Fishing in akagera national park

Fishing in Akagera national park
Fishing in akagera national park : Fishing is among one of the interesting activities that visitors can engage in while on holiday in Akagera National Park. The national park is located in the north eastern part of Rwanda, in the districts of Kayonza and Nyagatare. The park covers about 1,122 square kilometers is the largest national park in Rwanda.
Akagera national park established in 1934 by the Belgian colonial government and previously covered 2,500 square kilometers. However, much of this national park was destroyed after the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Today, although the park has to been restored to original size, a great effort has been made to restore it back to its former glory by reintroducing most of the wildlife species that had gone extinct in the park. Among these include; the reintroduction of 18 black eastern rhinos in 2017 and five more from Europe in 2019 and 7 lions that were translocated to the national park in 2015.
The national park is currently being managed by the Akagera Management Company, following a joint collaboration by Rwanda Development Board and African Parks, a non-government organization.
Fishing in Akagera Park.
Fishing in Akagera National Park is such an amazing experience to embark on for any traveler visiting the national park. Visitors can choose to combine fishing with a boat trip on any of the popular lakes in the park. Akagera national park has about 10 lakes that are located within the national park itself, and visitors can explore any of these lakes while on a visit to the national park. among some of the most visited lakes in Akagera national park are; Lake Ihema that is famous for boat trips, Lake Gishanju, Lake Mahindi, and Lake Shakani among others.
Majority of the fishing activities in Akagera National Park are conducted on Lake Shakani. Visitors interested carrying out fishing in the lake have an opportunity to catch fish species such as; tilapia and cat fish among others.
There are also fishing tournaments/ competitions that are carried out every year in Akagera National Park. Tourists interested in taking part in these fishing competitions need to prepare at least 6 months in advance. However, it is important for interested parties to know that the catch-and-release fishing tournaments are not directly organized by the national park but rather by Akagera Game Lodge, which is situated with the national park.
Also, since the lodge has limited fishing equipment, visitors are advised to come with their own fishing equipment in order to avoid any inconveniences. Visitors who are interested in fishing activities in Akagera national park have to pay a fee of USD 25 dollars per person, per day and children aged between 6 to 12 years of age are charged USD 15 dollars.
Fishing activities on Lake Shakani in Akagera national park, involve visitors also learning about the various methods of fishing that are used in Rwanda and these include; the cast net method, the gill net method, the Lampara, Spearing and shoot arrow method, the Scoop net method and lastly the Hooking method.
While fishing, visitors can enjoy a cold drink while listening to folk songs and folk tales or stories that are told by the local fishermen. This is also a great opportunity for visitors to interact with the local people of Rwanda, and learn more about the Rwandan cultures.
Akagera national park in Rwanda offers visitors a wide range of activities to engage in and these include;
Game drives: Akagera National Park offers tourists visiting the park guided game visitors. Visitors can decide to combine fishing trips with a guided game drive in the national park. The park offers visitors morning, afternoon and night game drives. While on a game drive in the national park, visitors a blessed with a chance to see wonderful wildlife species such as; lions, elephants, leopards, rhinos, buffaloes, hyenas, oribis, zebras, giraffes, and antelopes among others.
Boat Trips: Aside from fishing, visitors in Akagera can also opt to embark on a boat trip on Lake Ihema, which is the biggest lake in the national park. The national park offers visitors scheduled boat trips at 7:30am, 9am, 3pm, and 4:30pm. However, there are also non-scheduled boat trips available in the national park for visitors who wish to have private tours.
Other activities that are available in Akagera national park include; camping, behind the scenes tour, walk the line, and community cultural experiences. All these activities can be combined with fishing activities in the national park.
Contact our team of expert travel consultants for any bookings or inquires about fishing activities in Akagera National Park, and get a chance to explore this vast and magnificent national park.