Akagera National Park
Akagera National Park, in Rwanda’s far east along the Tanzanian border, is the country’s only Big Five destination and one of Africa’s most dramatic conservation turnaround stories. Named after the Akagera River that feeds the park’s network of lakes and wetlands, the park covers roughly 1,122 square kilometres of savannah, woodland and papyrus swamp, a landscape that looks more like classic East African bush than the volcanoes and rainforest most visitors associate with Rwanda.
A Conservation Comeback
From Near-Collapse to Big Five Status
Following the 1994 genocide, Akagera lost more than two-thirds of its land to resettlement and saw its wildlife decimated by poaching, with lions disappearing entirely by the early 2000s. A partnership between Rwanda Development Board and African Parks, begun in 2010, rebuilt the park’s fencing, ranger force and wildlife populations from the ground up.
- Lion Reintroduction: Seven lions were reintroduced from South Africa in 2015, the species’ first return to Rwanda in fifteen years.
- Rhino Reintroduction: Eastern black rhinos followed in 2017 and 2019, restoring Akagera’s Big Five status and making Rwanda one of the few countries where all five species can be seen in a single park.
A Model for Africa: Akagera’s recovery is now studied as a template for post-conflict conservation elsewhere on the continent, combining strict anti-poaching enforcement with tangible benefits for neighbouring communities.
Wildlife of Akagera
The Big Five and Beyond
Akagera now supports healthy populations of lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes and both black and white rhinos, alongside giraffes, zebras, elands and topis across its savannah plains.
- Lake Ihema: The park’s second-largest lake holds one of Africa’s densest hippo and crocodile populations, best seen on a boat safari.
- Birdlife: Over 525 bird species have been recorded, including the rare and prehistoric-looking shoebill stork in the park’s papyrus swamps, making Akagera a genuine birding destination in its own right.
Rwanda’s Only Savannah Park: For travellers who have come to Rwanda primarily for gorilla trekking, Akagera offers the classic open-plains game drive experience within a few hours’ drive of Kigali.
Activities in Akagera
Game Drives and Boat Safaris
Akagera is explored by 4×4 vehicle across a well-maintained network of game-drive tracks, with early morning and late afternoon drives offering the best wildlife activity.
- Boat Safari on Lake Ihema: A relaxed alternative to a game drive, bringing you close to hippo pods, basking crocodiles and water birds without the dust of a savannah track.
- Night Game Drives: One of the few parks in the region offering after-dark drives, giving a chance to spot nocturnal species such as leopards, genets and bush babies.
Behind the Scenes Rhino Tracking
A specialist add-on activity brings visitors alongside Akagera’s anti-poaching rangers for an on-foot rhino monitoring exercise, offering direct insight into the daily conservation work protecting the species.
Where to Stay in Akagera
Akagera’s accommodation options are smaller in number than the busier parks further west, reflecting the park’s lower visitor volumes.
- Luxury Options: Magashi Camp, a tented camp on the shores of Lake Rwanyakazinga, is Akagera’s flagship luxury property.
- Mid-range and Budget Options: Akagera Game Lodge overlooks Lake Ihema, while Ruzizi Tented Lodge and the park’s public campsites offer more affordable ways to stay inside the park boundary.
Conservation Impact
Akagera’s revenue model channels park fees directly into community projects in the districts bordering the park, including a revenue-sharing scheme that has funded schools, clean water access and livestock programmes. This has measurably reduced human-wildlife conflict and poaching incidents compared to the park’s lowest point in the 2000s, making Akagera a rare case where tourism revenue and conservation outcomes have visibly reinforced each other within a single generation.
Combined with gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park or chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe, a visit to Akagera rounds out a Rwanda safari with the classic savannah wildlife experience the country’s forests and volcanoes cannot offer on their own.