Exploring Rwanda’s only protected savanna is the perfect complement to a trek through the forests of the better-known Volcanoes and Nyungwe National Parks in search of gorillas and chimpanzees.
The unsung gem among Rwanda’s trio of national parks, Akagera lies in the relatively hot and low-lying east of this otherwise mountainous country, It is named after the meandering Kagera River, which feeds a vast and varied wetland complex of open lakes, dense swamps and connecting channels on its border with Tanzania. Gazetted in 1934, Akagera was reduced in area by some 60% and suffered terrible poaching in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide, when many returned refugees settled along its borders.
However, it is currently undergoing something of a renaissance, following the appointment of the African Parks Network (APN), a non-profit NGO that took over most aspects of its day-to-day management and long-term planning in 2010.