Things to do in Akagera National Park
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Akagera National Park
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Long dry season, the best game viewing, firmest roads and high season rates and booking pressure.
Short dry season, the second window, good viewing and greener scenery, high season from mid December.
Long rains, lush and quiet with excellent birding and low season rates, slippery roads and the wettest month in April.
Short rains, a liked shoulder season, intermittent rain, migrant birds arriving and wildlife more dispersed.
What's on
- Liberation Day 4 July
Rwandan public holiday, when domestic tourism fills the park lodges.
- Christmas and New Year holidays 25 December to 1 January
The busiest Rwandan holiday period in the park, in high season, book well ahead.
Best things to do in Akagera National Park
Akagera National Park
The game drive itself, lakes and woodland in the south to the open Kilala plains and lion country in the north.
Lake Ihema
The scheduled one hour boat trip past hippo pods, crocodiles and rich wetland birdlife on the park's largest lake.
Behind the Scenes Tour
A 1.5 hour headquarters briefing on anti-poaching, rhino tracking and how this recovered park is actually run.
Community Cultural Experiences
A half day with boundary communities, cattle culture, crafts and dance, run by community guides for park revenue.
Kilala Plain
The great northern plain of buffalo, zebra, topi and eland, and the park's best lion country at dawn from the north.
Where to stay in Akagera National Park
Southern Akagera, Lake Ihema
first or short stay, boat and night drive
Closest to Kigali, with reception, the Ihema jetty and the night drive, and lodges and campsites inside the fence.
Northern Akagera, Kilala and Rwanyakazinga
plains game, second half of a longer stay
The open Kilala Plain, the luxury camps and the northern campsites, worth the long drive in for a dawn there.
Kayonza and the south gate, outside the park
budget and late arrivals
Cheaper nights outside the fence, at the cost of the dawn, the night drive and the multi night fee ladder.
Kigali
staging nights before and after the park
Flights land here and the park road starts at dawn, so almost every Akagera trip sleeps in Kigali first.
Think twice about
- Within 10 km of the DRC border, western Rwanda
The Rusizi strip by the DRC border carries cross-border insecurity risk. It is far from Akagera, but do not route a Rwanda trip through it casually.
- The park lakes, for swimming
Hippos and crocodiles in every park lake, and bilharzia as the quieter risk. The lakes are for boats and shorelines at a distance, never for swimming.
- The Kigali to Akagera road after dark
A two and a half hour rural drive with trucks, motos and livestock near villages. Plan it in daylight and enter the park by the 18:00 gate close.
- The Kagera River and Tanzania boundary inside the park
The eastern boundary is a park boundary, not a crossing. Entry and exit are by the park gates only, the north gate being exit only.
Best restaurants in Akagera National Park
Imigongo Art and Coffee
The Kayonza road stop for coffee and simple meals, with imigongo geometric art made and sold on site.
Heaven Restaurant
Kigali's reliable garden terrace dinner in Kiyovu, broad menu and service used to early safari departures.
Khana Khazana
Kigali's long running Indian restaurant, generous curries and tandoor at good value for a group off the park road.
Outdoor things to do in Akagera National Park
Akagera Night Drive
The AMC night drive in the south, the leopard activity, with hyena, bushbabies and hippo out grazing by spotlight.
Walk the Line
A 7 km morning walk along the boundary fence with community guides, to a ridge view over the park and farmland.
Royal Balloon Rwanda
A sunrise balloon flight over the lakes and plains, 45 minutes to an hour, landing to a bush breakfast.
Lake Shakani
A quiet day fishing with your own equipment on the southern lake beside Shakani campsite, known for tilapia.
Best hotels in Akagera National Park
Ruzizi Tented Lodge
The park's own nine tent eco lodge on Lake Ihema, solar powered, all meals, with profits supporting the park.
SALT of Akagera
The park's big built lodge above Lake Ihema, formerly Akagera Game Lodge, with pool, restaurant and family rooms.
Wilderness Magashi
Eight luxury tented suites in a private northern concession, full board with drives, boating and walks included.
Wilderness Magashi Peninsula
The ultra tier sister lodge, villa suites with plunge pools and star beds at two to three times the camp's price.
Karenge Bush Camp
Seven solar powered tents on a ridge over the Kilala Plain, fully catered and run by the park itself.
Muyumbu Campsite
The southern ridge campsite above the lakes, basic facilities and firewood, the thrifty way to sleep inside.
Shakani Campsite
The lakeshore campsite on Lake Shakani, hippos audible at night and the park fishing lake at the tent door.
Mutumba Campsite
The northern hills campsite in game rich country, basic and well placed for a dawn start toward Kilala Plain.
Is Akagera National Park expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | RWF 95,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | RWF 425,000 a person |
| Splurge | RWF 1,650,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Akagera National Park: a few days ahead
- Lake Ihema: a few days ahead
- Behind the Scenes Tour: a few days ahead
- Community Cultural Experiences: a few days ahead
- Akagera Night Drive: a few days ahead
- Walk the Line: a few days ahead
- Royal Balloon Rwanda: weeks ahead
- Ruzizi Tented Lodge: weeks ahead
- Book Magashi, Magashi Peninsula, Ruzizi and Karenge weeks to months ahead in high season.
- Book the night drive, boat trips and the balloon early in the stay, and the balloon early enough to move after a weather cancellation.
Is Akagera National Park safe?
- Take antimalarial prophylaxis on medical advice for all of Rwanda, and layer repellent, long sleeves at dusk and netted beds at Akagera.
- Stay in the vehicle except where staff or signage allow, never swim in park lakes, and keep distance from hippo and buffalo around campsites at night.
- The DRC border strip in the far west of Rwanda carries cross-border insecurity risk: do not route a trip through it casually, and plan Akagera from Kigali eastwards instead.
- Rwanda emergency number is 112. Medical care beyond first response means Kigali, so carry evacuation insurance.
Akagera National Park travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- The Kigali day trip sold as a full safari, five hours of road for a shortened drive.
- Quotes that exclude the US$100 a day park fee, a private vehicle or the return transfer.
- Self-driving to the north without allowing for the 18:00 gate deadline, and any operator guaranteeing lions or rhinos.
Getting around Akagera National Park: public transport and more
- Sleep in Kigali and leave about 05:00 for the south gate, allowing two and a half to three hours on the paved Kayonza road.
- Enter in the south and exit in the north on a traverse, allowing a full day inside the park for that drive.
- Public transport reaches Kayonza only. The park needs your vehicle, a lodge vehicle or an AMC vehicle, high clearance and 4x4 in the rains.
Who Akagera National Park suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Akagera National Park your trip
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