Walk the fence line tour in Akagera national park
Walk the fence line tour is an activity which is done only in Akagera national park in Rwanda. The activity enables tourists to explore the park and see most of its attractions on foot. Walk the fence line in Akagera national park starts at the southern park entrance and takes you 7kms into the hills of the park following the fence on the outside of the park. Walk the fence line tour in Akagera national park is led by the community local freelance guide who takes you for about 2 hours and it does stop at the top of the ridge with stunning views in all directions.
Walk the fence tour in Akagera national park takes about 2 hours of exploring the park on foot. This activity helps tourists to know the importance of the fence around the park to the park itself and the community around the park. Walk the fence line tour in Akagera national park costs $30 per adult and $20 for children and the money includes visiting fee, guide fee but excludes extra services, private transport, and food.
Other activities that can be done in Akagera national park
Game drives
The game drives are the most done activities tourists can do in Akagera national park and these have made the park famous to the outside world. There are morning game drives, evening game drives, and night game drives. The morning game drives in Akagera national park start very early in the morning at 7:30 am to enable tourists to spot early morning risers and nocturnal animals before they go back to their hide-out places.
The evening game drives start at 3 pm but both the game drives do give you an opportunity to spot different animals of the park with the help of a ranger guide who takes you through the best trucks and spots to meet animals. The morning game drives and evening game drives give out the same experience and during these times you will spot animals such as buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, hyenas, cheetahs, lions, duikers, sitatungas, klipspringers, cape elands, elephants, rhinos, leopards, and roan antelopes to mention but a few.
There are also night game drives in Akagera national park which are done with the help of armed ranger guides and the tourists must move with spotlights to help them in lighting these nocturnal animals. The night game drives start in the evening at 6 pm and during the drives, you will have opportunities to see animals such as lions, leopards, lions, spotted hyenas, hippos, bushbucks, and several cats to mention but a few.
Boat cruises
Boat cruises are the other activities available in Akagera national park at all times of the year. The boat cruises in Akagera national park are done on the largest lake in the park Ihema. There are morning and evening boat cruises but all give you the same experience. You will explore the lake on a boat with guides telling you different information about the lake as you spot different hippos and crocodiles, water birds such as papyrus gonolek, grey crowned crane, open billed stork, different park animals on the shores of the lake like giraffes, antelopes, elephants, and buffaloes among others.
Nature walks
The nature walks in Akagera national park are the best way to explore the park on foot and these are led by armed ranger guides. The armed ranger guides do take you through different walking trials and during this time you will be able to see different park animals like elephants, buffaloes, duikers, lions, impalas, topis, zebras, giraffes, monkeys, rhinos, lakes, birds, and different vegetation covers.
Cultural visits
Cultural visits are other activities that tourists can do in Akagera national park. The activity is mostly done at Humure Refuge Village which is a place for cattle keepers. The cultural visits to Humure Refuge Village give tourists an opportunity to meet the local people, interact with them about how they live their day to day life, watch them do activities like milking, be part of the food preparation, taste their local foods and drinks, visit some of the arts and craft shops and in the end, you will be entertained by traditional dancers.
Birding
Akgaera national park being home to over 400 bird species, birding is another activity you can do while in Akagera national park. Birding activities are done in the different birding spots of the park and the armed ranger guides that know about the birds take you through these birding spots so all you need to carry is a birding book and a pair of binoculars.
Some of the bird species you are likely to encounter in Akagera national park include Amur falcon, blue-shouldered robin-chat, beaudouin’s snake eagle, booted eagle, browned-chested lapwing, cabanis’s bunting, carruther’s cisticola, denham’s bustard, eleonora’s falcon, dimorphic egret, papyrus gonolek, red-faced barbet, red-winged francolin, grasshopper buzzard, northern brown-throated weaver, and yellow billed eremomela.
Other bird species in Akagera national park include white-winged swamp warbler, tabora cisticola, souza’s shrike, crested barbet, dimorphic egret, stripped pipit, sooty falcon, slate-colored boubou, ring-necked francolin, ring-winged francolin, short-tailed pipit, shoebill stork, and shelley’s francolin among others
What is the best time to have a walk the fence line tour in Akagera national park?
Tourists can visit Akagera national and do walk the line fence tour at any time of the year but there are months that are better than the rest. The drier months are the best for a walk the fence line tour in Akagera national park because there is little or no rainfall in the area nad this leaves the walking grounds dry, the vegetation in the park is short giving clear views of the park animals, and the roads leading to the park are passable.
Tourists can still visit Akagera national park for a walk the fence tour in the rainy seasons of March to May and October to November but during these months, there is plenty of rainfall in the park. the rainfall leaves the walking ground muddy, the vegetation in the park is tall giving unclear views of animals and the roads leading to the park are impassable.
Accommodation facilities in Akagera national park
Tourists who are to do a walk the fence tour in Akagera national park and would like to have a night or to in the park don’t have to worry about where they will stay. Akagera national park has several accommodation options ranging from budget to mid-range to luxury options and these include Lake Kivu Serena Hotel, Karenge Bush Camp, Magashi Safari Camp, Akarenge Game Lodge, Magashi Tented Camp, Ruzizi Tented Camp, Akagera Resort and Country Club, Vintage Cottages, Akarenge Game Lodge, Nyagasambu Real Beach Hotel Akagera Rhino Lodge among others.
