Rwanda National Parks; The Fantastic 4 Rwanda Safari Parks.
The definitive list of Rwanda National Parks is up for you to explore as you plan your safari. See Rwanda Safari Parks‘ attractions, location, photos and more.
A diverse rich country in terms of the landscapes and nature sights; Rwanda is an amazing destination for any nature lover to visit. Home to both big and small creatures, Rwanda National Parks are definitely worth visiting to enjoy the wildlife and the astounding habitats they live in.
Rwanda is known to be among the countries that keep some of the best national parks in Africa. Millions of visitors flock the parks each year to enjoy the beautiful scenery, and leave in awe of the animals in their natural habitats.
With such incredible sights to see, we listed the most beautiful national parks in Rwanda for your next tour.
The Top 4 Best Rwanda National Parks:
#1. Volcanoes National Park;
Located in the northern western part of Rwanda bordering Virunga National Park and Uganda’s National Parks is Volcanoes National Park, gifted with great mountains and volcanoes, a beautiful scenery of nature’s green savannas and rainforests high up all through the forest.
A few miles ahead are sights of mountain gorillas gently gallivanting through the woods of this park outsourcing for food or heading to their habitants in the park.
Best Rwanda Safari to Volcanoes: 3 Days Gorilla Trekking Rwanda.
The park has the biggest number of mountain gorillas and they are main source of attraction in the country. Animal enthusiasts are always flooding the park to be part of the gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park.
Gorilla trekking is the most common and popular activity at Volcanoes National Park, the park also offers golden monkey trekking experiences, hiking and cultural tours in the neighbouring villages.
The Volcano landscape mountains are also part of the park covered with 178 species of birds, endangered primates and other animal species. Read more about Volcanoes National Park.
#2. Akagera National Park;
Akagera National Park is the second most famous among Rwanda National Parks, if you always wondered why this particular park is always flooded with international tourists, this park and its prestigious features are the reason.
Rested on 25000square kilometers, in Akagera are over 150 large animals roaming its plains for visitors to watch and have unforgettable experiences that awaits you.
Ideal Rwanda Safari to Akagera: 3 Days Akagera Wildlife Safari.
Prior to being a park, Akagera National Park was a reserve with lots of plant species but was later given the title of a national park by the Belgian government that intended to protect the wildlife. Akagera national park is the oldest wildlife park in Africa and biggest in Rwanda.
With low-lying plains of Akagera national park that are filled with savannah, woodland, swamps and lakes if you are looking for some tranquil streams of water and sights of red Elephants, buffaloes, lions, zebras, rhinos, cheetahs.
It is also a habitat to over 500 bird species like grey crown crane, African shoe bills, traditionally and known of the park are the countless activities here starting with organized game safaris, bird watching safaris, fishing sports on lake Ihema, cultural tours, Lion trekking and a lot more.
Read everything about Akagera National Park.
#3. Nyungwe Forest National Park;
Mentioned among some of the most beautiful places in Africa, Nyungwe Forest National Park is located in the western part of Rwanda, dominated by an amazing scenery of mountains and lakes.
The park is marked out with trails to high peaks where visitors walk to have some pleasant experiences like bird watching, chimpanzee trekking and canopy walks.
Ideal Rwanda Safari Package to Nyungwe: 3 Days Nyungwe Chimpanzee Trekking Safari.
Nyungwe Forest National Park is home to 13 unique primate species like silver monkeys, golden monkeys, Grey checked mangabae, red tailed monkey and 75 mammals living in the park and are the main attraction along side the chimpanzees.
The park is an explicit destination for bird watching, with over 300 birds to watch and study about for researchers, nature enthusiasts are in for a good fit as Nyungwe Forest is a highly recommended for nature walks and hikes with over 14 trails and a canopy walk to follow to different parts of the park.
Learn everything about Nyungwe Forest National Park Rwanda.
#4. Gishwati Mukura National Park;
Hidden in the northwest of Rwanda and made up of two rainforests, the larger one being Gishwati rainforest and the smaller rainforest is Mukura hence, Gishwati Mukura, newest among Rwanda National Parks.
It was opened to the public in 2020, Gishwati Mukura National Park is home to rare breeds of Eastern chimpanzees and golden monkeys and a number of small animals like chameleons, frogs, jackals and a lot more that make up the forest system.
Being part of Rwanda’s climate topography is working fine for the park, as tourist activities or visits can be carried out through out the entire year because of the tropical climate temperatures of the park.
The best time to visit the Gishwati Mukura National Park is during the dry season around June to September, very good for hiking and animal sights. However, the wet season around October to May is also a wonderful time to visit the park to enjoy the tropical rains and bird watching experiences.
Visitors who visit are always thrilled to experience chimpanzee trekking, golden monkey sightings, hiking and cultural tours in the park and these activities are better enjoyed during the dry season.
The Gishwati Mukura National Park is under the guidance and monitoring of trained tour guides and ranchers who know how to deal with the animals incase of accidents. Read more on Gishwati Mukura.
Other Attractions:
While these African national parks aren’t situated within Rwanda, their accessibility from Rwanda surpasses that of their home countries. This convenience is the driving force behind their inclusion in our Rwanda National Parks guide, simplifying access for tourists seeking extraordinary experiences beyond our borders;
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park;
The beautiful Maringa is Uganda’s breathtakingly beautiful smallest national park covering 34 km², situated in front of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, bordered by lakes Mutanda and Bunyonyi on the left.
Mgahinga is a home to a large number of golden monkeys and mountain gorillas, this population of wildlife is supported by the giant woodlands of the forest and bamboo.
The park’s main attractions are the 3 Virunga Volcano peaks which are mountain sabinyo covered in steep ridges, mild heavy bush land forests populated with golden monkeys, forest elephants among many other species.
Mountain Gahinga which is the smallest amongst the three peaks, and named the perfect landscape for hiking, and lastly Mountain Muhavura raised as the highest peak of the three with a spectacular view of other features around the Virunga Volcanoes like Lake Edward, Queen Elizabeth Park in Uganda.
It is also a beautiful place for hiking and bird watching. Also home to other 150 bird species among the many other kinds and the 39 dominant mammals.
There is a lot of room for all stupendous activities like Batwa trail experience where a tour guide leads a group of people into an experience of the life and culture of the Twa people, their honey harvesting skills, the Gorilla and Golden monkey trekking, mountain climbing.
Virunga National Park;
Virunga National Park is the oldest conserved wildlife area in Africa created to protect the unique culture and community of the Twa people and conserve the species of animals and plants in the park.
Covering 300square kilometers , the park runs along the Albertine rift area and joins the West and East Africa grasslands and savannah lands splitting the African continent from North to South.
Virunga has quite unique landscapes compared to other parks in Rwanda. It’s made up of Crater lakes, the famous Albertine rift craters, woodlands, bushlands and savannahs, swamp and wetland vegetation.
It also has impressive views and natural extensions into Queen Elizabeth Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, a good hiking destination, mountain Semiliki and Rwenzori.
The park is still young and fresh with new discoveries being made. It is an admirable destination for adventure.