Today, Volcanoes National Park and Akagera National Park stand out for their rich biodiversity and healthy populations of numerous wildlife species. This wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for the sacrifice of different conservation players.

Behind the scenes experience provides a delightful mix and mingle with the unsung heroes who have facilitated the restoration of the lost glory of these eco-tourism destinations (as caused by massive poaching that resulted from the 1994 genocide).

The encounter is tailored in such a way that it wows all regardless of whether one is a conservation nerd or not. It is worth adding to your To Do List and yes, it unfolds inside the parks.

During this activity, you will spend the day with the anti-poaching, research and veterinary teams as they go about their duties in a very beautiful natural forest setting of Volcanoes National Park.

In consultation with you to ascertain your interests, the adventure will start with a pre-trek meeting and presentation about mountain gorilla conservation. Prepare to be charmed upon discovering how ranger guides make mountain gorillas and golden monkeys more accommodative to tourists (regardless of their skin colour or gender).

The maximum of 8 visitors per primate family allows you to get all the attention and guidance that you need from the ranger guides during this sort of habituation experience.

Their passion for conservation, their openness and thoughtfulness to everyone’s safety is infectious. After up to four hours stay with them in the forest, you will also have made more friends and I guarantee you will want to return back someday.

In the case of Akagera National Park, you will experience a “day in the shoes of a ranger guide” by participating in their operations. This includes patrolling the sprawling plains and lakes of the Big 5 gem that comes across as Rwanda’s biggest conservation area.

The main objective of the patrol is to uproot any snares set up by poachers to trap wildlife such as rhinos, lions, giraffes, elephants, toppi, buffaloes and the like. It is simply amazing how these folks are so passionate about what they do despite full awareness of a possible attack by the same territorial animals they are trying to protect.

Having lived with the animals for such a long time, they treat them as family. This relationship has enabled them to discover lots of intriguing details that will captivate you.

Later in the day, you can join the ranger guides for a tour of a community neighboring the park. In this conversational phase, you will witness re-evaluation of implemented lasting solutions that have been pivotal in addressing inter human-wildlife conflicts.

An example being the sensitization of locals to embrace conservation. The friendly nature of the visit facilitates free interaction of visitors with local community members such as former poachers.