Rwanda, the land of a thousand hills is currently one of the emerging African safari destinations. Without a doubt, Rwanda has positioned itself as one of the best luxury safari destinations in Africa. Besides its continually improving road network, the country has invested in the construction of luxury lodges including but not limited to One & Only Rwanda, Bisate Lodge, and Singita Lodge among several other lodge options.
Most of Rwanda’s tourism revolves around wildlife safaris with gorilla trekking as the leading tourism activity. Rwanda has four national parks in total. Three of these are forested national parks while one is a savannah national park. Here are the four Rwanda parks
Volcanoes National Park
Volcanoes National Park is located in Rwanda’s northwest corner. It is currently the only gorilla trekking destination in Uganda. The park is made up of five dormant volcano ranges. That is Gahinga, Sabyinyo, Muhabura, Bisoke, and Kalisimbi. It is also a UNESCO heritage site.
The park was established in 1925 before Rwanda’s independence. Currently, the park sits on a land expanse of 160 square kilometers. The government of Rwanda has plans underway to expand the size of the national park.
Besides the gorilla treks, Volcanoes National Park is popular for golden monkey trekking. Uganda and Rwanda are currently the only two places where golden monkey tracking takes place.
Nyungwe Forest National Park
Nyungwe National Park is one of the post-independence Rwanda national parks The park was established in 2004 in the southwestern part of Rwanda. Nyungwe forest currently sits on a Land expanse of 1019 square kilometers.
The park is also popular for hosting a very high concentration of primates. Among the popular primates in Nyungwe forest include but not limited to Chimpanzees, colobus monkeys are several other primates.
Though the park is the most popular chimpanzee tracking destination in Rwanda, its icon is the forest canopy walk. The bridge is suspended 70 meters above the ground giving you an exhilarating view of Nyungwe forest canopy.
Akagera National Park
Located in northeastern Rwanda, Akagera National is the second oldest national park in Rwanda after Volcanoes National Park. The park was established in 1934 on 1122 square kilometers.
Swamps, lakes, Akagera River mainly dominate Akagera National Park. It is the largest protected wetland in Africa. The park is also home to Africa’s big five; that is the lions, Rhinos, leopards, elephants, and buffaloes. Among the other species surviving in Akagera National Park include; Zebra, giraffes, antelopes, vervets, bush babies, and baboons among other primates.
Akagera National Park is currently the only national park in Rwanda where you can do game drives.
Gishwati-Mukura National Park
Gishwati-Mukura National Park is a testament to Rwanda’s commitment to conservation. The park is located in the northwestern part of Rwanda on a 34 square kilometer land mass. This forest park was designated national park status in 2015.
The park is composed of two forests. The small forest is called Mukura while the larger forest is called Gishwati. The combination of these two forests in what forms the Gishwati-Mukura National Park.
Besides Nyungwe National Park, Gishwati-Mukura National Park is the second place in Rwanda where chimpanzees reside. Currently, the park has a chimpanzee troupe of more than 20 chimpanzees. Golden monkeys, L’hoest’s and Blue monkeys are also popular residents of the same park.
The park is also a popular birding destination with close to 400 bird species. Over 230 bird species are found in the Gishwati forest while over 160 bird species are found in Mukura forest.
In conclusion, Rwanda has four national parks; Volcanoes national park, Nyungwe forest national park, Akagera national park and Gishwati-Mukura national park.