Accommodation

Apoka Safari Lodge

“Discover the sprawling savannah and soaring mountains of Kidepo Valley”

Budget level: High-End

Country

Uganda

When to Go

All Year

Property Type

Lodge

Location

Uganda's Wildlife Areas

Kids Min Age

All Ages

Why we like it

Exceptional wildlife viewing
Cultural experiences
Small and intimate
Children of all ages are welcome

Set deep in the Kidepo Valley National Park, Apoka Lodge blends seamlessly among the endless hills and rocky outcrops. Kidepo is Uganda’s most isolated National Park, located in the country’s northern reaches where the light is golden, the wildlife abundant, and the skies are enormous. Elephants roam through the camp, lions perch on the nearby boulders as if posing for their close-up, and massive herds of buffalo are a part of the landscape.

View on Google Earth

Experience & Activities

Apoka lodge is built traditionally with canvas-walled rooms, high thatched roofs and big, breezy windows open to the views. All rooms feature private outdoor bathtubs – deep tubs surrounded by big boulders – looking out over the landscape. The decor is neutral and natural: a palette of cream, stone and oatmeal allows the impressive scenery to take precedence and a massive rock-hewn pool brings respite to the hot sunny afternoons.

As a showcase of the Natural World at its best, Kidepo is tremendously rich in all areas: cultural, wildlife, landscape and flora. Apoka Lodge is the ideal base from which to explore this beautiful area, boasting gentle staff, knowledgeable guides, a creative menu and lots of exceedingly comfortable areas to relax.

Guides from the local area lead activities including walks, game drives in open vehicles and interpretive visits to the local Karamong villages or the secluded homestead of the fascinating hunter-gatherer Ik people. Wildlife in Kidepo is abundant. Lions, leopard, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, zebra (this is Uganda’s only park where giraffe and zebra are found together), possibly Africa’s largest herds of buffalo, hartebeest, waterbuck, bushbuck, warthog…the list is endless. Better still, much of it can be seen from the privacy of your veranda or your outdoor bathtub, but the best way to see the wildlife is up close: on foot or in one of the open-top Landcruisers.

Light Aircraft transfers take 2 hours from Entebbe International airport to the Kidepo airstrip.

Accommodations

There are 10 chalets at Apoka Safari Lodge, comprising 4 twins and 6 doubles. Everything is handmade by local craftsmen; everything is large and capacious. Built with natural canvas walls surround a rocky kopje with endless views across the savannah. Features inside sitting rooms and private verandas where there is plenty of places to relax, read and sprawl. Step outside to a sheltered terrace and slip into your own outdoor stone bathtub, big enough to fit the whole family.