Rwanda wildlife safari tours – Game viewing

Rwanda wildlife safari tours to Akagera National Park for great Game viewing and game drive experiences to the only Rwanda wildlife safari destination not forgetting Nyungwe forest national park for Chimpanzee trekking.

The Country’s tourism is popularly known for the elusive mountain gorillas that have offered incomparable primate tracking experiences to millions of tourists. However, the country also has a tapestry of wildlife that lives in different habitats.

When it comes to the typical African safari game drives, many always wonder which animals live in Rwanda and where can they be seen. Rwanda wildlife safari tours with game drives for wildlife viewing can be explored in the country’s Akagera National Park. This is the only savannah park where game drives can be undertaken as the other three parks are tropical rainforests majorly offering primate tracking experiences.

Akagera National Park in Rwanda and the only place for wildlife tours or game drives in the country. The park is in eastern Rwanda covering 1,122 square kilometers (433 sq mi) along the border with Tanzania.

Akagera National Park is named after the Kagera River which flows along with its eastern boundary feeding into Lake Ihema and several smaller lakes. With the complex system of lakes and linking papyrus swamps, this is the largest protected wetland in Eastern-Central Africa.

Rwanda wildlife safari tours – Game viewing

Animals and Game Drives in Akagera National Park

During the time of the formation of Akagera National Park, it used to have a large population of African wild dogs. However, an epidemic diminished the population, and the last wild dogs were sighted in 1984.

With the loss of lots of wildlife in the park, reintroduction programs were set up and these have been very successful making the country a top Rwanda tour destination and Big Five host. In 1957, black rhinos were introduced from Tanzania, and Masai giraffes were reintroduced from Kenya in 1986.

In 2009 the Rwanda Development Board and the African Parks Network entered into a 20-year renewable agreement for the joint management of Akagera National Park. Akagera Management Company was formed in 2010 as the joint management body for the park.

In July 2015 seven lions from South Africa were introduced and released in the park. Since then the lion population has grown to more than 40 of them in the park. In 2017, 18 Eastern black rhinoceroses were reintroduced into the park from South Africa.

Three more eastern black rhinoceros were introduced into the park in 2019. Today Akagera National Park is home to all of the sought-after African Big Five wild animals which are the Buffaloes, Rhinos, Elephants, Lions, and Leopards.

Akagera National Park wildlife tours

Akagera is a much preferable East African destination since it is one of the closest wildlife parks to the country’s national Airport-Kigali International Airport. It is just about a 3-hour drive to the park from the Airport. You also spot other wild animals like giraffes, zebras, and hippos.

During Akagera National Park wildlife tours and game drives, tourists are accompanied by knowledgeable driver guides. Always ensure to remain in the safari car all through the game drive. For long game drives, carry snacks and enough drinking water.

Rwanda wildlife safari tours can be customized alongside other activities in just a few days like the 6-day Rwanda wildlife safari. Other activities that can be done during a tour in the country include Rwanda gorilla trekking tours, golden monkey trekking and hiking in the Volcanoes National Park, chimpanzee trekking, canopy walk, and nature walk in Nyungwe National Park, birding in all of the parks, and cultural tours.

In case you want to have an experience of sighting millions of wildlife then Tanzania wildlife safaris and Kenya safari tours are a great pick with visits specifically to Serengeti National Park and the Masai Mara Game Reserve respectively because the great wildebeest migrate across these two parks.