Akagera National Park is Rwanda’s only savannah national park and the country’s premier destination for traditional wildlife safaris. Covering more than 1,100 square kilometres in eastern Rwanda along the border with Tanzania, the park is named after the Akagera River, which feeds a network of lakes, wetlands, woodlands, and open grasslands.
The park has undergone one of Africa’s greatest conservation success stories. Through successful wildlife restoration programs, Akagera has become home to the famous Big Five—lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhinoceros.
Visitors can also spot giraffes, zebras, hippos, crocodiles, hyenas, antelopes, baboons, monkeys, and over 500 bird species, making it one of East Africa’s finest wildlife destinations.
The Big Five Game Drive offers visitors the opportunity to search for lions, elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, and leopards while exploring beautiful savannah landscapes filled with zebras, giraffes, antelopes, and countless bird species. Morning and late afternoon game drives provide the best chances for wildlife viewing.
Gishwati-Mukura National Park is Rwanda’s newest national park and one of the country’s hidden conservation treasures. Created by combining the Gishwati and Mukura forests, the park protects one of Rwanda’s remaining montane rainforests while supporting important wildlife conservation efforts.
Although smaller than Rwanda’s other national parks, Gishwati-Mukura is becoming increasingly popular for eco-tourism, bird watching, and guided forest walks. The park is home to chimpanzees, golden monkeys, blue monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkeys, and more than 230 recorded bird species, including several Albertine Rift endemics.
Its peaceful forests, scenic hills, waterfalls, and community tourism projects make it an excellent destination for travelers seeking an off-the-beaten-path experience.
Chimpanzee trekking is the park’s main attraction. Guided by experienced park rangers, visitors hike through the rainforest to locate habituated chimpanzees. Once found, they can observe these fascinating primates as they feed, groom, communicate, and move through the forest canopy. The experience also offers opportunities to spot other monkey species, colorful birds, and unique forest plants, making it a rewarding adventure for wildlife lovers.
Nyungwe National Park is one of Africa’s oldest tropical rainforests and Rwanda’s leading destination for chimpanzee trekking. Covering over 1,000 square kilometres in southwestern Rwanda, the park protects one of the continent’s richest biodiversity hotspots.
Nyungwe is home to 13 species of primates, including chimpanzees, black-and-white colobus monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkeys, and owl-faced monkeys. The forest also supports more than 320 bird species, over 1,000 plant species, orchids, butterflies, and countless reptiles and amphibians.
Chimpanzee trekking offers an exciting opportunity to follow habituated chimpanzees through the rainforest. Visitors watch these intelligent primates feeding, communicating, playing, and moving rapidly through the trees, creating an energetic wildlife experience unlike any other.
Volcanoes National Park is Rwanda’s most famous wildlife destination and one of Africa’s greatest safari parks. Located in northwestern Rwanda, the park covers approximately 160 square kilometers and forms part of the spectacular Virunga Mountain range, which stretches across Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Established in 1925, it is Africa’s oldest national park and is internationally recognized for protecting the endangered mountain gorillas.
The park is dominated by five extinct volcanoes—Karisimbi, Bisoke, Muhabura, Gahinga, and Sabyinyo—which create breathtaking scenery of mist-covered peaks, bamboo forests, and lush montane rainforests. These forests are home to more than one-third of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas, making Volcanoes National Park one of the best places on Earth for gorilla trekking.
Beyond gorillas, the park shelters endangered golden monkeys, forest elephants, buffaloes, spotted hyenas, bushbucks, and over 200 bird species, including several Albertine Rift endemics. Visitors can also experience Rwanda’s rich culture by visiting local communities and learning about conservation efforts that have transformed the region into one of Africa’s greatest wildlife success stories.
Mountain Gorilla Trekking is the park’s signature experience and Rwanda’s most popular tourist activity. Every morning, visitors gather at Kinigi Park Headquarters for a briefing before being assigned one of the habituated gorilla families.
Guided by experienced park rangers and trackers, visitors hike through dense rainforest in search of these magnificent primates. Depending on the gorillas’ location, the trek may take between two and eight hours.
Once the gorillas are found, visitors spend one unforgettable hour observing them as they feed, groom, play, and interact with one another. Watching mountain gorillas in their natural habitat is considered one of Africa’s greatest wildlife experiences and remains the highlight of any Rwanda safari.