The drive from Kigali to Akagera, hour by hour

Akagera is the closest of the big parks to Kigali — around two and a half hours to the southern gate on good tarmac — and the easiest to fit into a short trip. Here is the drive, hour by hour.

Leaving Kigali

Leave the city early, before the traffic builds on the airport road. The route runs east through Rwamagana on the RN3, a busy but well-surfaced road through banana plantations and rice paddies.

Rwamagana to Kayonza

Forty minutes on, Kayonza is the junction town and the last reliable fuel and coffee before the park. Fill the tank. From here the road turns south-east towards the lakes.

Kayonza to the southern gate

The final stretch leaves the tarmac for a graded murram road through villages and cattle country, with the park's hills rising ahead. It is fine for any 4x4 in the dry season and slower in the rains.

Why arrive at dawn

The gate opens at dawn, and a dawn arrival puts you into the park when the animals are still moving and the light is low and gold. The lions and leopards are most active in the first hour; by mid-morning the plains go quiet. Sleep at a lodge by the gate, or let us deliver the car the night before so you are not starting the clock in Kigali traffic.

Inside the park

Akagera is explored by vehicle. Our pop-top Safari Land Cruiser with a driver-guide is the vehicle for it — standing room for photographs and a guide who reads the tracks and the radio. The park runs north for about seventy kilometres, with the option to exit at the northern gate and return to Kigali via Nyagatare, a loop that makes a satisfying two-day trip.