Akagera National Park is located in the east of Rwanda. It is an expanse of savannah punctuated with eight lakes which attract thirsty giraffes, zebras, antelopes and elephants daily. Kibungu is the city that is nearest to the park and the best starting point. The park covers over 2500 sq km of savannah west of the Kagera River, which denotes the frontier with Tanzania. 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 characterise much of Rwanda.

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 savannah landscape of tangled acacia woodland interspersed with open grassland. The park has a variety of wildlife and is a habitat for over 500 different species of birds. It is best not to visit the park in the rainy season (December, March and April) since many of the routes become impassable.

Herds of elephant 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. Giraffe and zebra haunt the savannah, and more than a 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. Camping alongside the picturesque lakes of Akagera is a truly mystical introduction to the wonders of the African bush. Pods of 50 hippopotami grunt and splutter throughout the day, while outsized crocodiles soak up the sun with their vast jaws menacingly agape.

Accommodation in Akagera

Images of Akagera