Akagera National Park is rare conservation area of Rwanda. It is the only place to find a savannah grassy land in the whole Country making it to stand out from the other national parks, it was one of the biggest national park in Rwanda, before being gazette, the park was at first a game reserve with a rich Bio diverse environment, it was declared a national park in the 1934 as a way for protecting animal species that call this home, it initially covered 2500square kilometers and stood out to be the largest national park, this was reduced by the continued poaching from the victims of the 1994 Rwanda genocide, thanks to the Rwandan government, there has been a great protection of the park, the reintroduction of lions in Akagera National Park puts it to have all what you expect from the African wilderness.
Most of the park area is covers in water bodies’ lakes, rivers and large swampy areas it shelters large mammal species like lions, elephants, buffaloes, Rhinos, Antelopes of several. Kinds including zebras, warthogs, Jackson hartebeests, wildebeests, oribi, waterbucks, to mention are, the park is a perfect destination to see birds there are over 500 species of birds that have been recorded in the national park to date, this makes it a great destination to do birding on a visit to the national park example species that can be found here include the rare shoe bill stock, pelicans, sunbirds, Abyssinian ground horn bills to mention a few. There are 10 lakes in the national park which occupy most of the park premises, most commonly used for tourism activities includes Lake Shakini and Lake Ihema.
Tourist that visit the national park can take part in several activities including game drives, these are conducted in the early morning in search of morning risers, more so the cat family, afternoon time when the sun is it o hot for everyone and best place to so the night game drive, these are done using 4*4Wheel car drive with an open roof to enable you to have better views of the wild animals and also be able to take pictures game drives last for 2-3 house through the well distributed game tracks of the forest, boat cruise along Lake Ihema is idea to do while in the national park, this prenatal a chance and opportunity to view most of the park species more so the water kinds like hippos an crocodiles. Birding in the Akagera national park is distinctive, it is amazing and a vigorous count to witness for example the African fish eagle, swamp fly catchers, sunbirds, for a better birding experience, it is important to have the proper equipment like binoculars, high lens cameras.
Akagera National Park can be visited all throughout the year, it is best during the dry season when the tracks are less slippery, the park can be accessed by road approximately 2 hours’ drive from Kigali or by helicopter for 25min to arrive at the destination. There is available accommodation in the park ranging from the best budget to Luxury, example facilities include the Akagera Game Lodge, and Rusizi Tented Camp.