Akagera National Park, Rwanda

About the Park

Akagera National Park is located in the north east of Rwanda along the border with Tanzania. It is named after the Akagera River that flows along its eastern boundary and feeds into a labyrinth of lakes of which the largest is Lake Ihema. The rolling hills of Acacia and Brachystegia Woodland coupled with scattered grassland and swamp-fringed lakes along the meandering Akagera watercourse combine to create a park of breathtaking scenic beauty.

Rwanda is known as the "land of a thousand hills” and Akagera has its fair share of mountainous terrain, reaching altitudes of nearly 2,000m in the Mutumba Hills region. These highlands provide spectacular views over the expanse of lakes and swamps.

Although Akagera was founded in 1934, much of the park was re-allocated as farms to returning refugees following the Rwandan Civil War. As a result, in 1997 the park was reduced in size from more than 2,500km² (nearly 10% of the surface area of Rwanda) to its current extent of 1,122km².

African Parks signed a joint management agreement with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) in late 2009. In terms of this agreement, the Akagera Management Company (AMC) was established in 2010 with board members from both the Rwanda development Board and African Parks to jointly manage Akagera. AMC is responsible for the day to day management of the park, whilst the Rwanda Development Board retains all statutory rights.

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Akagera

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