Covering 300 sqkm over a narrow, 80 km-long band along the course of the Akanyaru River, the Akanyaru Wetlands start off in the south straddling the Rwanda – Burundi border, and wind their way north to the village of Ntarama, where the sluggish Akanyaru joins the much larger Nyabarongo River. Though they’re probably less-visited than any other birding site in the country, the papyrus-dominated swamps here have been recognized as an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International and are home to more than 54 species, including the vulnerable Papyrus Yellow Warbler and Papyrus Gonolek, along with examples of Great snipe, Pallid harrier, and the Malagasy pond heron