falls National Park or the mountain elgon area. Raptors are particularly well represented: there are 56 spp in total, of which the most commonly observed are Dark Chanting Goshawk, Pygmy Falcon, Tawny Eagle, Bataleur, etc.
