Sudhir in Kidepo: Will billionaire invest in a high-end hotel in the Karamoja based national park?

Ugandan billionaire Sudhir Ruparelia and family spent last weekend in Kidepo Valley National Park, a spectacular wildlife paradise tucked away from the noise and buzz of busy human activities.

Although Sudhir is an avowed nature lover, makes it a habit to visit a natural park every year in or out of Uganda, observers say, Uganda’s top hospitality investor might be scouting for a new area to invest.

The Ruparelia group chairman, has invested in budget and high-end hotel and accommodation business including the highly prized Speke Hotels franchise which also owns Speke Resort Munyonyo and the Commonwealth Resort Munyonyo.

Kidepo which has featured on international lists as MUST VISIT places, however, has had few investors in high end facilities.

Over the weekend, photographs emerged on social media showing Sudhir and his family touring the Karamoja region gem. Indeed, they were lucky to spot a lion, one of the most prized moments for visitors in this park. Others are elephants and buffalos that loom freely in the wild.

“Can you imagine within 20 minutes of landing we are actually able to see a lion. This is Kidepo National Game Park for you, it’s my second time here,” Sudhir posted, sharing his experience with his thousands of friends and fans.

Sudhir told local website Africa Tembelea, “Kidepo Valley National Park, (proves) Uganda, (is) truly the Pearl of Africa.”

He added, “It’s a place that one needs to visit from wherever you are in the world.”

The Ruparelias stayed at Apoka Safari Lodge packed in the middle of the park.

Kidepo was gazetted a national park in 1962. It is acclaimed as one of Africa’s most remarkable wildlife gems. It is also home to the Ik, Uganda’s smallest tribe, who CNN featured on its bucket list to visit and said, it said, “It’s like a museum,”. And “It’s a storehouse of historical information, cultural information, ecological information. When a language like that dies, you could liken it to a library burning down. Losing a window to the past that will never be recovered in the future.”