2022 Tours to the King’s Palace in Nyanza

2022 Tours to the King’s Palace in Nyanza: The King’s Palace, a wonderfully made thatched building structured like a beehive, is a replica of the original royal palace. Nyanza was once the beating heart of Rwanda. It was the location of conflicts and power struggles, according to oral tradition.

For a long time, the monarchy was nomadic, with the court shifting from one site to another. When all finally calmed down, Nyanza was the obvious pick. The kingdom’s capital had up to 2,000 residents and cottages built using the same methods as seen here.

A few long-horned Inyambo cattle, descended from the king’s herd, reside in the back, where their caretakers meticulously manage and sing to them, preserving a unique tradition. The King’s Palace Museum is a replica of the traditional royal home. Nyanza is a magnificently built thatched home in the style of a beehive. Nyanza was once the beating heart of Rwanda. It was the location of conflicts and power struggles, according to oral tradition.

The exquisite cows, descended from the larger Ankole breed, played a prominent role in kingly festivities. They were adorned with expensive jewellery and taught to listen to a trainer’s songs and follow his motions in a stately procession.

Rwanda was no longer a monarchy when it earned independence from colonial domination in 1962. However, Inyambo breeding and grooming are still managed by the Rwanda Agriculture Board. The neighbouring Ethnographic Museum in Huye holds one of Africa’s best ethnographic collections and complements the King’s Palace well.

Other attractions that you can combine with a visit to the King’s Palace in Nyanza.

Nyungwe Forest National Park.

The King’s palace in Nyanza often makes a splendid stopover destination for tourists visiting Nyungwe forest national park. The national park is Rwanda’s top destination for chimpanzee tours. Notable attractions in the park include primates like chimps, black and white colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, and blue monkeys among others, the canopy walkway bridge, tropical waterfalls, and a variety of bird species for those interested in birding.

2022 Tours to the King’s Palace in Nyanza
Nyungwe

Nyungwe national park is located in the country’s southwest. It was designated a national park in 2004 and comprises around 970 square kilometres. However, Nyungwe Forest National Park was designated as a protected area in 2005, and visitor visitation to the park surged during this period.

Nyungwe National Park is located in southwest Rwanda, bordering Burundi on the south and Lake Kivu and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west. The national park is part of the famed Nyungwe Forest, East and Central Africa’s biggest tropical rain forest. It is said to have been around for thousands of years.

Activities offered in Nyungwe Forest National Park.   

Canopy Walk

The canopy walkway allows you to explore the Nyungwe forest. The canopy walkway in Nyungwe is a 50-meter-high steel bridge erected on the tree tops that is the largest of its kind in East Africa. Nyungwe canopy walk has trails that are named after the types of tree species found there, such as Igishigishigi trail, which means fern trees and is also one of the main hiking trails in Nyungwe forest national park, Umuyove trail, which means mahogany trees, Umugote trail, Karamba trail, and Isumo trail, among others. The canopy walkway is separated into three walking parts, the longest of which is 90 metres, another 45 metres, and the smallest of which is 25 metres, 2022 Tours to the King’s Palace in Nyanza.

Chimpanzee Trekking

Chimpanzee trekking is the most popular activity in Nyungwe Jungle National Park, where people travel through the forest in search of chimps. Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe Forest National Park begins at 5:00 a.m. from three receiving centres: Uwinka, Gisakura, and Kitabi, with a briefing, after which you will meet park rangers and begin hiking in the forest. Nyungwe Forest National Park is home to approximately 60 habituated chimps, and trekking takes approximately 2 to 6 hours or longer depending on the location of the chimps because they love to move from one location to another in search of food, and once found, visitors are allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat.

Primate Tracking

Nyungwe forest national park is home to over 300 monkey species, making monkey trekking the area’s second most popular attraction after chimp trekking. Monkey trekking is an outstanding activity since the monkeys are energetic and vibrant animals that will fascinate you as you watch them jump from one tree to another. Blue monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys, l’Hoest monkeys, and vervet monkeys are among the monkey species found in Nyungwe Forest National Park.

2022 Tours to the King’s Palace in Nyanza
White Colobus Monkeys

Hiking /Guided Nature Walks

Bigugu path, a 7kilometer track that leads to the highest point in Nyungwe forest national park, Bigugu peak, which is 2950 metres high, is one of the hiking trails available in Nyungwe forest national park. Bigugu is a challenging trek that takes 6 hours to complete and requires the hiker to be physically fit. Hiking the Bigugu route allows you to see several bird species and natural flowers in the forest.

The Isumo waterfall route is a 10.6-kilometer-long path that runs through tea plantations, Nyungwe forest, and tree ferns, among other things. The Isumo waterfall walk takes around 4 hours to complete and offers views of monkeys, tree species, and other wildlife.

2022 Tours to the King’s Palace in Nyanza
Isumo waterfall Trail

Access in Nyungwe Forest National Park.

Air travel from Kigali International Airport to Kamembe International Airport is available to reach Nyungwe Forest National Park. If you arrive at Kamembe International Airport, you may either drive 32 kilometres to the national park or charter a helicopter, depending on your budget, 2022 Tours to the King’s Palace in Nyanza.

Nyungwe is located in the Butare district, near the town of Cyangugu in south-western Rwanda. It is a four to five hour trip from Kigali to the national park, covering a distance of 225 kilometres. To go to Uwinka Center or Gisakura, one can take a bus or rent a vehicle.

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