Wildlife Parks in Rwanda: Rwanda has four national parks. Let us begin with some background information before delving into them in depth. Rwanda is a tiny yet progressive African country. Rwanda has achieved significant improvement in all sectors of the economy since the end of the genocide in 1994. Rwanda, known as “the land of a thousand hills,” has witnessed extraordinary progress in infrastructure, agriculture, and tourism. Kigali, the capital, is one of Africa’s three cleanest and best-organized cities. To keep up with the increased number of passengers, the tourism sector has been modernized and infrastructure has been updated since the new administration assumed control while on Rwanda Safaris.
This has been made possible by the country’s diverse flora and wildlife, as well as a determined and unified population. Rwanda is viewed as an excellent model that other African nations might follow if they want to make the most out of their resources because of its huge economic development, stability, peace, and solid governance structure.
Wildlife Parks in Rwanda.
Despite its incredible biodiversity, Rwanda has only identified four locations large enough to be designated as national wildlife reserves. The country also made certain that each of the four national parks provided something unique in terms of animals, geography, and natural surroundings. The Volcanoes National Best national park in Rwanda, for example, is mostly bamboo and montane forest, with mountain gorillas as the major attraction. Akagera National Park is particularly unique in that it is the only location where travellers may see the big five animals (lions, elephants, buffaloes, leopards and rhino). Only Nyungwe Forest National Park and Gishwati-Mukura may be regarded to have comparable ecosystems and species (chimpanzee and smaller primates).
Nyungwe National Park, on the other hand, provides unique activities such as the forest canopy walk and a larger concentration of monkeys than Gishwati-Mukura National Park. Let’s go over the four wildlife national parks and other tourist attractions in greater detail.
Volcanoes National Park
Volcanoes National Park is a component of the larger Virunga conservation area. This magnificent park is located in the country’s northwest, near Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The park is located in the Musanze area, which is approximately 107 kilometers from Kigali’s city. The Volcanoes National Park has a mountainous landscape that is mostly covered with montane and bamboo forest, making it an ideal home for mountain gorillas. Mountain gorillas and golden monkeys prefer and flourish in places that are chilly, mountainous, and densely forested.
Over 320 mountain gorillas live in Volcanoes National Park (a third of the overall population in the world). Ten habituated gorilla populations are available to tourists. Mountain gorillas are highly endangered, with less than 1000 remaining in the wild. If they are not protected, they might go extinct. Mountain gorillas have three natural habitats, one of which being Volcanoes National Park. The remainder may be found in the national parks of Bwindi, Mgahinga, and Virunga.
Nyungwe Forest National Park.
After the Volcanoes National Park, Nyungwe is Rwanda’s most visited national park. The park encompasses much of southern Rwanda to thrive in while on Rwanda Safaris Tours. It lies near the borders of Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nyungwe Park was developed in 2004 and is a relatively young park. The park is home to both equatorial and afro-montane woods. Rwanda’s game parks are listed below. Nyungwe has Africa’s biggest afro-montane forest. Nyungwe National Park is home to 13 different primates, 75 different animals, and over 300 different birds. Chimpanzee trekking, small primate tracking, bird watching, forest canopy and nature walks are the most popular tourism activities.
Visitors that undertake primate tracking may expect to see chimps, Mona monkeys, Silver monkeys, Vervet monkeys, Angola Colobus monkeys, Grey cheeked Mangabeys, golden monkeys, and black and white Colobus. Chimpanzees are the most fascinating because of their intellect and close contact with humans. Nyungwe forest is one of Rwanda’s greatest birding locations. Birders may expect to see Regal sunbirds, Chaplin’s flycatchers, Rwenzori turacos, Ruwenzori nightjars, Rockefeller’s sunbirds, and Rwenzori batis among other species. The Nyungwe forest canopy walk is one of the greatest in Africa, providing tourists with an overhead perspective of the immense forest and its inhabitants.
Akagera National Park.
In terms of geography and wildlife species, Akagera is distinct from the other national parks. The park is located in the country’s east and reaches all the way to the Tanzanian border. Lakes, savanna grassland, woods, and marshes cover much of the park. Top wildlife parks in Rwanda was created in 1934, making it Rwanda’s second oldest park. It is one of the Big 5 locations, where visitors may see lions, rhinos, leopards, buffaloes, and elephants.
Other mammals found in Akagera include warthogs, hyenas, zebras, giraffes, crocodiles, hippos, antelopes, and kobs. Aside from fauna, Akagera National Park is home to aquatic features such as Lake Ihema, Lake Shakani, and the Kagera River. Game drives, bird watching, and boat rides on Lake Ihema are popular activities in Akagera National Park. A boat ride on Lake Ihema allows visitors to see aquatic wildlife such as hippos, crocodiles, waterbucks, and a variety of bird species such as the fascinating Shoebill stork.
Gishwati-Mukura National Park
This is a combination of the Gishwati and Mukura forests. For a long time, these two woods were independent wildlife protection sites, but in 2015, the Rwandan government united them and upgraded them to the status of national park. Gishwati-Mukura is Rwanda’s newest national park, and as a result, it is still relatively unknown to most travelers. The park is home to chimps, golden monkeys, L’hoest monkeys, Red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, and other smaller primates, but the government also wants to market it as the country’s premier birding destination, Wildlife Parks in Rwanda.
Tourists may go on great nature walks to see birds, flowers, butterflies, reptiles, and birds in addition to primates. The government has a lot of work to do to make it a popular tourist destination. The present task is to replant trees in regions that have been damaged by human activity. International partners such as the World Bank are sponsoring reforestation efforts to that purpose.
