Akagera National Park: Africa’s Most Underrated Safari Destination
This past December brought me to Rwanda, straight to my brother’s wedding on the outskirts of Kigali. The multi-day celebrations were surreal in their beauty and in the joy they exuded. Dancing, singing, feasting, and outpourings of community complemented the solemn grace of the ceremonies. We watched and laughed as strangers became family and bridges were built across continents. After almost a week of back-to-back events, I found myself craving a quiet moment to recalibrate. Once the wedding was complete, we drove the two and a half hours to Akagera National Park to do just that.
Akagera National Park is located in eastern Rwanda, close to the border with Tanzania. As one of Africa’s smallest national parks, it has a more intimate feeling than many others. In the past few decades, the park has flourished with successful long-term conservation and repopulation projects. It is now home to scores of lions, rhinos, leopards, elephants and buffalo—a group of animals known as the Big Five—as well to an impressive array of birds, zebras, giraffes, hippos, impala, warthogs and countless other species. Just 30 years ago, the park had been devastated by civil war, setting off a sharp rise in poaching in addition to massive displacement. Today, that history can hardly be discerned thanks to the incredible efforts of dedicated Rwandan conservationists over the past few years. Akagera is now a haven for both wildlife and visitors.
As soon as we arrived in Akagera, we felt the ethereal expansion and peace that only nature can provide. We decided to spend three nights in the park so as not to rush. Experiencing the park at this gentle pace set the stage for the magic to happen.
Each day brought sightings that were more akin to dreams. We watched as elephant herds crossed the open plains, females holding their young who sauntered playfully by their sides. Hippos rose from the water of Akagera’s many lakes, sending flocks of herons clamoring into their air as they surfaced. Buffalo gathered in powerful circles, their broad shoulders forming life-like boulders across the horizon as impalas and zebras grazed in the distance. However, there is one moment that stands out even more prominently in my mind—one of those moments that, when it enters the soul, stays there forever.
There are only 6,000 black rhinos left in the world and Akagera afforded me the immense privilege of witnessing one. On our second day at the park, I watched as this otherworldly creature stood steady and unbothered underneath the noontime sun, enjoying its solitary moment much like I was. With its pointed lips and protruding horn, it stood as a reminder of the simultaneous grandeur and fragility of the natural world. Akagera’s beauty is captured in understated, yet deeply meaningful moments such as these, moments that unfold slowly over the course of several days.
Depending on what travelers are hoping to experience in a national park, Rwanda offers several unique opportunities such as these. If you’re looking for more intimacy, time and space to breathe as well as a palpable sense of quiet contemplation, Akagera is the perfect spot for your safari. Nature conservationists will be particularly drawn to the hard-won success stories of Akagera and will relish in the sightings of species such as the black rhino. Though they are critically endangered, seeing them thrive at the park is a tangible sign of hope.
If you’re drawn to a more intensive, adrenaline-fueled experience, Volcanoes National Park offers its unforgettable silver-back gorilla trekking adventures. Taking place along the backdrop of six mist-covered volcanoes, these close encounters have caught global attention for a reason—they are immersive, visceral and emotional. Coming upon a silverback in the wild is both humbling and awe-inspiring as each gorilla weighs upwards of 200 kg (400 lbs) and is known for its deep, expressive gaze.
Despite the grandeur of this experience, Akagera should not be overlooked. The two parks can even be paired together as complementary experiences in order to get the full range of possibilities Rwanda has to offer. Together they combine majestic volcanic forests, mystic lakes, vast expanses of savannahs and wildlife in abundance at every corner. For the nature lover, the conservationist, the adventurer and the spiritual seeker, Rwanda has something special in store.
For us, Akagera was the perfect haven of recovery. It didn’t try to compete for the spotlight, it thrived in its own light. Restoration, resilience, patience and abundance permeated the grounds and each day unfolded with a pace that was unhurried yet brimming with possibilities. For travelers looking to go beyond the obvious, Akagera is indeed one of Rwanda's most meaningful safari experiences.
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