Cultural Tourism in Kidepo Valley National Park
Cultural Tourism in Kidepo Valley National Park is one of the best activities done in the park and in Uganda as travelers visit the Karamojong and Ik People. The visit to the Karamojong people with their unique homesteads is one of the best encounters that will excite you more about the nomadic pastoralists of Uganda. You will continue to understand deeply about the culture of Africa especially in this primitive park of the land where you will meet a group of people closely related to the Masai or the Turkana in Kenya.
The local community of this area built their homesteads with “Manyattas” that look similar to those of the Masaai people of Kenya and Tanzania with splendid vast cattle kraals on range of traditional instrument such as jewelry, costumes, stools, spears, knives, arrows, beads, arrows, bows and many more that rewards the true typical African culture experience. The Karamojong community sits on wide range of land purposely for cattle grazing, also arts and crafts can be reached at the gift shop positioned at the park entrance where you can buy your souvenir things for feature remembrance.
The local community has got the most thrilling cultural entertaining of the traditional dance which can be performed to the Uganda safari in the area. There is a wide range of traditional dance that are undertaken in the area which includes the Emuya of the Nyangia and Naporre which are ethnic groups and Apili and Lara Karaka are also another unique way of the traditional dance of the Acholi so amazing and admirable dance to see. Such groups that entertain traditional dance experience earn in some money for a living or supports them in their community livelihood.
Travellers on their visit to culture tourism encounter in kidepo valley national park can thrill in a true African cultural experience like Lorokul Cultural group who are cattle keeping and are found just outside Kidepo valley national park. Visit Kidepo National Park and discover the unique culture of this remote tribe in northeastern Uganda. You can get amazed in their main livelihood, social work as you will be enjoying your walk with the guides along to the typical traditional Karamojong “manyattas” which means homesteads, encounter in their cattle enclosures and granaries. They will teach you how they make their distinctive beads, test their local cuisines, have a great chance to meet the Karamojong king who narrates the Karamojong tribe’s folklore and beliefs. The hike encountered along Mount Morungole will make you to meet the IK people the smallest people in Uganda and very proud of their culture, explore in their culture activities of the Africa communities in northeastern Kidepo where you will enjoy in experiencing the culture of Uganda and learn more about the cultural traditions and lifestyle of the community like marriage categorised as a polygamy family, learn about the bridewealth in locally way, how village children grow up and after encountering in all this, you will be entertained by the young people where you will have lots of fun and excitement in traditional songs and dances. Before entertaining to you, you will have to first pay some amount of the money which supports the communities through constructing clinics and also to build the essential facilities in the region where they train midwives from in order to develop the region economically, socially in day-to-day living.
Kidepo Valley National Park lies in the remote area of the north-eastern Karamojong region of Uganda in Kabong district, approximately 600 kilometers from the northeast of Kampala Uganda’s capital city. The park covers a total area of about 1,442 square kilometers dominated by Mount Morungole which measures 2,750m and is divided by Kidepo and Narus Rivers. Above all is a home of unique wildlife species that cannot be found in any other Uganda’s national parks.
On your Uganda Safari cultural tourism encounter in Kidepo Valley National Park, visitors can sleep in beautiful accommodation with rewarding spectacular view of rolling grassland and such lodges include; Apoka Rest Camp, Apoka safari lodge, Kidepo safari lodge among others.
The park can be easily accessed by Air since by road it takes long driving hours of about 12hours and yet there are many travellers who do not what to move long distances. The best option for them is by use of scheduled domestic flight known as Aero link which usually flies to all Uganda’s national park, takes 2hours from Entebbe International Airport to land into Kidepo at Apoka Airstrip.
The culture encounter carried within kidepo valley national park brings out the true African traditional norms, dance, lifestyle, preparing food in a local way, teaches you about the background of African tradition lifestyle in the community.
