Rwanda wildlife tours

Rwanda wildlife tours

Rwanda wildlife tours ,Rwanda is mainly known for its mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, and lush green hills, unique cultural heritage, majestic volcanic mountains, and of course the clean streets of her capital, Kigali. However, this country has a lot more to offer visitors flying into the country.

Rwanda is also a haven for a variety of savannah animals, such as the famous Big Five animals, giraffes, zebras and so many other wildlife animals. Visitors who wish to view large land animals during your visit to Rwanda should pay a visit to Akagera National Park. The national park is the only wildlife destination for savannah wildlife animals in Rwanda.

Akagera National Park is the biggest national park in Rwanda, spanning over 1,122 square kilometers. It is also one of the oldest national parks on the African continent, following its establishment in 1934.

Originally, the national park covered 2,500 square kilometers, but much of it was destroyed following the return of Rwandan refugees, who had fled the 1994 Rwanda Genocide. A large portion of the national park was lost to large scale deforestation, land encroachment, and most of the wildlife animals were hunted down by the masses as an alternative source of protein food.

However, following the creation of the Akagera Management Company in 2010, much of has successfully been restored to its former glory, and majority of the wildlife animals like lions, rhinos and elephants that had gone extinct in the national park have been reintroduced back to the park.

Akagera National Park is located in the eastern province of Rwanda, in the districts of Kayonza and Nyagatare. Most wildlife tours or safaris in Rwanda take place in Akagera, and visitors travelling to this national park can be sure to sight savannah wildlife animals like the African Bush Elephants, lions, buffaloes, the black eastern rhinoceros, leopards, the Burchell’s zebras, giraffes, topi, antelopes, impala, duikers, Sitatunga, hippos, crocodiles and so many more.

Rwanda wildlife tours in Akagera National Park also have visitors exploring the vast variety of birds residing within the national park. The national park is home to over 500 species of birds, and among some of the commonly sighted birds in the park include; the suaza shrike, marabou storks, the white egret, the African fish eagle, the open billed stork, herons, the African darter, the papyrus Ganalex, the black-headed weaver bird, and the grey-crowned crane among others.

A recent wildlife census that was carried out in the national park showed that there are over 8000 large wildlife animals living within the savannah grasslands in Akagera national park. The national park has about 100 African Bush Elephants, over 80 giraffes, more than 25 black eastern rhinos, over 1000 buffaloes and about 20 lions. This national park is home to over 12 different species of antelopes, and they are among some of the commonly sighted wildlife animals in Akagera national park.

The best way for visitors to explore Akagera national park and view wildlife in the park is during a game drive. The national park offers visitors game drives starting from 6:30 am every morning, at 12pm in the afternoons and 6pm in the evenings. Evening or Night game drives in Akagera national park give visitors a great opportunity to view most nocturnal wildlife animals such as leopards, lions, serval cats and others.

Game drives in Akagera national park last between 1-3 hours and cost a fee of USD 30 dollars for day game drives, and USD 40 dollars per person for a night game drive. Visitors are usually recommended to hire a park ranger/guide to accompany you during your game drives in the park. This is really important as the guides know exactly where to locate the animals, which will save you a lot of time and stress.

However, you should make sure that you save an extra seat for the guide/ ranger and make sure you set an extra USD 25 dollars for the guide. Visitors can also get to sight nocturnal birds like Owls, during a night game drive.

The best time for visitors to do wildlife tours in Akagera national park is during the dry season, which is between June to September and February to December. Tourists visiting the national park during this period have higher chances of seeing a variety of wildlife animals in the park, plus it is much easier for visitors to drive around the national park.

Visitors planning to stay in the national park for a much longer period, say for a 2 days safari or 3 days safari, can find accommodation within the park, in the following places; Akagera Game Lodge, Ruzizi Tented Camp, Magashi Safari Camp, and Karenge Bush Camp. These lodging facilities and campsites offer visitors a range of services from budget, mid-range and luxury accommodation options.

Getting to Akagera National Park is so easy. Visitors travelling to the national park can access it either by road or air. The national park is located about 110 kilometers from Kigali City, which is approximately a two and half hour drive to the park. Visitors can also access the park via air by boarding domestic flights from Kigali International Airport. Akagera Aviation Company offers domestic flights to the national park and these flights take between 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Akagera National Park is the only national park in Rwanda where you will have the chance to see savannah wildlife animals including the Big Five. So, when planning your Rwanda Safari, do not forget to include a visit to Akagera National Park.

Book with us a wildlife safari to Akagera National Park and get to explore the park in style and comfort while on a game drive.