Discover Akagera National Park, Akagera National Park may be most interesting because it almost miraculously came back to life after being almost destroyed 20 years ago. If you looked at the park today, it would be hard to believe that it had lost a lot of its wildlife and plant life because of the country’s problems.

Many people who had to leave their homes because of the fighting moved into the park to stay alive, but their needs for food and fuel made the damage worse. Animals like lions and rhinos were driven to extinction, and many other animals that lived in the park had to move.

Akagera has come roaring back. In 2015 and 2017, 18 Eastern black rhinos and lions were brought back to the park. Strict conservation measures, new management, and strong anti-poaching forces have brought about a revival in an African park that has never been seen before. When you come here, you’ll see how upbeat and energetic the Rwandan people are.

Acagera will look very familiar to people who have been to the great savannah parks in Kenya and Tanzania, which have wide open fields. You can see a lot of hippos and crocodiles, as well as zebras, buffaloes, Maasai giraffes, hyenas, leopards, impalas, and hyenas, on your game drives here. You can also look for elephants, lions, and rhinos at this new Akagera park, just like you could in the other Savanah parks.

The park is also one of the best places on an African tour to watch birds. There are more than 500 different kinds of birds that you can see on these deep savannahs, in the waterways, and in the woods. Some are only found in one place, like the papyrus gonolek, which lives in the park’s papyrus swamps.

There aren’t many national parks that let you go on game drives at night, but Akagera does. When you go out with your guide and a strong flashlight, you’ll see a very different group of people than on a day trip. In the pitch black, look for leopards, serval cats, and bush babies with big eyes looking back at you.

You can go on a boat tour on Lake Ihema, which adds to the wonderful variety of this newly reopened national park. As you sail, you’ll see big groups of hippos and big Nile crocodiles. There are a lot of hippos here, more than anywhere else in East Africa. And you can watch birds here. Keep an eye out for the rare shoebill stork. While you’re on this boat, you might also see animals from the land, like elephants, come to the water to cool off.

Another way this new park helps the community is by letting more than 2,000 school kids and their teachers visit Akagera for free every year. This way, the kids can see the natural beauty up close.

What Akagera National Park Is About

It was created in 1934 and now has a protected area that covers 1,122 sq km (433 sq mi), making it Rwanda’s biggest park.

Climate: The weather will be mildly warm, and the temperatures will stay about the same all year. Temperatures are around 27°C (81°F) during the day and 14°C (57°F) at night. From June to September, it’s dry. The “long rains” happen from March to May, and the “short rains” happen from October to December.

The park is in the eastern part of Rwanda, close to the border with Tanzania.

When it’s Open: The park is open from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm. (6/30).

When to go: From June to September, during the long dry season, is the best time to go.

The best way to get there is by car. African Safari Kenya can help you plan a trip. From Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, it takes two hours to get there.

Things to see and do

Watching birds
Along this Nile Valley bird migration path, Akagera is a great place to see over 500 different kinds of birds. There are more than 40 different kinds of birds to look for. There are kingfishers, ibises, herons, storks, cranes, rails, egrets, cormorants, and pelicans that you might see in the park’s rivers. Birds that migrate are coming in in large groups, such as bee-eaters, terns, and ducks. The swamp flycatcher and the unique shoebill stork also live in Akagera.

Game Drives at Night
An African tour is different when you go looking for animals at night. The environment is charged as you look for leopards, lions, hyenas, and bush babies with wide eyes that are out and about at night. A game drive at night is not something that happens very often in national parks, so this is a unique chance to have a different kind of park fun. The two-hour drive starts at 5:30 pm and needs more than one person.

A water safari on Lake Ihema
There are a lot of hippos here, one of the biggest groups in East Africa. Along this boat ride, you can also get close to the big Nile crocodiles that live in the lake. You might also see a lot of water birds, such as African fishing eagles, darters, cormorants, and storks, which will add to the fun.

Tour Behind the Scenes
Want to see how the park is run up close, talk to guards, and see patrols to stop poaching? Few people get to see the inside of a wildlife group like this one-of-a-kind 90-minute show.

Take the Walk the Line Tour.
You can now test your skills by walking the park’s edges like the guards do. Along the 7 km (4.3 mi) path, you’ll be led by a guide and see farmers, ranchers, birds, and maybe even some animals.

Check out Akagera National Park.
See how this beautiful park has miraculously come back to life with its restored plants and animals. There are more and more lions and rhinos in this wild ecosystem, which is also growing. Enjoy the wide range of animals that live in an area that looks like a savannah. You can also go on a water tour to see lots of waterfowl, hippos, and dangerous Nile crocodiles. Akagera is now once again a beautiful park.

African Safari Kenya can help you see Akagera National Park.
Come see this park that has been brought back to life. It may have the best range of wildlife in the country. African Safari Kenya will plan a trip just for you.