Cultural Safaris in Kidepo: Kidepo Valley National Park is located in the North East of Uganda in Karenga Karamoja Kaabong district is on an area of 1442 square kilometers. Kidepo has savannah vegetation. It has physical features like Kidepo River, Narus River, and mount Morungole

Kidepo’s culture is unmatchable to any other culture in Uganda as it is comprised of two tribal cultures the Karamajong and the Ik also known as the Tueso. Their cultures are unique from other cultures in the whole world because of the love for the things they do.

The Karamajong are part of the Nilotic family or are a Nilotic ethnic group believed to have migrated from present-day Ethiopia but separated into two groups forming Turkana in Kenya, Toposa in Sudan, and Karamajong in Uganda. They live in the southern part of the north east of Uganda and their language is known as Karamajong and leave near Kidepo Valley National Park. The Karamajong was originally known as Jie which means men can walk no further

The Karamajong main activity is herding livestock, they do consider cattle royalty and it’s a measure of a man, when the climate is bad the Karamajongs do anything possible to find their cattle water and pastor making them move their cattle to neighboring districts the other activity done by Karamajongs is crop cultivation. About marriage, a man gets a woman after winning them in wrestling. The Karamajong inherit wealth from their parents and through cattle raiding

The Karamajong take blood and milk from their cows. Men do rare animals as women do housework, they have a very unique way of dressing and have big homesteads consisting of over 45 families protected by thrones. The men do campfires around their kraal and sleep watching over their cattle

Karamajong still believes in their traditional religion and belief in a god known as Akuj. Not like other tribes who adopted foreign religion Christianity and Islam and they do believe the cattle they have were given to them by Akuj and they own cattle of neighbors. They value a man according to the number of cattle he has

The Ik people around Kidepo Valley National park. They are the first people to have migrated to northeast Uganda from Ethiopia after settling in Kenya for many years, they live in northeastern Uganda around mountain Morungole of Kidepo valley. They do hunter-gathering, production of honey, and subsistence farming i.e. they grow maize, tobacco, millet, and sorghum

Ik culture has got clans headed by the J’akama Awae. The Ik do polygamous marriage the can marry as many wives as they want to base on several hives they have, they are not educated they pay beehives, goats, and money for a dowry. They were cattle keepers but stopped cattle keeping because of constant raids from Karamajong. The Ik are welcoming people when you get to their area they welcome you with their traditional dance called Ik finery

About religion. Ik people believe in God. The old people tell stories that God created cattle sent them from to earth by a rope and gave them a stick which is never used to kill

Because of the uniqueness of Karamajong and Ik culture from others in the world you can include Cultural safaris & tours in Kidepo National Park on your itinerary and go enjoy food, dressing, and their way of life