Overview
Akagera National Park is a conservation area located in the northeastern part of Rwanda, near the border with Tanzania, established in 1934 by the Belgian colonial government, making it one of the oldest national parks in Africa. Akagera National Park was named after the Akagera River, which flows along the park’s eastern boundary and feeds into several lakes within the area including Lake Ihema. Akagera Park covers over 2,500 km2 and includes many ecosystems, from savannahs to wetlands.
Akagera is unique for its diversity of ecosystems, ranging from savannah plains, woodlands, and swamps to a series of lakes, and wetlands and surrounded by cultivated hills making all this quite beautiful. This variety of landscapes makes it one of the most biodiverse parks in Africa. The park’s range of habitats supports a wide array of wildlife, including large mammals, reptiles, and numerous bird species.
Akagera National Park is home to the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhinoceros); as the park reintroduced lions in 2015 and black rhinos in 2017, contributing to its status as a Big Five destination. The park also hosts giraffes, zebras, antelopes, jackals, hippos, hyenas, bushbucks, water bucks, klipspringer, and crocodiles with primates like vervet monkeys, Anubis baboons, olive baboons, blue monkeys, and bush babies among others. With over 480 bird species, Akagera is a paradise for birdwatchers with notable species including the rare shoebill stork, papyrus gonolek, ross’s turaco, grey hornbill, red-faced barbet, cattle egret, swamp flycatcher, African fish eagle, bateleur, African harrier hawk, fan-tailed widowbird, African jacana, marabou stork, African darter and many more.
Akagera National Park has 10 lakes registered that are located within the park boundaries and they are Lake Ihema, Hago, Mihindi, Rwanyakizinga, Gishanju, Kivimba, Murambya, Murambi, Shakani, and Birengero with Lakes Ihema, Rwanyakizinga, Shakani, Gishanju and Mihindi as the most notable:
Lake Ihema
Lake Ihema is the most prominent, popular, and largest lake in the park covering 100km2 with a depth of about 5-7 meters, located in Kayonza district in the southern part of Akagera National Park. The Lake has a rich biodiversity except for fish as fishing is not allowed at all as it is home to many hippos and crocodiles, elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, and a wide range of bird species including papyrus gonolek, malachite kingfisher, shoebill, herons, African jacana, sandpipers, hawks and many more. Activities like boat cruises and bird watching are popular among tourists.
Lake Shakani
Lake Shakani is located northeastern of the park headquarters and is famous for birding as it offers quite a rewarding experience being home to about 400 bird species making it a perfect spot for bird enthusiasts. Also known for sport fishing with tilapia as the more popular species to be caught and quite the range of calm beautiful surroundings. So expect to spot birds like the African darter, African wattled lapwing, great egret, herons, bee-eaters, African jacana, barbets, tinker birds, warblers, and many more; fish species like tilapia, Nile perch, catfish, and others and mammals like elephants, giraffes, bushbucks, topis, zebras, duikers and many more.
Lake Rwanyakizinga
Lake Rwanyakizinga is another popular lake near Lake Ihema in the northeastern section of the park covering 19.6 km2 at the depth of 2.6-4.3m. It offers a very serene environment and good birdwatching opportunities. The lake is home to big herds of buffaloes, crocodiles, zebras, topis, elephants, waterbucks, roan antelope, duikers, klipspringer, vervet monkeys, baboons, and more; birds like African fish eagle, pied kingfisher, great egret, African jacana, herons, African marsh harrier, palm-nut vulture, ducks, shoebill, papyrus gonolek and all this can be viewed through guided nature walks and birding.
Lake Gishanju
Lake Gishanju is one of the smaller lakes within the park, Lake Gishanju is part of the network of lakes that make up the wetland system in Akagera and is a quieter spot with abundant birdlife. Surrounded by a mix of open savannah, woodlands, and papyrus swamps, which create a variety of habitats for different species expect to see birds like kingfishers, African fish eagles, waders, raptors, shoebill, papyrus gonolek, aquatic life like tilapia and mammals like crocodiles, antelopes, elephants and more.
Lake Mihindi
Lake Mihindi is another smaller lake within the park and is an integral part of the park’s extensive wetland ecosystem. The lake is surrounded by diverse landscapes including acacia woodlands, savannahs, and wetland vegetation which supports a wide range of wildlife like elephants, antelopes, crocodiles, hippos; birds like canary, warblers, egrets, kingfishers, fish eagles, lapwings, variety of fish species like tilapia and catfish. The lake’s serene environment, with its reflective waters and surrounding greenery, offers beautiful landscapes for photography and peaceful nature walks.
All these lakes, along with the rivers and wetlands in Akagera National Park, create a rich habitat for a wide variety of wildlife, making the park a crucial conservation area in Rwanda.