Rhinos are one of the most sought-after wildlife species in Rwanda’s Akagera National Park, having been reintroduced for game viewing. Akagera National Park is the largest wetland reserve in Central Africa and the country’s sole savannah game reserve. The park is the only one of Rwanda’s three national parks where travelers can encounter a variety of wildlife including the Big Five.
Rhino trekking is a recently introduced experience in Akagera National Park home to all of Africa’s big five (elephant, rhino, leopard, buffalo, and lion). The experience is a unique wildlife adventure that awaits you on Rwanda safaris in Akagera National Park. Rhino trekking is a walking tour that allows you to see rhinos in their natural habitat. Visitors join the team of trackers and engage in rhino monitoring. The rhino walk focuses on learning more about rhino habits, health, and photography.
About Rhinos in Akagera National Park
In the late 1970s, Akagera national park was home to over 50 rhinos, all of which thrived in the park’s savanna regions. However, once the Rwanda civil war ended, farmers who returned to Rwanda as refugees slaughtered the entire rhino population in the park. Most refugees who returned to Rwanda following the genocide turned to the park’s forests for timber, grazing their animals, and hunting down wildlife for bushmeat.
Rwanda Development Board and Africa Parks, an NGO that manages other national parks on the African continent, founded the Akagera Management Company in 2010, to restore the Park. As a result, the majority of the Akagera national park has been restored to its former grandeur because of countless successful conservation efforts by both parties.
The restoration of the black rhinoceros in Akagera National Area is one of the many successful conservation projects in the park. In May 2017, 18 black eastern rhinos were translocated from South Africa to Akagera National Park. This is the outcome of a successful collaboration between the Rwanda Development Board, African Parks, and the Howard G. Buffet Foundation, which saw the species reintroduced into the national park after a 10-year hiatus. The first translocation of rhinoceros in the national park required a 2,486-mile voyage from South Africa to Rwanda. Since then, the number of rhinos in Akagera has further increased on its own.
On June 24, 2019, five more rhinos were transferred to Akagera National Park from several European zoos. The new rhinoceros in the park included three females and two males: Jasiri, Jasmina, Manny, Mandela, and Olmoti are the names of the five rhinos. The rhinos were given to the Rwandan government by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA).
There are currently 20 black eastern rhinos and 30 white rhinos in Rwanda’s Akagera national park. The park also has over 100 African savannah elephants, more than 15 lions, and over 500 bird species. The park’s other natural features include the Olive baboon, antelopes, Sitatunga, waterbucks, reedbucks, duikers, giraffes, zebras, crocodiles, hippos, and many more.
Rhino Trekking Experience in Akagera National Park
The first-of-its-kind wildlife experience in Akagera, rhino trekking is a terrific opportunity to witness one of the Big 5 species. Rhino walking in Akagera takes place in the unending Kilala Plains, which are located on the park’s northern edge. Some of the translocated rhinos live on Kilala Plains. A big herd of white rhinos may be seen grazing near Kilala. The white rhinos, as opposed to black rhinos, are grazers. The black rhinos in Akagera National Park can be found in the southern section of the park, which is covered in acacia.
The rhino trekking experience in Akagera National Park is one of the safari activities you shouldn’t miss. The Park has a higher chance of seeing rhinoceros on a guided walking safari with rhino trackers who watch these game species. Visitors who want to monitor rhinos in Akagera National Park may need to travel off official game drive tracks to find the rhinos. Rhinos in this park are best seen in the early morning hours when they move out to the river banks to graze, as well as in the hot afternoons at designated water springs in the park where they can be found refreshing their thirst.
Tourists accompany rhino trackers while they monitor rhinos in Akagera National Park during rhino trekking. The experience entails observing rhino behavior, as well as photographing them. Akagera National Park is the only park in Rwanda where you may see not only rhinos but also elephants, buffaloes, leopards, and lions on the savanna grassland.
Other Wildlife in Akagera National Park
Akagera National Park is Rwanda’s only savannah National Park and offers other exceptional wildlife experiences such as safari game drives, boat trips on Lake Ihema, fishing, safari walk experiences, camping experiences, behind-the-scenes tours, and community cultural experiences, all of which increase the chances of encountering wildlife species inside the park.
You can also combine your wildlife viewing activities in Akagera National Park, such as white rhino tracking, with other exciting adventures like gorilla trekking and golden monkey trekking in the Volcanoes National Park, hiking experiences on Mount Bisoke and Mount Karisimbi, as well as Chimpanzee trekking, Canopy walk, Colobus monkey trekking, waterfalls hiking, and guided nature walks in Nyungwe Forest National Park.
Akagera National Park is also home to over 500 bird species, making it a popular destination for Rwanda birding tours. To name a few, the park is home to bird species such as the papyrus gonoleks, grey crowned cranes, giant kingfishers, squacco herons, Africa darters, Senegal lapwing, fan-tailed widowbird, pied crow, sacred ibis, Augur buzzard, and fish eagle.
Best time to visit Akagera National Park
Akagera National Park can be visited at any time of the year. But, the dry season, which runs from June to September, is the finest time for travelers to explore the remarkable park. The dry seasons in Akagera provide tourists with more opportunities to see species in the park. During this time, the grass in the national park is shorter, allowing tourists to easily sight wildlife during game drives. Furthermore, animals in the park spend most of their time grazing in the open savannah grasslands and cooling down in the neighboring waterholes during the dry season.
Similarly, during the rainy season, visitors would experience cooler weather in the park. The long rainy season in Akagera National Park lasts from March through May. During this time of year, the park receives a lot of rain, and the roadways are frequently muddy. In addition, travelers should bring enough warm clothing because nights in the park can get chilly during the rainy season.
The short-wet season, on the other hand, is defined by the months of October through November. This is the best time for bird-watching tours in Akagera National Park. During this time of year, migratory bird species are around from Europe and Eastern Asia.
How to get to Akagera National Park
Akagera National Park can be accessed by road and air. The national park is around 110 kilometers from Kigali Capital City and can be reached in two hours by road.
Alternatively, you can charter a helicopter from Kigali to the park.