Eastern Uganda gets a fraction of the visitors the southwest does, which is most of the appeal. Sipi Falls tumbles over three separate drops on the lower slopes of Mount Elgon, an extinct volcano whose caldera is among the largest in the world, and the surrounding Kapchorwa hills grow some of Uganda’s best Arabica coffee within sight of the falls themselves.
From there this trip pushes further, into Kidepo Valley National Park on the Karamoja border with South Sudan. It is Uganda’s most isolated park by a wide margin, better reached by light aircraft than by road, which is why this itinerary flies out rather than driving the long way back. Kidepo is also the only Ugandan park with cheetah and ostrich, its dry savannah and the Narus Valley holding wildlife assemblages closer to the Serengeti than to anywhere else in the country.
It suits photographers and birders more than a first-time safari traveller, since the reward here is space and species you will not see in the southwest, rather than density of game.
Park entry fees and gorilla and chimp permits in Uganda are set by the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
