1 Day tour Akagera National Park

Come and discover Rwanda's Savannah Park developing step by step after the 1994 genocide that almost wiped the whole park away.
Short Trips 1 Days

About Akagera national park:

Akagera National Park lies in eastern Rwanda, hugging the border with Tanzania. It’s characterized by woodland, swamps, low mountains and Savannah. The varied terrain shelters wildlife including zebras, giraffes, elephants, lions and hundreds of bird species, such as the rare shoebill stork. In the southern part of the park, vast Lake Ihema is home to hippos and crocodile. The Park is closer to a town called Kibungu the perfect starting point for tourist activities in the park. Akagera national park is located in the north east of Rwanda along the border with Tanzania. Akagera national park covers 1,200 square kilometers (120,000 ha). And it’s approximately 110 km from the capital city of Rwanda. It was gazetted in 1934 to protect animals and vegetation in three ecosystems: Savannah, mountain and swamp. The park is named after the Akagera river which flows along its eastern boundary feeding into several lakes where the largest of which is Lake Ihema. The complex system of lakes and linking papyrus swamps makes up over a third of the park, and is the largest protected wetland in eastern-central Africa.

Discover a different world safari in Akagera National Park with New Planet Agency. This is a safari experience unlike any of Rwanda’s neighbors.

The park is named for the Akagera River which flows along its eastern boundary feeding into several lakes the largest of which is Lake Ihema.
The complex system of lakes and linking papyrus swamps makes up over 1/3 of the park and is the largest protected wetland in central Africa. Forest fringed lakes, papyrus swamps, Savannah plains and rolling highlands combined in a relatively small area make Akagera among the most scenic of Savannah reserves. The park’s road is bumpy so get ready for an African massage.

Akagera has exceptional levels of biodiversity, partly due to its position at the confluence of different vegetation zones. The extensive systems of freshwater lakes and associated papyrus swamps form the largest protected wetland in central Africa.
Different species can be found at the park such as zebras, rhinos, giraffes, baboons, Topi’s, impalas, bush-buck,statitunga antelopes,hippos,Oribi,large eland antelopes, velvet monkeys, water bucks,warthogs,elephants,Masai giraffes, olive baboons with the lions being rarely seen.

 Tour highlights

  • 5:00am-7:00am =Hotel pickup and drive to Akagera national park
  • 7:20am-8:30am = Breakfast at Akagera game lodge and game drive
  • 1:00pm-1:45pm=Lunch break
  • 2:00pm-8:00pm =Afternoon game drive and transfer to Kigali

Detailed tour

5:00 am: Hotel pickup and drive to Akagera National game park.
Duration:2 hrs 30 mins

Today early morning we leave Kigali at about 5 am for a day trip to Akagera national park, which is about 2 hrs and a half away from Kigali. Akagera national park is majorly a Savannah park with Elephants, Zebras, Giraffes, Buffaloes, and recently introduced Lions.

elephants a long lake ihema

7:30 am-8:30 am: Breakfast at Akagera game lodge.
Duration:1 hour

After enjoying your breakfast at Akagera game lodge, we shall take on the game drive in search of mammal species including Lions, Elephants, Giraffes, Hippos, Kobs, Zebras, Bush-bucks, Water bucks, hippos, crocodiles and many more. The game drive can last about 4 hours or more depending on the animal sightings and interest.

Topi’s in Akagera national park

2:00 pm-5:00 pm: Afternoon game drive
Duration: 2 hours

After our lunch break, we shall continue with the afternoon game drive to the savanna plains as we head out of the park, we shall be able to see more animals that we missed out on from the southern part of the park. there after we shall drive out of the park back to Kigali, it will take us about 2 hrs 30 mins to reach Kigali city

Included in the package

  • A bottle of drinking water
  • Ground transport 4*4 safari car
  • Breakfast
  • Park entrance fees
  • Service of an English-speaking driver guide

Excluded in the package

  • Tips to porters and driver/ guide
  • Personal Insurance
  • Alcoholic drinks

What to carry

  • Sun hut
  • Sunglasses
  • Sweater
  • camera