1 Day Akagera national park - Big 5 & Big Cats safari

This 1 Day Akagera national park - Big 5 & Big Cats safari makes a perfect escape out of the city for just a day.

This tour is perfect if you are in Rwanda for a very limited time, but have time to spare for a Wildlife expedition.

Akagera national park is located in Eastern Rwanda on the border with Tanzania. African parks is currently managing this park and has done a great job with the conservation. In the past there were lots of conflict between people and the park but this was solved by fencing off part of the park and the introduction of community tours where visitors are encouraged to visit the communities and benefit accordingly.

Akagera national park is a the only Savannah park in Rwanda and is home to several mammal species including Lions, Elephants, Giraffes, Hippos, Kobs, Zebras, Bushbucks, Waterbucks and most recently Black Rhinos have been introduces from South Africa, making Akagera national park officially a big 5 park like it was many years ago. It is also home to numerous bird species in the several habitats which include woodland, swamps, lakes and Savannah.

Today early morning we leave Kigali at about 5 am for a day trip to Akagera national park, which is about 2.5 hours away from Kigali. Akagera national park is majorly a Savannah park with Elephants, Zebras, Giraffes, Buffaloes, and recently introduced Lions.

We shall take a game drive in search of these mammals. The game drive can last about 4 hours depending on the animal sightings and interest.

Have a picnic lunch and drive your way out of the park arriving in Kigali later that evening on your 1 Day Akagera national park - Big 5 & Big Cats safari.

Found on the Rwanda Tanzania border, Akagera is consists of swamps, open grasslands, lakes, woodland and savannah. Numerous elephants plus buffaloes gather around the lakes while zebras plus giraffes are common in the savannah. The park is home to leopards, hyenas, lions plus over twelve antelope species.  In addition, you will find crocodiles plus hippos close to the lakes.

Among the bird species that make up the prolific birdlife here are the grand fish eagles plus great number of water birds. Within the swamps you will see the papyrus gonolek as well as the adored shoebill stork.

Akagera National Park is situated in eastern Rwanda and the nearest city t the park is Kibungu which serves as the start point for safaris to this park.

Akagera National Park covers an expanse of more than 2500 sq km west of River Kagera, which represent the border with Tanzania. This park is home to a diversity of wildlife and hosts more than 500 bird species. You will find accommodation facilities on the rim of the park just at Gabiro only 100 kilometers to the north. We recommend that you avoid visiting the park during the rainy months of April, December and March as most of the routes are impassable.

“Akagera, having a complex blend of landscapes, vegetation as well as animals … is a very unique place on the planet, a place worth preserveing preserve no matter the costs for the future generations.” as stated by Jean guide, in the conservation magazine Africa Environment and Wildlife.

The park comes as a thrilling surprise right after steep well cultivated hills and the breezy climate which characterizes the remainder of the country. found at a somewhat low altitude on Rwanda’s border with Tanzania, this wonderful  game reserve preserves a typical African savannah terrain of tangled acacia plus brachystegia bush, scattered with pieces of open grassland plus a couple of lakes surrounded by swamps which follow the winding River Akagera course.

Akagera is, a big game haven as Herds of giant elephants and buffalos come from the woodland to the lakes to drink some water and actually lucky visitors can come across a spotted hyena, a leopard, or even a lion. Giraffes, zebras, antelopes like the chestnut-coated impalas, oribi, bushbucks, Cape elands as well as the tsessebe can all be seen in this park.

Choosing to Camping alongside the beautiful Akagera lakes is certainly a mystical introduction to the beautiful wonders of this African bush. You will be fascinated by schools of hippos and giant crocodiles in addition to the various bird species here.

Rwanda like its other East African counterparts has a lot to offer as a tourist destination. The Akagera national park is one of the many tourist attractions in the land of a thousand hills.

The Akagera National Park is named after river Kagera/ Akagera which runs through the park. The park is made of open savannah plains, pleasant hills broad leafed-forests, candelabra euphoria trees, lakes teaming with crocodiles and an impressively large concentration of hippos. This park has very exquisite scenic views.