Sometimes referred to as a ?classic East-African safari game park?, Akagera National Park in the east of the country has a lot more to offer than many big game animals. Stretching along the Tanzanian border, it is considered to be one of the most complex savannah ecosystem in East Africa, combining wetlands and savannah habitats. Contrary to other East-African savannah parks, Akagera stretches over the smooth Rwandan hills, and the open savannah is interspersed with a network of swamps and five lakes that are linked by the Akagera River.

After much of the infrastructure was destroyed during the civil war, and after many of the formerly numerous savannah animals were killed by soldiers and through increased poaching, the Park is now being redeveloped to suit the desires of visitors. Zoning measures are supposed to support the needs of neighbouring local communities, and the reintroduction measures for various big mammals such as elephants, rhinos and giraffes are taking shape.

Today, a variety of plains animals can already be spotted again. These include giraffes, buffalos, zebras, elephants, ten types of antelopes, various species of monkeys and, occasionally, a lion, a leopard or a black rhino. But even on days where the sightings of savannah animals are rare, visitors will admire the beautiful landscape and the lake areas which are an ornithologist?s dream (more than 525 species of birds). Immense flocks of water birds can be found here, joined by some outsized crocodiles and hundreds of belching and grunting hippos. Among the many activities possible in the Park are savannah safaris, bird watching, canoeing, water cruises and sport fishing.