Magashi Peninsula has a finger of land to itself in the north of Akagera National Park, with Lake Rwanyakazinga lapping its shores and the Mutumba Hills rising across the water. Elephants wade into the lake directly below the decks. Hippos surface in the shallows while crocodiles bask along the shore, and the park beyond holds lion, rhino and buffalo.
Elephants wade into the lake directly below the decks.
The camp opened in 2025 as the smaller sister to Magashi Camp, and it keeps to eight guests in all, in two couples’ suites and a four-bed villa. Each is set well apart from the next, with no walkways linking them, and each has a plunge pool and a Star Bed on its roof. The camp is finished with local Rwandan craftwork.
African Parks and the Rwanda Development Board have run Akagera together since 2010, and the wildlife has followed. Lions came back in 2015, black rhino in 2017 and white rhino in 2021, so the Big Five share the savannah again. Game drives range across the whole park, with limited off-road driving on the concession, and after dark the drives go out with filtered spotlights.
Papyrus specialists call unseen from deep in the reeds.
Out on Lake Rwanyakazinga, pontoons and a swamp cruiser nose along the reed channels, slipping past hippo pods and Nile crocodiles. Papyrus specialists call unseen from deep in the reeds. The shoebill is a rare chance here, never a promise. Catch-and-release fishing runs all year from the camp, and across the park birders have hundreds of species to work through.
A night on a Star Bed is a night of sound. A jackal calls somewhere inland. Elephants rumble at the water’s edge, and sometimes a lion roars out on the plains. Dawn answers with a chorus of birds and freshly brewed coffee, the mist still hanging on the Mutumba Hills across the lake. Below the roof, the interiors take their cue from Rwandan culture, with natural textures and handmade pieces set against a muted palette borrowed from the grass and water outside. The main lounge and dining area look out over the lake.
The villa is built for families or friends who want a house of their own on the water. Two en-suite bedrooms share a lounge, dining area and kitchen, while a third room can be set up for children or turned into a gym or an office. It has its own pool and its own rooftop Star Bed, and a private guide belongs to it alone, so the day keeps the group’s hours. Meals come to the villa too. Breakfast can stretch long on the deck, and dinner after a night drive needs no crossing to the main area.
Elephants rumble at the water’s edge, and sometimes a lion roars out on the plains.
Menus lean on Rwandan ingredients and local dishes, with an eye on sustainable sourcing. Breakfast might be a Rolex, the street-food wrap, and one evening is given over to a Kugisha dinner, a communal feast served with traditional stories and song. Guides from sister camp Magashi became the first in Rwanda to earn FGASA qualifications, and among them is the country’s first female FGASA-certified guide. Away from the vehicle, guided nature walks bring the scale right down to spoor, dung and birdcalls.
Staff are drawn from the villages around Akagera. A visit to Akayange, the village the camp partners with, means time with the schools and families it supports. Back on the peninsula, the camp runs entirely on solar power and keeps its footprint light. The hours between drives and boat trips can go on tree planting or a biodiversity briefing, on the gym or a wellness treatment. As the day ends, sunset boat trips catch the last copper light on Lake Rwanyakazinga.
accommodation
Magashi Peninsula has three units for eight guests: two couples' suites and a four-bed villa, set well apart with no walkways between them. Each suite has a deck, plunge pool and rooftop Star Bed facing the lake. The villa adds two en-suite bedrooms, a flexible third room, lounge, dining area, kitchen and its own pool.
activities
Game drives cover the whole of Akagera National Park, with limited off-road driving on the private concession and night drives using filtered spotlights. On Lake Rwanyakazinga, pontoons and a swamp cruiser find hippo and papyrus birds, and catch-and-release fishing runs all year. Guided walks and Akayange visits slow the pace.
conservation
Magashi Peninsula works with the Akagera Management Company, the partnership through which African Parks and the Rwanda Development Board run the park. Its work includes predator monitoring, invasive plant control and conservation education. Children in the Wilderness works with schools and families in Akayange village.
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