Common Ostrich

Common Ostrich in Kidepo Valley National Park

Kidepo Valley National Park is Uganda’s most remote and ruggedly beautiful savanna wilderness, spanning 1,442 square kilometers in the extreme northeastern Karamoja region. Bordering South Sudan and Kenya, the park features a dramatic landscape dominated by the Narus and Kidepo valleys, flanked by the soaring Mount Morungole and rugged mountain ranges. Because it is isolated, it receives a fraction of the tourists found in western Uganda, providing an exclusive, untamed safari atmosphere reminiscent of Africa fifty years ago. The park protects a diverse ecosystem of montane forests and semi-arid savanna grasslands. It is home to 86 mammal species and over 460 bird species, including many found nowhere else in the country. Kidepo Valley National Park is known for Kidepo is renowned for its spectacular, crowd-free landscapes and harboring Uganda's unique wilderness predators, including the largest single herds of African Cape buffalo on the continent. Standing before the world's largest bird completely redefines your understanding of avian scale. Towering up to nine feet tall, these giants look like living dinosaurs as they stride across the arid plains with an immense, powerful stride. Watching a male ostrich perform its elaborate courtship ritual—flapping its dramatic black-and-white wing plumes and swaying its bright pink neck from side to side- is a spellbinding display of wild behavior. You will hear the deep, resonant booming calls that sound deceptively like a distant lion's roar, and if you are incredibly lucky, you might witness them explode into a sprint, effortlessly hitting speeds of forty-five miles per hour across the open ground. Best time to visit for this: September to March, with the prime window of the dry season from December to February, when wildlife congregates heavily around the permanent water sources of the Narus Valley.