4-Day Big 5 safari in Akagera & Lake Muhazi Escape

This 4 day Akagera Big Five safari keeps the driving short and the wildlife time long. You see Kigali's Nyandungu Eco-Park and a memorial on the first day, then drive east to Akagera National Park for a full day of game drives and a boat safari on Lake Ihema, rest for a night on Lake Muhazi and return to Kigali for a last market visit. It is an easy trip for first-time safari travellers and for anyone who wants a short wildlife break in Rwanda.

Akagera is Rwanda's only savannah park and Central Africa's largest protected wetland, with lions, elephants, buffalo, giraffe and zebra, and with luck leopard and rhino. It has recovered strongly after reintroductions of lions and rhinos, and the quiet roads mean you often see animals with few other vehicles around. Read our page on the Big Five safari and the guide to where to go on a Big Five safari, and see game drives for what a day out involves.

On the way in and out you also see Kigali: the restored wetland of Nyandungu Eco-Park, the Belgian Peacekeepers Memorial and Kimironko Market. Our Kigali city tour guide and the Rwanda destination page explain the city and the country.

Easy. Game drives are from the vehicle, and the walks are short and flat: around lodges, markets, the eco-park and the lake shore. The drive from Kigali to Akagera is 110 to 130 kilometres and takes two to three hours, and you can sit back for most of it.

June to September is the dry season, when animals gather near the lakes and the grass is shorter. December to February is also dry and good. The wetter months, March to May and October to November, are greener and quieter, with the birds at their best. Our packing list covers clothing that works for any Rwandan trip.

This trip suits couples, families and friends who want a short, easy safari and have only four days. For more time in the park look at the 6-day Akagera Big Five safari and Kigali tour, and if you also want gorillas choose the 5-day gorilla trekking and Akagera Big Five safari.

If you want your safari to include community and conservation visits, see our Signature Journey, the 10-day Rwanda chimpanzee tracking and Eco Hive Guardian tour, which also covers Akagera, and the Hive Guardians initiative.

Planning this trip? Our guides on whether you can see the Big Five in Rwanda, what a Big Five safari in Rwanda costs and a Rwanda itinerary without gorilla trekking cover the main questions to settle before you book.