The Wildlife and Birdlife of Akagera
| The game drive from the gate to Magashi takes 45 – 120 minutes, depending on wildlife sightings and photo opportunities and is part of the splendour of a stay there. Magashi is situated in the only area where you can combine a bucket list gorilla trek in the legendary Virunga Mountains with a sublime savannah safari experience! See It In Style This is yet another of the ever growing number of premier African safari destinations being offered by Jewel of Africa Safaris. We pride ourselves on creating tailor made packages for international travellers who want a variety of Luxury African safari options. Contact us to book and organise a package designed to suit your schedule and pocket – and include a trip to beautiful Akagera National Park – the pride of Rwanda! |
Already famed for its great Gorilla population, Rwanda also plays host to the magnificent Akagera National Park. Akagera is a superb wildlife conservation area and it is especially famed for its incredible wildlife population – in particular the Rwanda Leopards.
Akagera National Park – the pride of Rwanda, was among the first parks to be created in Africa. Covering 433 square miles (1,122 sq.km) it is the only savanna park in this beautiful mountainous country.
Akegera’s History in Brief
The 100 000-hectare Akagera was founded in 1934 to protect the plants and animals in the savanna, mountain and swamp regions of Rwanda. Between 1957 and 1958, six black rhinos were introduced into the park, which was the introduction to what, many years later, would make Akagera one of the ‘Big 5’ destinations of Africa!
In the 1970s Elephant and lions roamed the park and thousands of antelopes, zebras and buffaloes flourished in this great savanna. However, the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda sadly not only took the lives of more than million Rwandans, but also lead to the park being abandoned and becoming a settlement for cattle.
In 2010, the nonprofit conservation organization ‘African Parks’ partnered with Rwanda’s Development Board to create a 20-year management agreement and since then the park has grown and flourished.
It comprises some of the most scenic savannah in East Africa – open plains, woodlands, lakes, swamp, and grassy low mountains. Akagera has undergone an incredible transformation in the last eight years where poaching has essentially been eliminated and wildlife is now thriving.
African Parks reintroduced lions in 2015 after a 20-year absence and reintroduced the black rhinoceros in 2017.
This is a place where the big cats roam freely and Akagera is famed for its Leopard population.
Of the antelopes, Impala appear to dominate a vast population of Eland, Oribi, Reedbuck, Bushbuck, Roan and Sable antelopes. Watering holes play host to majestic Hippos and wiley crocodiles and Buffalo and Elephants are more prevalent in the north.
Wildlife highlights include buffalo, lion, leopard, elephant, giraffe, spotted hyaena, zebra, topi, roan, eland and more. The Park also boasts almost 500 species of birds including the spectacular shoebill with its implausibly massive bill and the near-endemic red-faced barbet.
Magashi Camp
Magashi Camp has been opened in Akagera National Park in mid-March 2019. In partnership with the Rwanda Development Board and conservation group African Parks the six-tented camp, called Magashi, is situated in the north-eastern part of Akagera overlooking Lake Rwanyakazinga – home to one of Africa’s highest hippo densities, some very large crocodiles, and (hidden within its wetlands) the secretive sitatunga and shoebill stork.
At the camp guests will be able to view a range of wildlife on expertly guided game drives, walks and boating trips.