4-Day Kidepo Valley Wilderness Safari

We pick you up at first light from your hotel in Entebbe or Kampala and drive north on the Gulu highway. After about 3 to 4 hours you reach Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. With a ranger you walk through the bush, following tracks until you stand at a safe distance from southern white rhinos as they graze or rest. The walk takes about 1.5 to 2.5 hours on flat ground. After lunch you continue north, crossing the Nile at Karuma, to Gulu, the largest town in northern Uganda, for a quiet evening.

Overnight: hotel in Gulu. Meals: lunch, dinner.

After breakfast you drive north-east through Kitgum into Karamoja. The country opens up, with granite hills, thorn bush and cattle herds on the move. The drive takes about 5 to 6 hours with stops, and you arrive at your lodge for a late lunch. In the late afternoon, take your first game drive in the Narus Valley, when animals come out to drink and the light turns gold. Your driver-guide knows the tracks and stops whenever there is something to see. Back at the lodge, watch the stars over the valley, far from any town.

Overnight: lodge or tented camp in or near Kidepo. Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Start with an early game drive in the Narus Valley, the best time for lions, buffalo and elephants, and for birds such as the ostrich, secretary bird and Kori bustard. Cheetahs are rare, so a sighting is a real gift. After lunch and a rest in the heat of the day, visit a Karamojong homestead near the park. The family shows how their life moves with their cattle, how the manyatta is built and how food is shared, and you are welcome to ask questions. On the way back, a short evening drive if time allows.

Overnight: lodge or tented camp in or near Kidepo. Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner.

This is the longest day of the trip, so we leave early after breakfast. The drive back to Kampala takes about 10 to 12 hours with stops, via Kitgum and Gulu, with lunch on the way. We drop you at your hotel in Kampala in the late evening, or in Entebbe about 1 hour later. Many guests prefer to fly out from the Apoka airstrip instead and save this road day; we price flights on request. Another option is to add a night on the way, for example in Gulu.

Meals: breakfast, lunch.