Nyungwe Forest National Park is one of the largest parks that has significantly boosted Rwanda’s tourism industry, generating millions of dollars annually. Nyungwe is well known for chimpanzee tracking (Rwanda chimpanzee safari destination), which is the main activity carried out in the forest.
The park has only two habituated chimpanzee groups: a small one of about 30 chimpanzees in Cyamudongo Forest and a larger group of around 60 chimpanzees. Nyungwe, Africa’s largest Afro-Montane Forest, is also famous for the Canopy Walk, where visitors can hike to the top of the trees and walk across hanging bridges to admire the forest’s beauty. Located southwest of Rwanda, near the border with Burundi, south of Lake Kivu, and west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the park is in the Rusizi District of southwestern Rwanda.
Rusizi District is home to the park as well as Africa’s great river system on the east side of the Nile and the west part to Congo. Uwinka, the park’s headquarters, is about 219 km away, approximately a 4-hour drive. The forest has a significant impact on Rwanda’s climate. Established as a national park in 2004, Nyungwe hosts over 1,000 animal, bird, and plant species, making it an important conservation area in Africa and a popular destination for safaris and tours.
Situated in the Western Rift Valley, Nyungwe National Park stretches from Lake Albert to Lake Tanganyika, passing through mountains and lakes that drain west into the Congo River system. The Albertine Rift is known for its stunning landscapes and endemic flora and fauna. Nyungwe boasts about 1,068 plant species, including over 200 tree species and 248 orchid species, with new species discovered each year.
It also has around 85 mammal species, including 13 primates, and over 300 bird species, 29 of which are endemic to the Albertine Rift, making it a prime bird-watching location, often called a bird’s paradise. The park’s biodiversity is further diverse, including swamps, marshes, bamboo thickets, heathlands, open woodlands, and many microhabitats. Known for its 13 primate species, including the famous chimpanzees, Nyungwe is considered the best site for chimpanzee trekking and hosts the largest troop of black-and-white Colobus monkeys.
There are also fragmented forests like Cyamudongo, home to well-habituated chimpanzees, and Gisakura, where a smaller troop of Colobus monkeys lives. Nyungwe has over 130 km of trails suitable for visitors of all fitness levels, offering the chance to enjoy its beauty and fresh air. Unique activities include the canopy walk—an aerial bridge that provides an unparalleled view of the forest canopy—found nowhere else in East Africa and rarely in Africa as a whole.
The park has three main reception centers: one in Kitabi near the entrance, Uwinka in the middle of the park, and Gisakura. Camping services are available at Uwinka, including a tented camping ground, though there are no hotel facilities inside the park, only around it. Nyungwe’s environmental services are vital, providing about 75% of Rwanda’s water, thanks to numerous rivers flowing through the park—those flowing west into the Congo River and east into the Nile via the Akagera River.
The furthest source of the Nile is believed to be in Nyungwe, according to Richard Kandt and other researchers. To visit Nyungwe forest, visitors must purchase an activity permit online or through a recognized tour operator and present proof of payment at the park’s reception. The park is open daily from 7am to 5pm. You can combine a visit to Nyungwe with other Rwandan parks or Uganda safari packages.
Explore Nyungwe Forest National Park
Rwanda Chimpanzee Permits
Brief History Of Nyungwe National Park
Facts on the history of Nyungwe Forest National Park is that the park has existed for many years since 1903 when the German Colonial government declared the park as a reserve and a colonial crown land of Nyungwe. However in 1958 and 1973 the national park was reduced in size by the fires, poached of animals increased, deforestation and all this made the park reduce to 150 sq.km. A big number of elephants were killed and in the year of 1975, Buffaloes were as well killed. In 1984 there was a population growth of about 400 colobus monkeys that lived in the forest in groups.
There was a setup of research facilities in Uwinka and however during the genocide in 1994, there was destruction of all the facilities in Uwinka. After the destruction of the tourist facilities in the 1994, there was a restoration of the facilities which started in 1995, until 2004 when the park was declared as a national park. This time Rwanda was listed among the top tourist destinations and during this period there was an increase in the tourism sector.
Chimpanzee trekking
Two groups of Chimpanzees are being habituated in Nyungwe national park: one found at Uwinka and other big group found at Cyamudongo as fragmented forest. Chimpanzees trekking in Cyamudongo forest distance, altitude gain and estimated time will depend on where the chimpanzees are located and the terrain of the forest area being trekked. The round trip walk for the chimpanzee trekking of this hike takes about 4.2km with a total altitude gain of about 240m. This represented roughly an hour of walking and three hours of looking through treetops mainly to look out for chimps, monkeys and birds.
What to carry for chimpanzee trekking
As you prepare to go for the chimpanzee trekking, there are some essentials that one needs to carry in order to have successful Rwanda safari tours. Some of these include Bring binoculars, rain gear, hiking boots or gum boot, water and snacks. Walking sticks will be provided to help you get a grip of the ground as you hike/trek. Cyamudongo forest is one of the Nyungwe top sections for chimpanzee trekking where tourists from all over the world travel to as a home of big group of chimpanzees.
How to get there
Cyamudongo is a recent annex to the park and is about an hour’s drive from the Gisakura reception center located outside the main boundaries of Nyungwe. This forest is a 19 sq.km fragment of the rainforest, that survived because it was too steep for cultivation and surrounded by tea plantations and eucalyptus groves with modest homesteads and shops perched on steep hillsides.
From the main road out of Nyungwe, Cyamudongo is reached by a rough and dirt track and it requires 4-4 car. About 11 km long at the Shagasha tea estate and village, a sidetrack is taken to the park. While there you will meet with teams of trackers and rangers who follow the trekkers during daylight hours to help and protect them. They usually have a radio communication with the guides so that tourists can be led to chimps by the most efficient route.
Best time for chimpanzee trekking
The Chimpanzees are easily seen in the early morning and this usually means having to wake up around 4:00-4:30 AM in June, July and August. The fig trees in the park are the fruits which make this forest a good one for chimps trekking. The chimpanzees feed until much later in the morning so tourists sleeping until normal hours still have good chance to see them. Only two groups of visitors are permitted to trek a particular group of primates on a given day and then they are allowed to spend only hour.
Colobus monkeys in Gisakura Forest
If you have done a strenuous hike the previous day or have just arrived with a few hours before dinner, this is a relaxed outing which can be done in one to three hours. This is an easy hike and accessible from the nearby Gisakura guest house and Nyungwe forest lodge which is currently called one and only.
The guide is required to accompany you and you ought to bring binoculars, rain gear, water and proper hiking shoes. Your guide will provide a walking stick. Gisakura forest is an isolated patch of rainforest in the middle of tea plantation just outside the park boundary. It lies in a deep little valley with a stream flowing along the bottom. Gisakura Forest is less than 1 sq.km in size and it is the watershed for the spring serving the tea plantation.
This little forest remnant received park status in 2005 when it was discovered that a group of Angolan black and white colobus monkeys had established their home range there. Fortunately, these primates can supplement their natural diet with alien pine and eucalyptus, otherwise their small home territory could not sustain them.
You may spot a Mona monkey mixed in with the colobus. There is a little agreement on why this one monkey is there and what role he plays. A solitary tracker follows them in and out of the forest and is responsible for protecting them.
If the colobus is at home, the tracker will direct the guide to a particular access trail to lead you there. If the colobus is not found you can enjoy a short stroll in the forest or even better a pleasant walk along the perimeter on plantation roads especially to the right of the forest and at the far end of that section.
At that point, the plantation track veers right. On a clear day, there is a beautiful view of the dramatically hilly countryside all the way to Lake Kivu and the DRC. Because the perimeter road gets lots of sun. There are many species of wild flowers here not found in the rest of the forest. Among them are bright blue brillantaisia, impatiens, begonia, and variety shrubs.
Accessibility
The distance from Kigali to Nyungwe forest national park is about 230 km. This is about a 5 hours drive, on your way to Nyungwe National park and you will have a chance to see the Nyanza King’s Palace at Nyabisindu. The King’s palace will give you an insight about the Kingdom of Rwanda, Craft shops, National museum, Arboretum, Gikongoro genocide memorial center, Bisesero Memorial Center among other attractions you will find on your way.
Nyungwe forest can be accessed by road using many transport means that include tour operator cars, special hire cars, buses and other public cars. Another option is for those who want to take a short time to reach the park is the transport by air. There are aircrafts like RwandAir which organise chatter flights. From all these options getting to Nyungwe is made very easy.
Accommodation in Nyungwe Forest National Park
When planning a memorable Rwanda safari to Nyungwe Forest National Park, be sure to select the right accommodation that aligns with your budget. Nyungwe Forest National Park is surrounded by outstanding accommodation facilities that range from luxury, midrange, and budget facilities.
Some of the accommodation facilities in Nyungwe Forest include One & Only Nyungwe House, Nyungwe Forest Lodge, Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel, Gisakura Family Hostel, Nyungwe Nziza Eco-Lodge, Kitabi Eco-Center, Uwinka Campsite, and Emeraude Kivu Resort.
