Eastern Province
Akagera National Park
Rwanda's savannah, and the country's Big Five
01The place
Akagera is the other Rwanda. After the terraced hills and the rainforest, the land opens out into savannah, and the horizon comes back. The park runs along the Tanzanian border, and its eastern edge is a chain of lakes and papyrus swamp fed by the Akagera River.
It is also one of Africa's clearest conservation turnarounds. Managed since 2010 by African Parks in partnership with the Rwanda Development Board, the park saw lions returned in 2015 after decades of local extinction and eastern black rhinos brought back in 2017. Akagera is a Big Five park again.
The northern sector is open plains and is where the lion and rhino sightings concentrate. The south is lake country: hippo, crocodile, and enormous numbers of waterbirds along the shore of Lake Ihema.
- Region
- Eastern Province
- From Kigali
- About 2.5 hours by road
- Landscape
- Savannah, lakes and papyrus swamp
- Known for
- Big Five, boat safaris, night drives
- Recommended stay
- 2 to 3 nights
02Why visit
- 01
The Big Five, an hour from a rainforest
Nowhere else lets you track gorillas in montane forest and look for lion and rhino on open savannah within the same short trip.
- 02
Boat safari on Lake Ihema
Pods of hippo, basking crocodiles and a shoreline thick with herons, storks and fish eagles — seen at water level from a small boat.
- 03
Night drives
Akagera is one of the few parks in the region to permit guided night drives, which is when hyena, bushbaby, civet and sometimes leopard are moving.
- 04
A serious birding park
The mix of savannah, swamp and lake supports a very long bird list, including the shoebill in the papyrus.
03Akagera in pictures
04Things to do
- Game drives in the northern plains
- Boat safari on Lake Ihema
- Guided night drive
- Behind-the-scenes rhino and lion tracking with the conservation team
- Birding in the papyrus swamps
- Sundowners on the Mutumba hills
- Fishing on the lakes
- Camping inside the park
05Attractions
Lake Ihema
The largest of the park's lakes and the base for boat safaris, with one of the denser hippo populations in the region.
The northern plains
Open, rolling grassland where the reintroduced lions hunt and where rhino sightings are most likely.
Mutumba hills
High ground with long views over the savannah and the lake chain — the classic Akagera sundowner spot.
The papyrus swamps
Dense wetland along the Akagera River, the habitat for shoebill, papyrus gonolek and a great deal else.
06When to go
The drier months concentrate animals around water and make the tracks easier, though the park is open and rewarding all year.
- JanJan: best time to visit
- FebFeb: best time to visit
- MarMar: shoulder season
- AprApr: shoulder season
- MayMay: shoulder season
- JunJun: best time to visit
- JulJul: best time to visit
- AugAug: best time to visit
- SepSep: best time to visit
- OctOct: shoulder season
- NovNov: shoulder season
- DecDec: best time to visit
- In the dry season the grass is short and wildlife gathers at the lakes, which makes for easier sightings.
- The wet months are green, dramatic and much quieter, and the birding is at its best.
07Getting there
- From Kigali · Road
- About 2.5 hours to the southern gate
- From Kigali · Helicopter
- Around 30 minutesCharter, arranged on request.
- From Volcanoes National Park · Road
- About 5 to 6 hours
08Where to stay
- A small number of lodges and tented camps inside the park, from campsites to high-end tented suites.
- Lakeside options in the south are convenient for boat safaris; northern camps put you closer to lion and rhino country.
- Staying inside the park is worth it here — the gates open early and the best game viewing is at first light.
09What to do here
Experiences in Akagera
Wildlife Safari
Big Five game drives on Rwanda's eastern savannah
Open savannah, acacia woodland and a chain of lakes in Akagera — game drives for lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo, giraffe and zebra.
Half day to multiple daysEasy
Boat Safari
Hippo, crocodile and fish eagles at water level
A small boat on Lake Ihema in Akagera, among the hippo pods and basking crocodiles, with one of the densest concentrations of waterbirds in the region.
About 1 to 2 hoursEasy
Night Safari
The park after the gates would normally close
A guided drive after dark in Akagera, with a spotlight — hyena, bushbaby, civet, genet and occasionally leopard, none of which you would see by day.
About 2 hoursEasy
Bird Watching
Papyrus swamp, savannah and rainforest in one small country
Rwanda packs wetland, savannah and montane forest into a short drive, which makes for a very long bird list — including shoebill and dozens of Albertine Rift endemics.
Half day to a full itineraryEasy
Photography Tours
Built around light, not around a checklist
Itineraries paced for photographers — first and last light in the right places, vehicles you can shoot from properly, and guides who understand why you are waiting.
Tailored, typically 7 days or moreModerate
10Journeys that go here
Tours including Akagera
5 days · 4 nights
5-Day Rwanda Wildlife Adventure
Big Five savannah and mountain gorillas in one week
Akagera's plains and lakes for the Big Five, then north to the Virungas for a gorilla trek — the two headline experiences, without rushing either.
ClassicModeratePrice on request
7 days · 6 nights
7-Day Rwanda Discovery
Gorillas, rainforest and the lake in between
Kigali, the Virungas for gorillas, down the shore of Lake Kivu, and into Nyungwe for chimpanzees and the canopy walk.
ClassicModeratePrice on request
10 days · 9 nights
10-Day Rwanda Complete Experience
The whole country, at a pace that lets you enjoy it
Kigali, Akagera's savannah, the Virunga gorillas, Lake Kivu and Nyungwe's rainforest — every landscape Rwanda has, without a forced march.
ClassicModeratePrice on request
Yes — lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino are all present following the reintroduction of lions in 2015 and black rhinos in 2017. Leopard remains the hardest to see, as it is everywhere. Two full days gives you a fair chance at the rest.
Plan Akagera
Build a trip around Akagera
Tell us roughly when you want to travel and what you want to see. We will come back with an itinerary built around it, not a package pulled off a shelf.