Top Safaris between November and February in Rwanda : Between November and February, people are taking holiday breaks from their usual routines to relax, enjoy life and be with Family. It’s during this time too that people like to visit different places, have fun activities among others. Because Rwanda is one of the top safari destinations in Africa, people like to spend this period in Rwanda, however the question is which Rwanda safari is appropriate for this season?
So below are the top safaris in Rwanda between November and February
The big 5 safari
Done exclusively in Akagera National Park in the Eastern part of the country, the big 5 safari in Rwanda will give you in totality, what a true African safari is all about. Akagera hosts big numbers of the lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and the leopard. On your safari, you will also see other wildlife like the zebra, hyenas, various species of the antelope, the giraffe and primate species like the vervet monkeys and olive baboons. The park is also home to about 500 species of birds including the giant kingfisher, the shoebill, African Open bill stock and the papyrus gonolek among many others.
The best time to search for the big five is in the early morning, usually achieved by doing game drives. This is so because these animals prefer to hunt in the early morning or late night as a measure to avoid the sun. Game drives are done in safari vehicles provided by the different tour operators.
At Akagera, you can also participate in bird watching during a game drive, a nature walk or a boat ride. As the park is home to about 500 bird species, it is one of the best birding sites in the country. A scheduled boat ride on Lake Ihema located south of the park will give you a chance to see the animals that are hiding under the shade and various water birds and animals like the crocodiles and hippopotamuses.
Other activities at Akagera National Park include booked sport fishing at Lake Shakani also located in the park and a cultural tour to the cattle keeping communities near the park.
Primate safaris
Rwanda boasts of about 15 primate species, the famous being the mountain gorillas exclusively found in Volcanoes National Park. The Park is home to 10 mountain gorilla families making Rwanda the second largest holder of these primates after Uganda but with the easiest mountain gorilla trekking trail on the continent, Rwanda is an all-age favourite for the activity.
Mountain gorilla trekking starts at 7 am with a briefing and dividing the tourists into groups of eight. Each group is then assigned a guide and a gorilla family to trek. The guides spearhead the trekking activity, leading the trekkers into the depths of the forest until their assigned gorilla family is found 2-6 hours later. When the primates are found, tourists are allowed an hour with them. A gorilla trekking permit in Rwanda goes for $1500 purchased exclusively at Rwanda Development Board and is for persons 15 years and above.
Volcanoes national Park is also one of two parks where golden monkey trekking can be done in Rwanda. The other is Gishwati forest. At $100, you will be able to trek these endangered primates at either the slopes of mountain Karisimbi or in the bamboo forest on mountain Sabinyo. You can also choose to hike mountain Karisimbi, Sabinyo or mountain Bisoke which is the most hiked of the Virunga mountains found in the park as part of your primate experience.
Other primates in Rwanda are the colobus monkeys, owl faced monkeys, blue monkeys, Dent’s monkeys and vervets which are found mainly in Nyungwe, Akagera and Volcanoes National Parks as well.
