Kidepo national park is one of the best travel destinations for filming leopards in Uganda. Guests always stand higher chances of meeting and spotting these cats regardless of being very solitary creatures.

Guests looking for filming leopards in Kidepo are advised to engage the park authorities to monitor their movements in order not to miss out any moments during this activity. Please note that; leopard encounter during the regular game drive safari in the park depend on the luck and nature of the environment at the time of the activity.

Kidepo valley national park was first turned into a game reserve in the year 1958. The move to declare it as the game reserve was the result of the constant poaching and clearing of vegetation which put the wildlife in danger. The move to make it a game reserve was done by the colonial masters who accused the Ik and the Dodoth people who were the occupants by then of excess use of the resources within the park.

Kidepo Valley National Park is found in the Northeastern part of Uganda in the district of Kaabong nearly at the border with South Sudan and Kenya. Kidepo Valley National park consists of rugged terrain with hills, savannah, scattered trees rounded by Morungole Mountains

The Ik people and the Dodoth people justified their actions of destroying the vegetation and clearing the park by saying that they were trying to eliminate the tsetse flies which had to invade the park to reduce the risk of disturbances to their animals. Later Kidepo valley national park was gazetted as the national park in 1962, the year in which Uganda got its independence.

Of course, some people would wonder why the park was called Kidepo, or what does the word Kidepo means? You need to know that everything has an origin to be called something which is usually again attributed to something.

As earlier said Kidepo is among the top tourist destinations in Africa and has its history attached to it as to why it’s called Kidepo. The areas of Kidepo were surrounded or inhabited by the people known as the Ik and the Dodoth whose main activity was cattle keeping through nomads and fruit gatherers. They thrived on these for a living.

Kidepo National park lies in areas which were once filled with Borassus trees which could provide fruits to the local people and they use them to make the local beer and thus they found much love and respect for such trees and started seeing the park as the source of food and livelihood besides cattle keeping.

After the gazetting Kidepo as the game reserve, these people were relocated to another destination but they could not hide their love for the fruits and thus they could keep on illegally sneaking into the park to pick the fruits from the monitored and gazetted area.

So as they could come to pick trees for them in their language Karamajong where “to pick” is said as “akidep”. However; because the whites could not know the meaning of the word “akidep”, they took it to mean Kidepo hence the name Kidepo valley national park emerged. Thus, this presents a brief scenario as to why up to now we refer to this park as Kidepo valley national park.

At Africa Adventure Vacations, we arrange a number of ground services to make your planned leopards filming experience in kidepo successful. Such services include; arranging filming permits, kit customs clearing, press accreditation, transport, accommodation and Visa advice if needed.

Best Time To Go Filming Leopards in Kidepo Valley National park Uganda

Like any travel destination park in Uganda, Kidepo valley national park can be conveniently and best be visited for leopard filming during the dry season of the year. This is the best time for game drives and even animals tend to concentrate on only the remaining water points especially in the Narus valley. The dry season happens during July, August, and mid-September. The rainy season makes animals move far distances in the wild as compared to the dry season. The month of July and September are the hottest with temperatures sometimes goes to an average of 27.5°C considering daily variations from 21.5°C to 34°C making it very hot and dusty.

During the wet season, however, which happens in April to May and September to November you will be able to see clear views of pristine wildlife, birding activity, and safaris are done best during this season or period curtsey of migratory birds can also be seen however wildlife species such as animals tend to move away from the valleys to drier areas making it sometimes hard to sight animals during the rainy season.

The fact that you can now tell when is the best time to visit Kidepo Valley National park, just make your travel arrangements as we welcome you to the true Africa’s wildness.

Important Information About Filming Leopards in Kidepo Valley National park Uganda

In order to go filming leopards in Kidepo, visitors should apply for filming permits from UWA and also a Media card from Uganda Media Council.

For those coming with their own filming equipment, must clear with Uganda Revenue Authority and Immigration department at the entry point ie Entebbe international airport or any land boarder.

Media cards from Uganda Media Council goes for $175 per card and it is valid for 30 days. Processing of these cards normally takes 3-4 working days with all paper work well done.

The cost of filming leopards in Kidepo valley national park Uganda is based on the time you wish to spend while shooting, mode of transport to be used and level of accommodation. Among the must pay fees to Uganda Wildlife Authority is the commercial and monitoring filming fees.

Uganda Wildlife Authority charges 40% per person of the activity fees for general commercial filming and photography. (Inclusive of the monitoring fee of 10%) per day. Filming with a drone is charged at 50% of the activity

Getting To Kidepo National Park For Leopard Filming

Visitors can get to Kidepo valley national park by both air and road transport systems. Indeed, the best way to get to Kidepo is by use of available scheduled flights however you can also drive to the park using several routes th6at are interesting though quite long.

By using road transport, visitors can drive directly to the Lokumoit gate via Gulu which is about ten hours drive. With this route, you will see amazing destinations as it is characterized by adventurous stopovers which include Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for rhino tracking and Murchison falls national park which is the largest and most visited national park in Uganda. Most visitors decide to stray for overnight in Kitgum or Gulu and proceed to Kidepo the next morning.

Visitors can also opt for using eastern routes to Kidepo as they pass through Mbale, Sironko, Moroto, Kotido, Kaabong and then to Kidepo national park which is 740km and takes about 12 hours’ drive Another route is driving from Kampala via Mbale, Soroti, While using this route you can spend an overnight in the towns of Kotido and continue to the park the next morning. Road transport to Kidepo national park is a bit tiresome but so much rewarding with a lot of attractions. From Kampala to Kaabong the roads are tarmacked and passable.

You can also get to Kidepo national park using public means of transport that pass through the areas of Jinja, Mbale, Soroti, Moroto, and Kotido town from Kampala which is about 14 hours. This means that you can travel for the whole day to get to Kidepo using public transport. Buses can be got from Kampala bus park however, it is better to use the services of tour operators instead of using the public transport which disturbs sometimes as it is characterized with delays and sometimes cannot deliver to the park headquarters.

Visitors can also use domestic flights to connect to Kidepo valley national park. Aero link Uganda limited operates scheduled and chartered flights to Kidepo valley national park-based from Entebbe airport or Kajjansi airfield to Apoka airstrip or Kidepo. You will reach Kidepo National Park by using air flying to Kidepo Valley national park is the best option especially for visitors who don’t like traveling long distances. You can book a flight by contacting Aero link Uganda limited offices or you can pass through Africa adventure vacations and we do for you the whole process of booking to avoid all these hustles.