Akagera National Park, Rwanda’s only savannah park has added yet another safari experience – the balloon safari – and it is the first in Rwanda. The balloon safari is provided by Royal Balloon, a reputed ballooning company from Turkey.
Akagera national park is famed for her wonderful scenery that is made of varied landscapes including extensive wetland systems & lakes running along one side, lush plains, thickets & forests in the middle and rugged mountains on another side… This scenery is hard to appreciate during the road safari through the park, and so the balloon safari will do it justice as it provides aerial views of the park.
Akagera’s animal population continues to grow and after the addition of rhinos, and lions in the recent past the park promises an amazing game experience equal to the famous game reserves in the region such as the Serengeti of Tanzania, Masai Mara of Kenya and Murchison Falls Park of Uganda. In the meantime, a lot of animals in Akagera can be missed on the drive tracks. This makes the balloon safari one of the best ways to explore Akagera enabling access to the pockets not reachable by car and help one spot more wildlife, while enjoying the magical sunrise across the lakes and breathtaking landscape.
Where the balloon safari starts in Akagera and the time and duration of the balloon safaris
The balloon safari will start in the south of the park where other safaris in Akagera start from. The south is in fact the entrance of the park. Balloon takes off from Kayitaba, a 5 minutes’ drive from the entrance gate.
The balloon safari experience will start very early in the morning at 5am before the official opening time of 6am for the other safaris in the park. The early start has been made an exception for and exclusive to the balloon safari experience, this provides a wonderful opportunity to catch the elusive nocturnal wildlife.
The balloon flight lasts about 45 minutes, but entire experience takes 2 – 3 hours.
After the balloon safari you can continue with the road safari through the park, either exploring the southern game tracks or drive through to the northern Kilala plains and exit the park heading back to Kigali.
There is only one flight per day.
Only 10 slots are available, hence book early. Minimum 2 people are required for flight to take place.
Cost of the Balloon safari in Akagera National Park
Rwandan nationals: 250USD
Foreign residents: 350USD
Foreigners: 450USD
Other activities in Akagera National Park
Game drive
Boat cruise on Lake Ihema
Walk the line
Night safari
I believe this is the best balloon safari in east Africa.