For the Big game in Rwanda, Akagera National Park is the place to go. It lies in the northeastern part of Rwanda along Rwanda’s border with Tanzania. Established in 1934, but much of the Park’s land was re-allocated as farmlands in 1997. This largely reduced its total area to 1122 square meters which is still maintained up to date. Thanks to African Parks, an organization that partnered with Rwanda Development Board to manage this Park since 2010. Its name was derived from the Akagera River that streams along its eastern boundary emptying into Lake Ihema.
Akagera is one of the most scenic reserves in Africa. This is brought by its rich biodiversity that consists of papyrus swamps, savannah plains, rolling highlands forest-fringed lakes, and Wildlife species. Additionally, Akagera National Park forms the largest protected Wetland in East Africa. Not like Volcanoes National Park and Nyungwe, Akagera is home to abundant game species including the papyrus swamp endemic species like shoebill Stork, Sitatunga, and more. Other species in the Park include Buffaloes, Elephants, Zebras, Waterbucks, elands, roan antelopes, and topi. Akagera National Park also houses the side-striped jackal, lion, hyenas, and the leopards. To add on that, this Park is not a worry if it’s birding watching in the land of a thousand hills. Akagera shelters over 500 species of birds that are enough to impress anyone after Rwanda’s bird life.
