Uganda. From the Nile to the edge of the world.
There are parks in East Africa that almost nobody drives to. Kidepo is one, and we spend four nights inside it.
Fewer vehicles. Longer stays. No hurry.
Most Uganda itineraries move every night. This one stays: three nights on the Nile at Murchison, four in Kidepo Valley, and a last night at Ziwa on the way south. That is the whole design. You wake in the same place, drive the same tracks, and by the second morning you already know where the light falls and where the animals were yesterday.
It matters most in Kidepo. The park sits in the far northeast, near the South Sudan border, and is among the least visited in East Africa. Four mornings there means four chances at the same valley, and on most of them there is nobody else in the frame and nobody arriving.
At Murchison we stay in the low-usage zone, which is exactly what the name says. Both camps run their own open-sided game viewers inside the park — rare in Uganda, where open vehicles are not permitted on public roads and almost every trip is spent in a closed 4x4. At Ziwa you leave the vehicle altogether and track white rhino on foot. What the plains give you on any given morning is not ours to promise.
The Solara Conservation Foundation (in formation) is an independent initiative dedicated to wildlife protection and community-based conservation in the regions where we travel.
A river, a valley, and a walk on foot.
Every environment demands something different. We prepare you for all of them.
01
On foot at Ziwa
Tracking white rhino on foot is unlike anything else on this expedition. There is no vehicle, no engine, no metal between you and the animal. The ranger sets the pace and the distance, and the animal's welfare decides both.
02
Photography, not a workshop
There is no curriculum and no classroom. The host photographer is in the vehicle beside you — where to sit, when to wait, what the light is about to do. In the evenings, an optional look at the day's images for anyone who wants one.
03
The road north
Murchison to Kidepo is a full day on the road, and the best part of the expedition to look out of a window. Scrubland gives way to plains, rocky hills rise on the horizon, and the country empties out. We stop when it is worth stopping.
04
Open-sided, inside the park
Open vehicles are not permitted on Uganda's public roads, so almost every safari here is spent in a closed 4x4. The only exception is a camp that keeps its own vehicles inside the park. Both of ours do, at Murchison and at Kidepo.
Day by day.
The pace is always led by wildlife, light, and landscape — not by a fixed schedule.
Everything you need. Nothing you don’t.
Included
- All accommodation (9 nights)
- All meals — dinner on arrival through Day 10 departure
- Two vehicles overland, three photographers each
- Open-sided game viewers at both camps, inside the park, beanbags provided
- A host photographer in the field, and optional image review in the evenings
- Airport and lodge transfers
- Three nights at Murchison Falls, in the low-usage zone
- Four nights in Kidepo Valley
- Time with a Karamojong family in Kidepo
- All game drives, morning and afternoon
- Private boat safari on the Nile
- Park fees and conservation levies
- Rhino tracking on foot at Ziwa, with a ranger
Not Included
- International flights to and from Kampala/Entebbe
- Optional activities payable locally
- Travel insurance (required — see FAQ)
- Uganda visa fees
- Alcoholic beverages
- Personal expenses and gratuities
- Booking fee (€35) and GGTO/AVR levy (€9)
Pricing & Availability
This expedition is from 15-24 June 2027.
Minimum 4 travellers · Maximum 6. Once the group is full, the departure is closed.
This expedition can be combined with our Uganda Primates Safari (2–13 June 2027). Contact us to design your combined journey.
Solara Conservation Foundation
The Solara Conservation Foundation (in formation) is an independent non-profit initiative dedicated to wildlife protection, habitat preservation, and community-based conservation in the regions where wildlife photography takes place.Kidepo Valley and the Karamoja region of northern Uganda are among the least visited and least protected wilderness areas in East Africa.
The Solara Conservation Foundation is currently in formation and will be applying for ANBI status in the Netherlands.
Kidepo will always stay with me.
I have driven into a lot of national parks. The approach to most of them is a gate, a barrier, a fee — and then the park begins. The drive into Kidepo is different. The landscape changes gradually. The plains appear. The rocky outcrops of the Didinga Hills rise on the horizon. And then, suddenly, you are inside something that feels like it has been here forever.There were almost no other vehicles. There were lions on rocks. There was light on the grass that I have never seen anywhere else — low, warm, and so clear that every blade was individual. I stopped the vehicle and we sat there for a long time, saying nothing.That is what I want to give you on this expedition. Not a checklist. Not a highlight reel. Just the experience of being in a place that is genuinely, completely wild — and the photographs that come when you stop trying to make them happen.
— Your host photographer, Solara Safaris
Every Solara journey begins with a conversation
We don't take bookings through a checkout. Before any reservation is made, we have a short call to make sure this expedition is right for you. No obligation. Just an honest conversation.
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Questions
Everything you need to know before booking your next adventure.
Not in the way a trekking trip is. The walking is limited to rhino tracking at Ziwa — an hour or two on flat ground, at the ranger's pace. What is demanding is the rhythm: early starts most days, long hours in a vehicle on rough tracks, and one full day on the road between Murchison and Kidepo. Moderate fitness and a tolerance for dust and heat are enough.
Why is the minimum group size four?
The costs that make this expedition work — two vehicles, the private boat, the host photographer in the field — are the same whether four people travel or six. Below four they no longer divide sensibly, and we would have to either raise the price or cut something that matters. Four to six is also the size at which everyone has room to work and nobody shoots over a shoulder.
Kidepo is semi-arid and behaves more like northern Kenya than the rest of Uganda. Cheetah, ostrich, caracal, aardwolf and both greater and lesser kudu occur nowhere else in the country. In March 2026 white rhino were brought back, forty-three years after the last one was killed here. And it is among the least visited parks in East Africa — eight hours by road from Murchison, and most itineraries never come. On most mornings there is no other vehicle in the valley.
This is a long-lens expedition. Kidepo and Murchison are open country, and the animals are further away than in the forest — 200-600mm or 100-400mm will do most of the work, and it is the one trip where the longest lens you own earns its weight. Bring a second body if you have one; changing lenses in dust and an open vehicle is worth avoiding. A wide angle for the landscape at Ziwa and the Morungole light. Spare batteries, and rain protection: June is dry in the north, but not reliably.
Yes, and it is designed that way. Uganda Primates runs 2–13 June 2027 and this expedition follows on 15–24 June, with a rest day in Entebbe between them. Twenty-one days, two very different halves — rainforest and permits first, then open plains and long lenses. Contact us and we will arrange the combination, including the night between.
Yes. Comprehensive travel insurance including emergency medical evacuation is required.
We begin every reservation with a short personal conversation. Use the form below and we will be in touch within 24 hours.
Uganda wildlife through the lens
Captured light and wild places from the field
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