Lake Ihema boat trip in Akagera National park
Lake Ihema boat trip in Akagera National park : Lake Ihema, one of the major lakes of the Akagera national park is a popular destination for the travellers looking for a boating safari in Rwanda. Lake Ihema is located within the Akagera national park which is a home to the big five animals and can only be accessed on entry to this savannah park of Rwanda. Rwanda has four national parks that is the Volcanoes national park, Nyungwe forest national park, Gishwati Mukura national park that all offer primate safaris and the Akagera national park, the only park that offers wildlife game drive safaris.
There is much more to see while in the Akagera national park and a number of activities that you can engage in while in the park so as to see the most that the Akagera has to offer. You can get to the Akagera national park by road transfer from Kigali towards the north east of the country and arrive at the park gates in 2 hours’ time. You may also opt to take a 30 minute domestic flight with Akagera aviation to land near the park. The Akagera national park is situated at the border of Tanzania and Rwanda with two gates that is the southern gate and the northern gate. It is about 110 kilometers away from Kigali city the capital of Rwanda and the home of the Kigali International airport.
If you are on a tight budget, you may use public means however these may take a longer time for you to reach the park. On arrival to the park gate then, you may look out for a guide and rent a car for your stay in the park. Having an Akagera ranger guide is an added advantage to your trip as they are well versed with the area. The guides charge half day or full day service and can only be picked up at the southern gate which is used as both entry and exit while the northern gate is only an exit. A number of animals will be seen on your stay in Akagera national park Rwanda and these include the lion, leopards, buffaloes, rhinos, elephants and the smaller mammals like the antelopes and the water animals like the hippos and the crocodiles.
The water animals of Akagera national park can be seen very well on a boat trip on the lake Ihema along with the different birds of Akagera. Akagera is a home to about 500 different bird species that can only be viewed in the Akagera park like the shoebill, papyrus gonelek to mention but a few. The lake Ihema is however not the only lake in the park but is the biggest as compared to the other lakes like Lake Shukani.
The boat trip on Lake Ihema is famous for its addition to the easier spotting of the bird life of the park. There are scheduled boat trips and each individual on the boat is expected to pay 35 USD for a 1 hour boat trip. The boat trips start from early morning hours 7:30 am to 8:30 am, another morning trip from 9:00 am to 10:00 am then two evening boat trips from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm and 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm which is also known as the sunset trip. If you would like a private boat trip, you may book any time between 10:00 am to 1:30 pm and you will have to hire the entire boat and not charged the per person rate.
All the scheduled boat trips on the Lake Ihema can only accommodate a maximum number of 11 individuals. The sunset trip is the longest trip on the lake and it lasts one hour and thirty minutes as compared to the other 1 hour trips.
This sunset trip is the best as it is where you can catch the sunset and also spot the crocodiles basking at the shores of the Lake and the hippos wallowing as they try to regulate the body temperature and a great birding time too. This sunset boat trip is also charged differently as every adult individual 45 USD and the children will be charged 30 USD. The children on the scheduled boat trip will be expected to pay 20 USD. The individuals opting to book the private and non-scheduled boat trip will be charged a flat rate of 180 USD for the entire boat.
While in Akagera national park, apart from the Lake Ihema boat trip, you may take on a day or night game drive, a behind the scenes tour, walk the line, community cultural experiences or take on a camping experience. Get in touch with our team of knowledgeable tour consultants to help you plan your ideal Rwanda safari.
