North-eastern Uganda, in Karamoja

Kidepo Valley National Park: the Narus Valley, where to stay and how to get there

Private safaris to Kidepo Valley National Park in Uganda's far north-east, on the South Sudan border, planned around the long road in or a charter flight.

Plan my Kidepo safari

Kidepo, mapped: the Narus Valley, the Kidepo Valley and the lodges

Most of the wildlife, the game drives and the lodges are in the southern Narus Valley, around Apoka, UWA's brochure says. The drier Kidepo Valley is a 30 km drive north of Apoka, towards the South Sudan border. Choose a part of the park, a gate or a lodge to see where it is.

Parts of the park

Lodges on the mapOur guide to price level; ask us for rates for your dates.

Price level: Luxury

Price level: Mid-range

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Open markers: a lodge's area, not its exact spot.

Run by the Uganda Wildlife Authority

Kidepo Valley National Park

1,442 square kilometres between 914 and 2,750 metres above sea level, a national park since 1962, UWA says. It borders South Sudan, and Kenya lies 5 km to the east.

Park entry, set by UWA: USD 40 a day for a foreign non-resident adult, USD 20 for a child aged 5 to 15; under 5 free
Gates: open from 7 am to 7 pm
On the tracks: 40 km per hour at most, and no driving off them
Walks: always with a UWA ranger guide
Fuel: none in the park, UWA's brochure says

Where to stay in Kidepo: inside the park or at its edge

Apoka Safari Lodge is inside the park; Kidepo Savannah and Adere are on its south-western edge. UWA also runs its own rooms (bandas) at Apoka and campsites at Kakine and Nagusokopire. Where you sleep matters for night game drives: UWA allows them only for visitors sleeping inside the park.

Price level: LuxuryPrice level: Mid-rangeOur guide to price level; ask us for rates for your dates.

Inside the park, near Apoka

Apoka Safari Lodge stands on a kopje, a rock outcrop, above the Narus Valley in the park's south-west, its fact sheet says. UWA's own rooms (bandas) are at Apoka too.

Apoka Safari Lodge

Narus Valley

Price level: Luxury

10 cottages, 20 guests
Children of all ages
Kidepo airstrip, about 5 km by our estimate

Best for: Game drives, walks and birding included in your stay, the lodge says; sleeping inside the park also opens UWA's night game drives to you.

Look elsewhere if: you need a family unit: the lodge has none, only a nanny's room when one is free.

At the park's edge, south-west of Apoka

UWA's brochure places Kidepo Savannah Lodge on the edge of the park, and Adere says the same of itself. UWA allows night game drives only for visitors sleeping inside the park, so ask us before you choose.

Kidepo Savannah Lodge

Narus Valley

Price level: Mid-range

Two kinds of tent
Its own game drives, 2 to 3 hours

Best for: A tent facing the Narus Valley, with bush breakfasts, sundowners on its outcrop and visits to Karamojong communities nearby.

Look elsewhere if: you want a private game drive: the lodge's own drives are shared, it says.

Adere Safari Lodge

Karenga road

Price level: Mid-range

20 cottages, its website says
A three-bedroom family cottage

Best for: Families, in its Kookaburra Cottage: three bedrooms, a lounge, a dining area and a kitchen.

Look elsewhere if: you plan to fly in: the lodge's website gives no airstrip transfer.

Facts: the lodges' websites or fact sheets, read in October 2026, and UWA's Kidepo brochure. We book every lodge here; ask which suits your dates.

Things to do in Kidepo: game drives, ranger walks, Karamojong visits and mountain hikes

Drive the Narus Valley, walk with a UWA ranger, visit a Karamojong homestead, or hike Mount Morungole or Mount Lomej with a ranger: here is what Kidepo offers, and where.

Kalabe Rock, a large boulder with a tree growing over it, Kidepo Valley National Park, Uganda

People walking on the dry, sandy bed of the Kidepo River, lined with palms, Uganda

Buffalo and zebras grazing on a grassy plain below mountains, Kidepo Valley National Park, Uganda

Ranger walks, Karamojong and Ik visits, and two guided hikes

01
Walk with a UWA ranger
Every walk here needs a ranger guide, UWA's brochure says. Short walks around Apoka Rest Camp give you a chance of zebra, hartebeest and reedbuck; longer walks across East Kakine may bring giraffe, buffalo and elephant; the 15 km Rionomoe Trail runs along the south of the Narus Valley. USD 25 for a foreign non-resident, UWA's tariff says.
Offered byApoka Safari Lodge Adere Safari Lodge
02
Visit a Karamojong homestead
Most people living around the park are Karamojong, cattle herders who are slowly settling, UWA says. You can visit their homesteads (manyattas) at Kawalakol, Lorukul and Karenga to learn their customs and dances, arranged in advance.
Offered byKidepo Savannah Lodge Apoka Safari Lodge Adere Safari Lodge
03
Meet the Ik on Mount Morungole
The Ik, a small community, live on Mount Morungole, 2,570 m, on the Kenyan border, UWA's brochure says. A visit has to be arranged in advance, and the Morungole range can be hiked with a ranger guide. UWA lists no fee for it, so we confirm the cost when we book.
04
Climb Lonyili or Lomej with a ranger
UWA's tariff lists two guided hikes: the Lonyili summit hike, USD 50, and Mount Lomej, USD 40, each for a foreign non-resident.

Game drives, night drives, birding and the hot springs: where each happens

Game drives in the Narus Valley
On UWA's circuits at Kakine, Katurum and Nagusokopire. A UWA guide for the drive costs from USD 20, its tariff says.
Narus Valley
Night game drives
Only for visitors sleeping inside the park, with a UWA guide: USD 30 a person for a foreign non-resident, UWA's tariff says.
Inside the park
Birdwatching with a ranger
About 475 species, UWA says, among them Clapperton's francolin and the Karamoja apalis. Ranger guides at Apoka help you find them.
Apoka
The Kidepo River and the hot springs
A 30 km drive from Apoka to the river's dry, sandy bed, then 11 km on to the Kanangorok hot springs, with a ranger guide, UWA's brochure says.
Kidepo Valley
Viewpoints with binoculars
At Apoka Rest Camp, Nagusokopire and Kakine, whose 360° view takes in the Morungole mountains, UWA's brochure says.
ApokaNagusokopireKakine
Camping
UWA runs campsites at Kakine and Nagusokopire, its brochure says.
KakineNagusokopire

Sources and photo credits

Sources: UWA's Kidepo page, its 2018 Kidepo brochure and its conservation tariff (July 2024 to December 2026); the lodges' websites or fact sheets, read in October 2026. Photographs via Wikimedia Commons: Sandra Aceng and Kateregga1 (CC BY-SA 4.0), Keitsist (CC BY-SA 3.0).

When to go to Kidepo, month by month

UWA names no best month for Kidepo. It does say that in the dry months wildlife gathers in the Narus Valley, around the pools left along the river. UWA's brochure and Apoka Safari Lodge put the rains in different months, so we show both. The buttons start on this month.

Dry, say UWA and ApokaDry, says UWA or ApokaRainy, say UWA and ApokaRainy, says UWA or Apoka

January

Dry season, say UWA's brochure and Apoka Safari Lodge. In the dry months the Narus Valley is the park's prime game-viewing area, UWA says, as wildlife depends on the pools left along the river.

Dry, say UWA and Apoka

UWA's brochureDry season

Apoka's fact sheetDry and hotter, October to May

WildlifeDrawn to the pools along the Narus, UWA says

Sources: UWA's Kidepo page and 2018 brochure; Apoka Safari Lodge's fact sheet (2024). Rainfall: about 890 mm a year in the Narus Valley and 635 mm in the Kidepo Valley, UWA's brochure says.

A day on safari in Kidepo, from the 7 am gate opening to a night drive

What a day here looks like, with the rules UWA sets for it.

7:00
The gates open
UWA's park gates open at 7 am and close at 7 pm.
Morning
A game drive in the Narus Valley
Look for buffalo in the swamps on the valley floor, giraffe on the drier slopes and lions on the rock outcrops, UWA's brochure says.
Stay on the tracks, under 40 km per hour, and off the vehicle roof: UWA fines USD 150 a person for driving off the track and USD 100 for sitting on top.
Midday
Lunch at your lodge
Or a picnic: Apoka Safari Lodge arranges picnics and private dinners.
Afternoon
A walk with a ranger
Short walks around Apoka Rest Camp, or longer ones across East Kakine. Every walk here needs a UWA ranger guide.
Sunset
A sundowner on the rocks
Kidepo Savannah Lodge serves sundowners on its outcrop. Bring a warm layer: evenings can be cool in either season, Apoka says.
After dark
A night game drive
For visitors sleeping inside the park, with a UWA guide: USD 30 a person for a foreign non-resident, UWA's tariff says.

Green grassland and scattered trees below a mountain range under a clear sky, Kidepo Valley National Park, Uganda

The sun setting behind a line of hills above dark savannah, Kidepo Valley National Park, Uganda

Rules and fees: UWA's conservation tariff (July 2024 to December 2026) and 2018 Kidepo brochure; Apoka Safari Lodge's fact sheet; Kidepo Savannah Lodge's website. Photographs: Sandra Aceng and Kateregga1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Kidepo's lions fell by 90% from 2009 to 2022, and its giraffes rose from 3 to 163

UWA's 2026 wildlife report gives two figures that matter for a visit. Lions fell from an estimated 132 in 2009 to an estimated 12 in 2022, from poisoning, snaring and the trade in lion parts. Giraffes, down to 3 in the mid-1990s by UWA's park page, reached 163 by 2025.

Lions and giraffes in Kidepo Valley National Park, by UWA's figures

Lions, 2009an estimate

132

Lions, 2022a survey, August to December

Giraffes, mid-1990sUWA's park page

Giraffes, 2025after 14 came from Murchison Falls in 2018

163

12lions estimated in the park in 2022, a fall of 90.91% in 13 years, UWA's report says

3Ugandan parks where lions still live: Kidepo, Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth, UWA's report says

Critically Endangeredlions on Uganda's own Red List; Vulnerable worldwide, UWA's report says

Nubianthe name UWA now uses for the Rothschild's giraffe, a Critically Endangered subspecies, its report says

Sources and photo credits

Sources: Uganda Wildlife Authority, State of Wildlife Resources in Uganda 2026; UWA's Kidepo page (the mid-1990s giraffes). Photographs via Wikimedia Commons: Rod Waddington (CC BY-SA 2.0; he also took the photograph at the top of this page), Vincent Mugaba (CC BY-SA 4.0).

A male lion asleep on a rock, Kidepo Valley National Park, Uganda

A giraffe looking over a bush on dry grassland, with a second giraffe and mountains behind, Kidepo Valley National Park, Uganda

Kidepo's wildlife: 86 kinds of mammal and about 475 bird species

These are UWA's counts and lists. No one can promise you any one animal or bird.

10,000 to 15,000

Buffalo

UWA's park page gives this range, without a year; its 2026 report calls Kidepo the main buffalo stronghold.

An elephant mother with two calves in dry grass, Kidepo Valley National Park, Uganda

650 to 1,000

Elephants

Up from about 200 in the 1990s, UWA's park page says, without a year. Some collared elephants have walked into Kenya, its 2026 report says.

Two zebras walking through grass, Kidepo Valley National Park, Uganda

Ugandan parks and reserves with zebra

Kidepo is one of the four, UWA's 2026 report says.

A side-striped jackal walking through green grass, Kidepo Valley National Park, Uganda

Kinds of mammal

The side-striped jackal among them, UWA's 2018 brochure says, and cheetah, bat-eared fox, striped hyaena and caracal, found in no other Ugandan park.

An Abyssinian roller perched on a thorny branch, Kidepo Valley National Park, Uganda

About 475

Bird species

Among them the ostrich, secretary bird, kori bustard and Abyssinian roller, and 56 kinds of bird of prey, UWA's 2018 brochure says.

Two Clapperton's francolins on a mound in green grass, Kidepo Valley National Park, Uganda

100+

Dry-country birds

Birds of northern Uganda and Kenya, Clapperton's francolin and the Karamoja apalis among them, UWA's 2018 brochure says.

Sources and photo credits

Sources: UWA's Kidepo page (2026) and 2018 brochure; UWA, State of Wildlife Resources in Uganda 2026. Photographs via Wikimedia Commons: Kateregga1 and Vincent Mugaba (CC BY-SA 4.0), Mark Jordahl and Venture Uganda Travel (CC BY 2.0), Rod Waddington (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Getting to Kidepo: a long day by road, or a charter flight

Kidepo is 571 km from Kampala by UWA's count: fly in by charter, or break the drive on the way. We price both.

KampalaLokumoit Gate, via Gulu and Kitgum

The quickest and most used road, surfaced as far as Kitgum, UWA's brochure says; about 10 hours, its website says. Break it at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, Gulu or Kitgum.

571 kmUWA's figure

KampalaApoka

Our own estimate on OpenStreetMap's roads: 565 km. It cannot see the state of the road, so plan on UWA's 10 hours.

565 kmOur estimate

KampalaNataba Gate, via Mbale and Moroto

A longer road through Karamoja, past Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve and close to Mount Elgon National Park, UWA's brochure says.

661 kmUWA's figure

EntebbeKidepo airstrip

A light aircraft on charter, about 2 hours, Apoka Safari Lodge says. We found no scheduled airline timetable for Kidepo in 2026, so we book a charter.

2 hoursApoka's figure

Sources

Sources: UWA's Kidepo page and 2018 brochure; Apoka Safari Lodge's fact sheet; Aerolink Uganda's 2026 timetable, which has no Kidepo service; OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap, run 27 October 2026. A 4WD vehicle is required and there is no fuel in the park, UWA says.

Rocks above open golden grassland with a mountain range on the horizon, Kidepo Valley National Park, Uganda

Add to a Kidepo safari: Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth or Sipi Falls

Three places to add to a Kidepo safari: Murchison Falls, where 14 of Kidepo's giraffes came from in 2018; Queen Elizabeth, one of Uganda's two other parks with lions; and Sipi Falls on Mount Elgon, near the longer road to Kidepo through Karamoja.

Uganda, north-west

Murchison Falls

The 14 giraffes that restocked Kidepo in 2018 came from Murchison Falls, UWA's 2026 report says.

Uganda, south-west

Queen Elizabeth National Park

With Kidepo and Murchison, one of the three Ugandan parks where lions still live, UWA's 2026 report says.

The main Sipi fall dropping off the shoulder of Mount Elgon into a plunge pool, seen from the air

Uganda, on Mount Elgon

Sipi Falls

The road to Kidepo through Mbale and Moroto, 661 km by UWA's figure, passes close to Mount Elgon National Park, UWA's brochure says.

Questions about Kidepo Valley National Park

Answered from the Uganda Wildlife Authority's park page, brochure, tariff and 2026 wildlife report, and the lodges' websites.

Where is Kidepo Valley National Park?

In Uganda's far north-east, in the Karamoja region. It borders South Sudan, and Kenya is 5 km to the east, UWA says. The park covers 1,442 km², between 914 and 2,750 metres above sea level.

How do we get to Kidepo?

By road it is 571 km from Kampala via Gulu and Kitgum, UWA's brochure says, and about 10 hours to Lokumoit Gate, its website says. You need a sound 4WD, and there is no fuel in the park. By air, a light aircraft on charter takes about 2 hours from Entebbe to Kidepo airstrip, Apoka Safari Lodge says. We found no scheduled airline timetable for Kidepo in 2026.

Will we see lions in Kidepo?

Perhaps, but nobody can promise it. A 2022 survey estimated 12 lions in the park, down from an estimated 132 in 2009, UWA's 2026 report says. UWA's brochure says to scan the rock outcrops of the Narus Valley for them.

When is the best time to visit Kidepo?

UWA names no best month. In the dry months the Narus Valley is the park's prime game-viewing area, UWA says, because wildlife depends on the pools left along the river. UWA's brochure puts the one light rainy season in April to September; Apoka Safari Lodge says the rains run from late June or July to about mid-October.

How much are the park fees?

Entry is USD 40 a day for a foreign non-resident adult, USD 30 for a foreign resident and UGX 20,000 for an East African citizen, UWA's tariff says. A foreign non-resident child aged 5 to 15 pays USD 20, and under 5s go free. A ticket lasts 24 hours. A UWA guide for a game drive costs from USD 20, and a night drive USD 30 a person.

Can we take a night game drive?

Yes, if you sleep inside the park: UWA allows night drives only for visitors staying in the park, with a UWA guide, at USD 30 a person for a foreign non-resident. UWA's brochure places Kidepo Savannah Lodge on the park's edge, so ask us which lodges qualify.

Can we see rhinos in Kidepo?

Not as a visitor. UWA moved two southern white rhinos into a fenced sanctuary inside the park in March 2026, but it offers no visitor activity with them. The last rhino in Kidepo was killed in 1983, UWA says.

Can we visit the Karamojong and the Ik?

Yes, arranged in advance. UWA's brochure names Karamojong homesteads at Kawalakol, Lorukul and Karenga, and the Ik on Mount Morungole on the Kenyan border. UWA lists no fee for these visits, so we confirm the cost when we book.

Send your dates and we email you a Kidepo route and price.

Tell us roughly when you can travel, how many of you there are, and whether you would rather drive in or fly, so we can check lodges and flights for your dates.

01Send your datesRoughly when, how many of you, and road or air.
02Get a route and a price by emailLodges, the drive or a charter flight, and park fees for your dates, with the cost per person.
03Change the route until it fitsThe month, the lodge, or a stop at Murchison Falls on the way.

Prefer to write to us directly? hello@wildroutetours.com

No payment now, and no obligation. A trip designer replies within one working day.

Kidepo, mapped: the Narus Valley, the Kidepo Valley and the lodges

Kidepo Valley National Park

The Narus Valley