Akagera National Park is one of the most visited national parks of Rwanda, it is situated on the eastern side along the country’s border with Tanzania, the biodiverse environment is the only savannah park of the four conservation areas of the country, and it hosts several several animal species including the so-called big five of the wilderness(Lions, elephants, leopards, rhinos, buffaloes), and over 500 species of birds, the national park protects the largest wetland area of Rwanda, there are about five lakes and the famous of all is the Lake Ihema where boat cruises in Rwanda are conducted.
Akagera National Park is an exciting destination, allowing visitors to view unique animal and plant species in different environments, the natural beauty of the ice-blue lakes overlooking amazing accommodation facilities that have been carefully crafted along the banks leaves travellers wanting to enjoy more experiences, in the park is the oldest and largest ecosystem of Rwanda which was first gazette in 1934 as a national park, it is home to many animal species, for example, zebras, klipspringer, roan antelopes, giraffes, waterbucks, warthogs, hyenas, jackals, to mention a few and over 500 species of birds.
Tourism activities in Akagera National Park can be done all year round, these include game drives, boat cruise experiences, cultural tours, experiential behind-the-scenes tours, and guided nature walks, however the best time to visit Akagera National Park is during the dry seasons, the park experiences 2 dry seasons the short one runs in December, February and January, and the long dry season in June, July, August, September, visitors will experience a warmer climate condition. The trails of the forest seem to be much drier and convenient to do park activities like game drives, the grasses are shorter and permit the view of animals easily, plus the ones that gather around waterbodies to drink water.
During the wet season, on the other hand, is possible to visit the conservation area, it is the best time to go birding, it is mostly a fruiting time with lots of migratory species coming into the country, it is regarded as a low season time and hence most of the accommodation facilities tend to offer discounted rates to travellers more so agents who sell their properties. Trips to the park can be combined with those to other national parks like the Volcanoes National Park and the Nyungwe Forest National Park.
Akagera National Park can be accessed easily by road from the Kigali International Airport, it takes approximately 3 hours drive to pass through the amazing countryside of Rwanda, and the back drop of the rolling amazing hills is not to miss, charter flights can be arranged by domestic ground handlers for example the Akagera aviation to the destination flying is an option for the very high end travelers and those with less time to make it to the park. There is available accommodation in the national park from the best budget to luxury, example facilities include Magashi tented camp, and Akagera Game Lodge to mention a few.