Top 3 Safaris in Akagera national park
Are you looking for the top 3 Safaris in Akagera national park Rwanda? Akagera national park is one of the 4 national parks that tourists can find in the northeastern part of Rwanda. There are so many safari activities that can be done in Akagera national park but the most famous one is the game drive activity because it cannot be done anywhere else in the country except this place. Game drives are done in the morning, evening, and nighttime in Akagera national park at any time of the year.
The other activities that can be done in Akagera national park include boat cruise safaris that are done in Lake Ihema and another one is birding. Tourists can as well do nature walks in the park where they can meet different park animals, meet different bird species, and well as vegetation. Akagera national park is one place you should miss visiting if you want to view different wild animals because the park is home to over 100 large mammals including the big 5. The following are the top 3 Safaris in Akagera national park;
Game drive safaris in Akagera national park
Akagera national park is the only place where you can view several wildlife animals on a game drive safari in your comfortable safari vehicle. The game drives in Akagera national park do expose you to a large number of different animals and these include the rhinos, topis, giraffes, zebras, oribis, buffaloes, elephants, giant forest hogs, duikers, cape elands, roan antelopes, waterbucks, impalas, klipspringer, hyenas, and leopards among others.
The game drives in Akagera national park are done in the morning, evening and there are those done in the night to see the nocturnal animals that you could have missed out on during the day and these include the carnivores such as lions, and leopards, impalas, bushbucks, topis, and much more. The game drives in Akagera national park at night are done with the help of the spotlight as this helps you to see the animals clearly.
Boat cruise safaris in Akagera national park
There are 10 lakes inside Akagera national park but the boat cruise is among the top 3 safaris in Akagera national park activities done on Lake Ihema which happens to be the largest in the park and the second largest in the country after Lake Kivu. The boat cruise safari on Lake Ihema will give you an opportunity to explore the leak as you sight some of the water animals like the hippos, crocodiles, and some of the park animals such as elephants, buffaloes, rhinos, antelopes, giraffes on the shores of the lake trying to drink water.
The boat cruise safari on Lake Ihema in Akagera national park will also give you an opportunity to spot different water bird species like Kingfishers, jacanas, Ibis, Egrets, Hammerkops, magnificent Fish Eagles, Shoebill, plovers, malachite Kingfisher, herons, Hawk and many more. You can decide to have your boat cruise in the morning or evening on Lake Ihema and they do take 2 hours.
Birding safaris in Akagera national park
There are over 500 bird species so recorded in Akagera national park and this has made it one of the best places in Rwanda to do birding safaris. The park has so many birding spots most especially in the southern area where you meet a variety of birds so you just need to carry along your birding book and a pair of binoculars.
Some of the bird species in Akagera national park include the shoebill stork, papyrus ganalex, palm-nut vulture, white-browed coucal, saddle-billed stork, black-headed weaver, woodland kingfisher, great egret, common squacco heron, saddle-billed stork, lilac-breasted roller, eastern grey plantain-eater, African grey hornbill, goliath heron, crowned lapwing, crested barbet, little bee-eater, grey-backed fiscal, lesser striped swallow, ross’s turaco, white-faced whistling duck, grey-backed fiscal, cardinal woodpecker, northern fiscal, hamerkop, African rock pigeon and much more.
Other bird species in Akagera national park include eastern grey plantain eater, blue checked bee-eater, crowned lapwing, long created eagle, helmeted guinea fowl, white-browed coucal, common squacco heron, long-tailed cormorant, black-headed weaver, palm nut vulture, grey crowned crane, white-backed vultures, cattle egret, fork-tailed drongo, woodland kingfisher, African jacana, red-billed fire finch, osprey, spur-winged goose, African darter, pin tailed whydah, lilac-breasted roller, marabou stork, and African fish eagle among others.
Accommodation on a safari in Akagera national park
There are so many accommodation facilities in and around Akagera national park where tourists can stay and these do range from luxury to mid-range to budget so where to stay will depend on your travel budget. The accommodation facilities where tourists can stay in Akagera national park include Karenge Bush Camp, Ruzizi Tented Lodge, Magashi Safari Camp, Akagera Game Lodge, Vintage Cottage, Akagera Rhino Lodge, Akagera Resort and Country Club, and Nyagasambu Realm Beach Hotel among others.
The Best time to have a safari in Akagera national park
Safaris in Akagera national park can be done at any time of the year just that there are some months that are better than the rest and these are the drier months. The drier months in Akagera national park do happen from June to September and December to February and they are characterized by little or no rainfall which leaves the trekking trials dry, and the roads leading to the park passable. During the dry months, the vegetation is always thick which gives you a clear view of the park animals.
Tourists can still have their safaris in Akagera national park in the rainy season most especially the budget travelers in order to enjoy discounts on accommodation facilities. The rainy season does occur in March to May and October to November every year and during that period there is always heavy rainfall which makes the trekking trails muddy and slippery and then the roads leading to the park impassable.
