AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK

Experience a Luxury Big Five Safari in the Land of a Thousand Hills

For travellers who associate Rwanda primarily with mountain gorillas and mist-covered rainforests, Akagera National Park reveals an entirely different side of the country. Located in eastern Rwanda along the border with Tanzania, Akagera is a spectacular landscape of rolling savannah, woodland, wetlands, lakes and open plains, offering one of East Africa’s most rewarding and rapidly evolving wildlife experiences.

Today, Akagera National Park is Rwanda’s premier savannah safari destination and the place to experience a classic Big Five safari in Rwanda. Lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo and both black and white rhinos inhabit the park, alongside giraffes, zebras, hippos, crocodiles, antelopes and an impressive variety of birdlife.

For guests planning a luxury Rwanda safari, Akagera provides the perfect contrast to chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park and mountain gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park. Together, these three destinations create an exceptionally diverse journey through Rwanda.

Where is Akagera National Park?

Akagera National Park lies in eastern Rwanda, approximately a two-and-a-half to three-hour drive from Kigali, making it remarkably accessible compared with many of Africa’s remote safari destinations.

The park takes its name from the Akagera River, which flows along Rwanda’s eastern frontier and feeds a remarkable network of lakes, channels, swamps and wetlands.

Akagera’s landscape is strikingly different from the mountainous scenery for which Rwanda is famous. Here, expansive plains meet gently rolling hills, acacia woodland gives way to wetlands, and lakes shimmer beneath enormous African skies.

Its accessibility means travellers can leave Kigali in the morning and find themselves surrounded by wildlife later the same day.