Nyungwe Forest National Park is the best chimpanzee destination in Rwanda and among the best spots in Africa to spot chimpanzees, the park is a certified chimpanzee destination located in South western region of Rwanda with Cyangungu Town as the nearest town. This town is located near Lake Kivu and near the border of Rwanda with Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Nyungwe Forest national park covers an area of 970 square kilometers comprising of a series of mountains that originate from the Lendu Plateau in the northern Uganda and Congo, running south through Rwenzori Mountains, Western Rwanda and Burundi to the shores of Lake Tanganyika.
Nyungwe Forest national park protects one of the world’s most beautiful and pristine rain forests “Nyungwe Forest”, the forest is also the largest remaining montane forest in Africa and has been in existence since the Ice Age period. This Forest is believed to be one of the sources of the mighty River Nile the longest river on the African continent.
Flora in Nyungwe Forest national park
Nyungwe Forest national park’s terrain is mountainous, hilly and flat and because of this, the park hosts a diversity of flora species recorded to be over 1060 of plant and tree species. These species include tall tree species at various altitudes
- At the heights of about 1,900 meters above such as Carapa, Cyathea, manniana, Engtandophrama, Newtonia and the Prinaria exelsium.
- At the heights of 2,500 meters above, the park is dominated by tree species such as Balthacaria, Hagenia Syzygium, Macaranga and Podocarpus.
- At the heights of 2,950 meters above the sea level, there is sub-alpine vegetation comprising of Shrubs and Bamboo species such as Podocarpus, Erica johnstoni and the Phillipia among others. There are also mosses and ferns dotted around the park.
Wildlife in Nyungwe Forest national park
Nyungwe Forest national park is a wonderful habitat of abundant wildlife species recorded to be 57 species including small and nocturnal animals, among these species, chimpanzees are the main and most sought for species in the park.
Nyungwe Forest national park is renowned for its huge population of chimpanzees and other 12 species of primates including Chimpanzees, Silver monkey, Golden monkey, Owl-faced monkey/ Hamlyn’s monkey, Grey-cheeked mangabey, Red-tailed monkey, L’Hoest’s monkey, Vervet monkey, Olive baboon, Dent’s Mona Monkey, Blue Monkey and Angolan Colobus Monkeys.
Birdlife in Nyungwe Forest national park
Nyungwe Forest national park is a renowned habitat for birds and a great spot to do birding in Rwanda with over 300 species of birds including 16 endemics, 27 Albertine rift endemics and 121 forest species. Bird list in Nyungwe Forest national park include Chestnut Owlet, Olive and Elliot’s Woodpeckers, Great Blue and Ruwenzori Turacos, White-headed Wood-hoopoe, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, , Stripe-breasted Tit, the remarkable Red-collared Babbler, Archer’s Robin Chat, White-bellied Robin Chat, Doherty’s Bush-Shrike, Handsome Francolin Mountain Masked, Black-faced, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Purple-breasted and Regal Sun-birds, Chestnut-throated, Collared Apalis, Rwenzori Batis, Neumann’s Short-tailed Warbler and White-tailed Blue-flycatcher among others.
Activities to do in Nyungwe Forest national park
Chimpanzee tracking
Chimpanzee tracking is the main safari activity in Nyungwe forest national park, the park is one of the best destinations to do chimpanzee trekking in Africa and the best in Rwanda, the park hosts over 400 chimpanzees with only 2 habituated gorilla groups that are found in the Uwinka and Cyamudongo sections of the park.
Chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe Forest starts with briefing at the park’s headquarters depending on the section of the park you are trekking, in the briefing you are taken through the rules and regulations to follow during the experience.
This activity is led by experienced rangers and hiking through the jungles of Nyungwe and expect to spot other forest creatures such as olive baboons, black and white colobus monkeys and abundant bird species. Chimpanzee tracking takes approximately 2-5 hours and one hour of being in the presence of the gorillas, in one hour you will enjoy watching the chimpanzee play on tree branches, observe their behavior and take amazing pictures. Taking pictures is allowed as long as your flash light is off.
Bird watching
Nyungwe Forest is one of the best spots to do bird watching in Rwanda and is a haven to birders, the park is a home to over 300 bird species including 27 species only found in the Albertine region. Bird watching in Nyungwe Forest national park provide birders with an opportunity to spot a several species of birds including Chestnut Owlet, Olive and Elliot’s Woodpeckers, Great Blue and Ruwenzori Turacos, White-headed Wood-hoopoe, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, , Stripe-breasted Tit, the remarkable Red-collared Babbler, Archer’s Robin Chat, White-bellied Robin Chat, Doherty’s Bush-Shrike, Handsome Francolin Mountain Masked, Black-faced, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Purple-breasted and Regal Sun-birds, Chestnut-throated, Collared Apalis and Rwenzori Batis among others.
Canopy walk
Canopy walk is another mind blowing activity to do in Nyungwe Forest national park done on a hanging platform suspended in the sky about 45 meters above the group on top of the canopy of Nyungwe Forest, the canopy is 100 meters long and comprises of 3 sections with the middle section being the highest canopy.
The canopy walk offers tourists with scenic views of the green canopy of Nyungwe Forest, primates such as black and white colobus monkeys, olive baboons among others.
Nature and hiking walks
Nature and hiking walks are the perfect activity for tourists scared of the heights but still wish to explore and enjoy the beautiful nature in the park, these activities are done on several trails running through various regions of the park and provide tourists with an opportunity to spot abundance birds and primates.
These trails include
- Igishigishigi Trail – the shortest and the most popular trail in Nyungwe taking 1 and half hours
- Imbaraga Walk trail – this trail is among the first trails to be established in the park and it is among the difficult trails taking about 6 hours to complete
- Buhoro Walk trail – Among the shorts hiking trails in Nyungwe, this trail is about 2.5 kilometers.
- The Kamiranzovu walk – a trail of approximately 10 kilometers taking about 3 hours to complete
- Irebero Trail – taking approximately 3 hours to hike, on this trail tourists have a chance to see Lake Kivu.
- Isumo waterfall trail – is one of the best trails in Nyungwe Forest , this trail is about 10 kilometers and takes about 4 hours.
How to get to Nyungwe Forest National Park
The Park is situated close to Lake Kivu and Democratic Republic of Congo with the border of Burundi to the south in the South Western region of Rwanda, to get to the park for a Rwanda safari both road and air means of transport can be used.
By road, it is a drive of approximately 4-5 hours on a journey 225 kilometers from Kigali the capital city of Rwanda. Flights to Akagera national park are operated by the Akagera Aviation form Kigali International airport to the park.
Where to stay
In Nyungwe Forest national park, accommodation is got from several safari lodges and guest houses categorized as budget, midrange and luxury. These accommodations include
- One & Only Nyungwe House
- Nyungwe top view lodge
- Gisakura guest house
- EAR Guesthouse
- Emeraude Kivu Resort (located in Cyangugu)
