KIDEPO VALLEY National Park
Isolated from the Ugandan Tourism Circuit by the harsh plains north of Mount Elgon, Kidepo is one of Africa’s last great wilderness areas though it is the least visited park in Uganda, a tract of rugged savannah dominated by the 2,750m mount Morungole and transected by the Kidepo and Narus Rivers. Perennial water makes Kidepo an oasis in the semi-desert, reflected in its 86 mammal species, 28 of which are no where else in Uganda and almost 500 birds endeminc to the north eastern part of the country. Predators are in polenty. There lie many opportunity to see not only lion, cheetah and leopard, but also the delightful bat-eared fox and insectivorous hyena-like aardwolf with a long list of dry country antelopes including the regal greater kudu and beisa oryx. While the game viewing can be excellent, it is the thrilling sense of supreme isolation that distinguishes this rare carve of wild Africa, as yet undiscovered by the mass safari makers
Activities include rewarding game drives, walking safaris across the Narus Valley and enjoying the isolated wilderness. Look out for the Karamojong people with their traditional pastoralists with few cultural affiliations to other East African ethnic groups.