Akagera National Park

Akagera National Park lies mostly in the Mubari–Migongo subregion which is in the north-east of Rwanda, on the Tanzanian and Ugandan borders. The topography of the park is of rolling sandstone hills in the west, cut in places by deep, narrow valleys. In the east, flood-plains and swamps are predominant. To the south of the Buganza, the Gisaka subregion is wetter. And to the north of Akagera is the Mutara sub-region where the vegetation is dominated by open grasslands in which Themeda, Hyparrhenia and Cymbopogon predominate are prominent.

The extremely varied vegetation of the park has the most heterogeneous savanna ecosystem in the region. Open savannas comprise of three common kinds of grass, Themeda triandra, Hyparrhenia filipendula and Cymbopogon afronardus. 

Though Acacia and Combretum predominate, more than 250 tree species occur in the park. Towards the lake borders to the east, the savanna becomes more heavily wooded, with gallery forest occurring along lake edges. Gallery forest species include Albizia spp., Acacia polyacantha and some Ficus spp. Flood-plain and marsh vegetation occur in the river valley, with marshes dominated by Cyperus papyrus, Cladium and Miscanthidium.

Akagera National Park prides in a health mammal list of over 50 species among which include the African Elephant.

Akagera National Park: Birding Importance

Akagera boosts of a rich bird Checklist of over 525 species, and this reflects the extensive diversity of habitat. Forty-four species of raptor, Papyrus Gonolek, Shoebill and a good number of Palearctic migrants, amongst which Lesser Kestrel, Great Snipe and Black-winged occur here. The park represents the northern limit of distribution of several Zambezian biome species, including Sauza’s Shrike, Arnot’s Chat, and Long-tailed Cisticola. One species of Guinea–Congo Forests biome, seven of the Afrotropical Highlands biome, nine of the eleven species of the Lake Victoria Basin biome that occur in Rwanda are residents here.