Kanangorok Hotsprings | Kidepo Valley National Park
Kanangorok Hotsprings are one of the most attractive features in Kidepo valley national park which many travelers add to their itinerary when visiting the park. It is proved that some of these springs contain water with a safe temperature for bathing.
Kanangorok hot springs are an amazing experience when on your Uganda Safari to Kidepo valley national park located in the semi-arid region of Karamoja in the north-eastern part of Uganda, estimating about 600 kilometers from northeast of Kampala capital city. Visit the Kanangorok Hotsprings in Kidepo and continue to see large herds of animals and beautiful birds flying in the air of the fine African wilderness.
The Kanangorok Hotsprings are a true natural wonder and a testimony of Uganda’s travel destination that will never run out of surprises. Accessing the hotsprings takes 1hour and 30 minutes drive to the northeast of Apoka within Kidepo near to the international borderline with South Sudan.
To note, it is easy to access the Kanangorok Hotsprings but sometimes it seems worth challenging. The accessibility of this hot spring undertakes you through the bushes with tall savannah grass, thickets trees, thorny acacias, and bush.
The heating temperature that comes out from the Kanangorok hotsprings reaches the earth’s surface with a temperature measuring beyond 50°C and the water which comes out at one litter per second. The geography and geology of kanangorok hot springs remain an unsolved puzzle because too many travellers visiting Uganda, they don’t get well conversant with this natural feature.
The existence of kanangorok hot spring has made many African to belief in the indigenous communities, African tradition, cultural theory all these African beliefs becomes into an attempts that give its version to its existence. The number of African traditional assume strange things such as calamities, epidemics, droughts infertility and even some times it causes death and others happen because the spirits of ancestors have been irritated. Eventually at the hot springs they also offer sacrifices since it was formed out of the ritualism .During those ancient year’s drought appeared into South Sudan and the traditional king by then sent a youth from Longorok to fetch water in traditional pots from the south, possibly Kidepo river valley. On her return with water in a gourd, the heavy clouds of rain formed and the heavy rain poured down. When Longorok had just reached the exact spot of the hot springs, a bright lightning blinded his eyes, he fell down without help, the water which was in the gourd got poured and longorok didn’t survive,died there on spot.The traditional locals believed that the water which was in the gourd had mixed with blood flowing from longorok’s body and thus formulating an instant hot spring .’’Kanangorok’’ is a mixture of longorok and the incidence of hot spring formation.
Geographically, the formation of kanangorok hotsprings does not look different from other hot springs in the world but they instead have two common theories which is the high mineral content in the hot spring water and the indigenous community’s spa which preserve many body ailments.
In general, to the tourists who have visited to kanangorok hot spring cross over to different vegetation zones and get extra chances of adventuring the wilderness of kidepo valley national park. While tourists are on their visit to hot spring, they can match into the park’s grasslands, scrub, bush, woodland onto the Borassus palm forests of kidepo valley national park. As you cross over to the park’s savannah grassland, you get an opportunity of randomly ramming into amazing sightings around. And the surrounding area to the hot springs has a foul smell and sulphur emanating from the hot springs. Sulphur found in here is a mineral component which wildlife species can feed on to treat their gastronomical ailments. The possibilities of viewing wildlife species during day time is high and during late evening many animals go back to their hideouts for self-medication. The high chances of sighting rare wildlife species in the park is around kanangorok hot spring.
However, to the native communities, the hot spring looks to be a scaring place, a place of ancestors spirits, like people from far come way long to visit kanangorok purposely to pay homage, seek for blessings, offer sacrifices and bathing in hot spring waters in order to cure body ailments. The site of the hot spring boosts with wonderful activities which are done by large groups of people. There is a professional experienced local guide always ready on call to explain the traditional beliefs and cultural formation of the hot spring.
The visitors on safari to Uganda who tend to visit kanangorok hot spring in kidepo valley national park year into exciting and undouble successful tour with a mixture of game viewing, culture encounter, hiking along Mount Morungole, have great wilderness experiences in a true Africa adventure destination.
