When is the best time to visit the Akagera national Park : The Akagera national park is one of the four national parks of Rwanda along with the Volcanoes national park, Nyungwe forest national park and the Gishwati Mukura national park which are visited for primate safaris in Rwanda. The Akagera national park is the only national park in the country that guests get to enjoy the game drives as this is the only wildlife park of the country.

The Akagera national park is a home to the big 5 animals and these are the Lion, Leopard, the African bush elephant, the buffalo and the Rhino and these can all be enjoyed on a Rwanda safari to the Akagera national park. The Akagera national park is located in the savannah land in the north eastern part of the country blending in with the steep hills of Rwanda and green state of the country.

The Akagera national park is Rwanda’s biggest national park and the oldest national park as it was established as a place of importance national park in 1934 and is currently sitted on an area of 1,222 square kilometers with abundant flora and fauna within this territory. The Akagera national park is located close to the land border between Rwanda and Tanzania and is divided by the Kagera river  thus When is the best time to visit the Akagera national Park.

When is the best time to visit the Akagera national Park
Eastern Rhinos

The Akagera national park has about 8,000 plus wild animals living with it and a number of these include the lions, rhinos, elephants, buffaloes, zebras, giraffes, hippos, to mention but a few. On top of all these wild animals, guests on a visit to the Akagera national park get to enjoy abundant bird life in the park as there have been up to 500 different bird species recorded within the Akagera national park.

A few of these bird species include the rare Shoebill stork, the cattle egrets, grey crowned cranes, the marabou stock, the great cormorant, the spur winged goose, the white browned coucal, helmeted guinea fowl to mention but a few. These birds can be spotted from all points of the park, during the game drives, boat cruise, or even during the nature walks so ensure to have your binoculars with you at all times.

The Akagera national park welcomes guests to its territory all year and the activities of the park are available for booking any day. The activities in the Akagera national park include full day or half day savannah game drives to spot the wildlife of the park, a day time one hour boat Cruise on  Lake Ihema or a sunset boat trip for a chance to spot the aquatic life of the park.

Guests booked for a Rwanda safari visiting the other national parks may be interested in concluding their safari in the Akagera national park and when best to visit may be a concern ahead of confirming their visit. The best time to visit the Akagera national park entirely depends on one’s interest.

The Akagera national park has two seasons through out the year and these are the rainy season months and the dry season months. Both months have their advantages and disadvantages.

The dry season months of the Akagera national park run from June to September and then later in the year from December to mid-February and these are the months that are considered peak months. The wet season of the Akagera national park runs from March to May and later from October to November and these are considered the low seasons. In the rainy season, the temperatures range from 20 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Celsius.

The Akagera national park is located in the dry region of the park and the temperatures do not have great change through out the year so you are assured of a clear view of the animals through out the year.

When is the best time to visit the Akagera national Park
Boat Cruise on Lake Ihema

Dry season visit:

For guests looking to enjoy a clear visit with no rains, they will opt to visit in the dry months and the roads are easier to pave through during this time. You should however note that during the dry months, there is high demand and this high demand comes with traffic of guests in the park thus the hotel prices being higher than usual.

Some guests prefer to travel in such times for the safety of being around other visitors so if you are this guest, the dry season months are the best for your visit. Dry seasons are also associated with faster spotting of the animals as they usually converge at water bodies for water.

Wet season visit;

As earlier indicated, both seasons have advantages and disadvantages so the best time to visit the Akagera in Rwanda entirely depends on the safari you are looking at. The rainy months of this park are much less dry as the temperatures are normal and rains are not prolonged and as often. Guests should however note that with the rains, the roads are ought to be muddy and tougher to pave through if heavy rains.

Rainy season however has its advantages as guests will get undivided attention from service providers that is hotels as well as the traffic is minimal and resources are in abundance for the current guests. These months also tend to have a number of offers for guests so book during these months to get the most value for your money.

We look forward to hearing from you about your visit to the Akagera national park.

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