Rwanda's Big Five comeback story
Akagera National Park
Akagera National Park is one of conservation's great comebacks: written off after the 1990s, it was restocked, refenced and rewilded (lions returned in 2015, black rhinos in 2017) and today it is a fully fledged Big Five…
The destination
About Akagera National Park
Akagera National Park is one of conservation's great comebacks: written off after the 1990s, it was restocked, refenced and rewilded (lions returned in 2015, black rhinos in 2017) and today it is a fully fledged Big Five destination just two and a half hours east of Kigali. Its landscape is unlike anywhere else in Rwanda: low rolling savannah laced with papyrus swamps and a chain of lakes along the Tanzanian border. Boat safaris on Lake Ihema drift past huge hippo pods, crocodiles and African fish eagles, while game drives thread the acacia country for elephant, giraffe, leopard and the returning rhinos.
Highlights
- Big Five game drives two hours from Kigali
- Boat safari on Lake Ihema
- One of Africa's largest protected wetlands
- Behind-the-scenes conservation experiences
- Night drives for leopard and hyena
Wildlife to watch for
- Lions and leopards
- Black rhino
- Elephant and buffalo
- Masai giraffe and zebra
- Shoebill and papyrus gonolek
Things to do
- Game drives
- Boat safaris
- Night drives
- Sport fishing
- Community visits
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