3-days Akagera national park is a wildlife-themed safari that will offer you the ultimate game drive experience in the natural wilderness and habitat.
Enjoy a wildlife-themed adventure experience in the wilderness of Akagera national park. The newly introduced lions from South Africa into Akagera have been game-changers, with improved park systems and road networks. Akagera national park is now more interesting with lots of wildlife to look out for.
Overview
Akagera is practically unrecognizable today compared to just 20 years ago when it was on the verge of being lost for eternity. While peace was finally restored in the 1990s after the 1994 Genocide, Akagera’s end was just beginning. Refugees returning home to Rwanda after the genocide were still battling for their own survival and turned to the forests for timber, wildlife for game meat and the wild savannas for grazing their livestock.
Lions were hunted to nearby annihilation, rhinos vanished, and the park’s wildlife was displaced by tens of thousands of long-horned cattle. Biodiversity was practically lost, and with it so were employment and tourism. The park’s value was virtually diminished, which makes its story of revival even more remarkable.
In 2010, African Parks assumed management of Akagera in partnership with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). They shifted the park’s trajectory from one of blankness to prosperity and hope. Following quite a while of planning, through viable law enforcement and management, 2017 saw the historic return of 18 Eastern black rhinoceros.
This was after a 10-year absence, thanks to the support from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. An additional five captive-bred black rhinos were translocated from Europe in June 2019. Through the support of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), to augment the genetic diversity. Two new male lions were also translocated to Akagera in 2017 to enhance the genetic diversity of the growing pride, which has now tripled since their initial reintroduction in 2015.
With poaching essentially ended, the park’s key wildlife populations have continued to rise. The park is generating revenue, making it self-financing driven by the tens of thousands of people, half of whom are nationals, coming to see its resurrection.
Day 1: Transfer to Akagera National Park
Pick up from your hotel in Kigali driving through the country’s remarkable landscape, which will give you views of the country’s beauty and its people’s lifestyle.
The first game-drive circuit will be southern L. Ihema, searching for animals like elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, hippos, crocodiles, antelopes and much more. Dine and overnight at the hotel.
Day 2: Morning game drive and a boat ride on Lake Ihema
After breakfast, head for the northern circuit extending your game drive. Search for the animals that you might have missed out on in the southern circuit. The newly introduced lions from South Africa reside in this part. After lunch, we take you to L. Ihema for a boat ride. The great views of the surrounding areas, hills, and swamps. Hippos, crocodiles and many bird species call it home. Dine and overnight at the hotel.
Day 3: Nature walk and transfer to Kigali city
Soon after breakfast, embark on a nature walk searching for different bird species. We drive you back to Kigali after lunch after a successful safari. Dine and overnight in a hotel.
Options are of course many and varied and in many cases, we can be flexible about the itinerary for accommodation facilities and the extension of the safari destinations.
