Kidepo Valley National Park is a 1,442 square kilometers (557 sq. mi) national park in the Karamonja region in northeast Uganda Kidepo is rugged savannah, dominated by the 2,750 meters (9,020 ft.) Mount Morungole and transected by the Kidepo and Narus rivers.

Kidepo Valley National Park is located near Karenga in Kaabong District, in the northeastern corner of Uganda. The park is approximately 220 kilometers (140 mi), by road northwest of Moroto, the largest town in the sub-region. It is approximately 520 kilometers (320 mi), by road, northeast of Kampala, Uganda’s capital and largest city.

The northwestern boundary of the park runs along the international frontier with Bira, South Sudan and abuts against its Kidepo Game Reserve.

The Ketebo or Mening are the original inhabitants of the area, who had been living here since 1800. It was gazetted as a game reserve by the British colonial government in 1958, and the people were evicted. The purpose was both to protect the animals from hunting and to prevent further clearing of bush for tsetse fly-control. The eviction of the resident people and the resultant famine, especially the Ketebo people who were forcefully relocated to other areas within Bira such as Napotpot, Kalo Kudo, Namosingo, Loriwo and Naurkori in South Sudan, was cited by park management as an example of the unacceptable consequences of not taking community needs into account when designating reserves.

The newly independent government of Uganda under Milton Obote converted the reserve into the Kidepo Valley National Park in 1962. The first chief warden of the park was Ian Ross, a Briton. In 1972, Paul Ssali, a Ugandan, replaced him. Their handover and training was the subject of the 1974 American documentary film, “The Wild and the Brave.

The park receives comparatively fewer tourists than Uganda’s other national parks. Game viewing is possible by vehicle on dirt roads that crisscross the southern and western parts of the park, other activities include nature walks, Lonyii summit hike, guided night drives and bird watching. A few trunk roads are improved with murram and are passable in all weather. The park’s remote location means the drive time for tourists from Kampala is an estimated 10 hours.  The park is also connected by domestic flights from Entebbe International Airport, which land at Kidepo Airport Tourist accommodations at the park include a rest camp run by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and other lodges.

Hiking, nature walks, bird watching add to game drives to make up a list of incredible activities that invite tourists from different parts of the world.