Akagera National Park
Akagera National Park - Big game country.
Set at a relatively low altitude on the border with Tanzania, Akagera National Park could scarcely be more different in mood to the breezy cultivated hills that characterize much of Rwanda. The park got its name from the river that runs along its eastern boundary; The Park is Rwanda’s famous Savanna reserve. Dominated scenically by the labyrinth of swamps and lakes that follow the meandering course of the Akagera River, the most remote source of the Nile, this is archetypal African savanna landscape of tangled acacia woodland interspersed with open grassland.
Getting There:
Road Transport:
Akagera can be accessed from Kigali in a two hours long drive and from Kibungo or Rwamagana in about one hour. The only usable entrance gate, 500m from the new Akagera Game Lodge, is reached through a 27km dirt road which branches from the main surfaced road at Kabarondo, 15km north of Kibungo. This dirt road is in fair condition, passable by any vehicle except after rain. Within the park, however, a 4×4 is advisable, though any vehicle with good clearance should be okay in the dry season.
Famous For:
Wildlife:
Herds of elephants and buffalo emerge from the woodland to drink at the lakes, while lucky visitors might stumble across a leopard, a spotted hyena or even a stray lion. Zebra and Giraffe haunt the savanna and amore than dozen types of antelope inhabit the park, most commonly the handsome chestnut-coated impala, but also the diminutive Oribi and secretive bushbuck, as well as the ungainly tsessebe and the world’s largest antelope, the statuesque cape eland.
The mighty Akagera River:
The mighty Akagera River feeds a complex of a dozen of lakes linked by extensive papyrus swamps and winding water. The eastern part of the park is covered with wetland. The mighty Akagera River feeds aAÿcomplex of a dozen of lakes linked by extensive papyrus swamps and winding water.
The lakes support some of the highest concentrations of hippo you will not find anywhere in Africa, as well as numerous large crocodiles, while lion, leopard and black rhino are still in small numbers.
Scenarary:
Akagera is among the most scenic of savanna reserves, with savanna landscapes of tangled acacia woodland interspersed with open grassland.
Visitor Activities:
Wildlife viewing:
Akegera is above all, big game country with herds of elephant and buffalo, spotted hyena, antelope, chestnut impala among others. Game drives are available if you ideally have a 4×4 unless if you are staying at the lodge. Guides are provided at no extra charge and they will help you to find your way around.
The possibilities for game drives are restricted by the fact that the park can only be entered near Lake Ihema and the Game Lodge. In a long half-day, you could realistically travel from the entrance as far north as the Mutumba Hills, and back.
Camping:
It is a truly mystical introduction to the wonders of the African bush when one does camping alongside the picturesque lakes of Akagera. Pods of 50 hippopotami grunt and splutter throughout the day, while outsized crocodiles soak up the sun with their vastjaws menacingly agape.
Bird watching:
Magically, the air is torn apart by the unforgettable high duetting of pairs of fish eagles, asserting their status as the avian monarchs of Africa’s waterways.
Lining the lakes are some of the continents densest concentration of water birds, while the connecting marshes are the haunt of the endangered and exquisite papyrus gonolek, and the bizarre shoebill stork.
Boat Trips:
Boat trips are available on Lake Ihema, and are worthwhile. You should Book in advance through ORTPN in Kigali. Close encounters with outsize crocodiles and large pods of hippo are all but guaranteed, and you will also pass substantial breeding colonies of African darter, cormorant and open-bill stork.
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