3 Days Akagera National Park

3 Days Akagera National Park

3 Day wildlife safari in Akagera National Park

Safari vacations and travel services’3 Days Akagera Safari package takes you to one of Rwanda’s most popular wildlife conservation sites for one of the best game drive experiences in East Africa. Akagera National Park is located on the Eastern side of Rwanda close to the border with Tanzania. It covers an area of about 433 square miles. Akagera was founded in 1934 and is Rwanda’s only Savannah Park. The park is named after the Kagera River which feeds Lake Ihema and other water bodies in the park before releasing most of its load in Lake Victoria. Akagera national park consists of woodlands, Savannah, undulating plains, extensive papyrus swamps, and sprawling water bodies. Akagera is home to all the big five mammals like lions, buffaloes, elephants, leopards, and Rhinos. It also has Zebras, Hippos, giraffes, warthogs, and several antelope species.

Sadly, the park lost much of the wildlife during the Rwanda genocide in 1994. Thousands of displaced people encroached on the parkland after the war and hunted down the animals for food or to get rid of the wild animals.

The park had about 300 lions which were all killed by farmers who saw them as a danger to their domestic animals. Akagera once had one of the largest populations of wild dogs in Africa. The Belgian government saw them as pests and got rid of most of them. By 1984, wild dogs were extinct in Rwanda. There were similar sad endings for many other species but the new government in Rwanda has been very determined to restore the park back to its former glory and turn it into a world-class safari destination.

The African Park Networks and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) signed a 20-year agreement to manage the park jointly. Security in the park was also reinforced, lodges built and tourism has been highly promoted both locally and internationally. Most of the animals have been reintroduced back to the park and their numbers have grown steadily over the years to an extent that tourists are now looking to Rwanda as a convenient safari destination to spot Africa’s well-known mammals.

The package includes 3 games drive and a boat cruise on Lake Ihema. A safari in Akagera national park is very convenient because the park is only 3 hour drive away from the capital. It is important to move with a park guide while visiting Akagera national park. They know the park well and can take you to the best viewing destinations. If you are interested in a shorter safari, you can check out our 1 Day wildlife safari in Akagera or the 2 days Akagera Wildlife tour package.

Safari Highlights

Day 1: Pick up from Kigali – City Tour Transfer to Akagera national park – Boat trip at Lake Ihema

A Driver’s Guide from Safari vacations and travel services will pick you up in the morning from the airport or your hotel in Kigali. After briefing you about the tour, you will have a tour of the Kigali city where you will visit the city markets, the Kigali genocide museum, the former presidential palace, a few art shops, and other landmarks. After completing the city tour, you will leave for Akagera national park. The journey to Akagera National Park takes between 2 to 3 hours.

Before reaching the park, you will have a brief stop at the Nyakarambi village to learn about the cow dung paintings by the Kakira women cooperative. Their unique style of decorating houses using cow 3 Days tour of Akagera National Park dung has intrigued many a visitor since it was started by Prince Kakira. The cow dung is first dried and then mixed with different colors from natural materials (including plants). The end product is a mixture of red and white paintings that are very eye-catching.

Once you arrive at the park, you will make all necessary clearances at the gate and then proceed to the center for visitors. From the center, you will then proceed to your hotel. After checking in at the hotel, you will prepare to be taken for a boat cruise at Lake Ihema. The boat trip provides opportunities to spot crocodiles, hippos, and other animals coming to bath or drink from the lake. Look out for the elusive Sitatunga (swamp antelope) and waterbucks.

Dinner and overnight at Ruzizi Tented Camp (Luxury) or Akagera Game Lodge (Mid-range)

Day 2: Game drive in Akagera national park – Picnic Lunch – Night Game drive

Wake up early and take your breakfast as you wait for the Guide/Driver to pick you up. This day is all about game drives. Our Guide will pick up an experienced park Guide to move with you and take you to the best places for game drives. You will visit different parts of the park while exploring the park’s landscape including woodland forests, savanna plains, riverine forests, and wetlands. During the morning game drive, watch out for hippos, Impala, warthogs, Topi, Zebras, spotted hyenas, giraffes, buffaloes, crocodiles, elephants, and birds. The park Guide will play an important role in helping locate the lions, Rhinos, and other elusive creatures.

Lunch will be a picnic in the open Savannah plains to allow you experience the unique feeling of dining out in the African wild. After lunch, the driver will take you back to your hotel where you can relax and take a swim in the hotel swimming pool. You can choose to go for another afternoon game drive before the night game drive.

One may wish or go out specifically to spot the birds. Akagera is one of the top birding destinations in Rwanda with over 500 species recorded including the Papyrus Gonolek and Shoebill storks. The best place to spot the birds is in the vast wetlands found in the park.

The night game drive is tailored to allow you to spot the nocturnal animals like leopards, hyenas and mongooses, owls, and primates.

Dinner and overnight at Ruzizi Tented Camp (Luxury) or Akagera Game Lodge (Mid-range)

Day 3: Morning Game drive and a Return to Kigali

Wake up at your leisure, take breakfast and prepare for one last game drive in the park just in case you didn’t see any of the animals. Our Guide/Driver will meet with the park guide and take you to another section of the park for yet more wildlife encounters. After you are done with this game drive, it’s time to start the journey back to Kigali. Lunch is taken while on the way back to Kigali. In case you missed the Kigali city tour or the cow dung paintings at the Nyakarambi village for some reason on the first day, you can do it around this time.

Please note that safari vacations and travel services can merge a safari in Rwanda and the Akagera national park in particular with chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe forest, hiking volcanoes, golden monkey trekking, biking along the Congo Nile Trail, and gorilla trekking in the volcanoes national park. And that will mark the End of your Tour.

Get in touch with safari vacations and travel services for updated information and note that we can still assist you in booking the permits and other important necessities that as accommodation, boats, and transport for your memorable safari into Akagera national park.