Nyungwe Forest National Park
Nyungwe National Park lies in southwest Rwanda, partly abutting the Burundi border. It’s a vast area of mountain rainforest, home to many species of chimpanzees, plus owl-faced and colobus monkeys.
Spectacular Biodiversity
One of the most important forest conservation areas in all of Africa, Nyungwe Forest National Park contains a spectacular array of biodiversity, including 1,068 plant species, 322 species of birds, and 75 types of mammals. Most tourists come to this rainforest to track chimpanzees, which have been habituated to humans by park rangers. This animal encounter is a fraction of the cost of gorilla trekking, yet no less memorable.
Hanging out with primates isn’t the only thing to do in Nyungwe. The park is also home to the only canopy walk in East Africa, roughly a 90-minute hike from the Uwinka Visitor Center. You’ll walk across a 91-meter-long suspension bridge dangling more than 50 meters above the verdant rainforest, getting a dizzying view of the treetops and mountains in the distance.
Nyungwe National Park is a birder’s paradise with around 300 species having been recorded, nearly 30 of which are Albertine Rift endemics. There are also 13 species classified as endangered, vulnerable, or near threatened by the IUCN. The thick vegetation makes finding birds more difficult, but the birder could be highly rewarded with rare species such as the Rwenzori turaco and Grauer’s swamp-warbler.
The Nyungwe forest has incredibly high wildlife diversity and endemism, making it a priority for conservation. A quarter of all of Africa’s primates, 13 species, can be found here, including the common chimpanzee and two Albertine Rift endemics, L’Hoest’s monkey (Cercopithecus l’hoesti) and Hamlyn’s monkey (Cercopithecus hamlyni). The Rwenzori colobus has been observed in a single group of 400 individuals, the largest ever recorded of any primate on the continent.
Nyungwe Forest National Park
Nyungwe National Park lies in southwest Rwanda, partly abutting the Burundi border. It’s a vast area of mountain rainforest, home to many species of chimpanzees, plus owl-faced and colobus monkeys.
Spectacular Biodiversity
One of the most important forest conservation areas in all of Africa, Nyungwe Forest National Park contains a spectacular array of biodiversity, including 1,068 plant species, 322 species of birds, and 75 types of mammals. Most tourists come to this rainforest to track chimpanzees, which have been habituated to humans by park rangers. This animal encounter is a fraction of the cost of gorilla trekking, yet no less memorable.
Hanging out with primates isn’t the only thing to do in Nyungwe. The park is also home to the only canopy walk in East Africa, roughly a 90-minute hike from the Uwinka Visitor Center. You’ll walk across a 91-meter-long suspension bridge dangling more than 50 meters above the verdant rainforest, getting a dizzying view of the treetops and mountains in the distance.
Nyungwe National Park is a birder’s paradise with around 300 species having been recorded, nearly 30 of which are Albertine Rift endemics. There are also 13 species classified as endangered, vulnerable, or near threatened by the IUCN. The thick vegetation makes finding birds more difficult, but the birder could be highly rewarded with rare species such as the Rwenzori turaco and Grauer’s swamp-warbler.
The Nyungwe forest has incredibly high wildlife diversity and endemism, making it a priority for conservation. A quarter of all of Africa’s primates, 13 species, can be found here, including the common chimpanzee and two Albertine Rift endemics, L’Hoest’s monkey (Cercopithecus l’hoesti) and Hamlyn’s monkey (Cercopithecus hamlyni). The Rwenzori colobus has been observed in a single group of 400 individuals, the largest ever recorded of any primate on the continent.
The Flora
The park encompasses the entirety of the Nyungwe forest, however there are also natural patches of savannah throughout the forest, allowing for even higher species diversity. The range in altitude from 1,900 to 3,000 m also shows changes in vegetation, ranging from tall trees, to ferns, to bamboo. Nearly 1,100 species of plants have been recorded, of which 200 are trees and 140 are orchids. This unique landscape has also produced an extreme level of endemism among plants as well as animals, with more endemic species recorded here than any other forest in the region. Twenty one of the 24 plants endemic to the Albertine Rift region have been recorded in Nyungwe. There are also at least three species endemic to Nyungwe itself: Impatiens kagamei, Impatiens nyungwensis, and Begonia pulcherrima
Things to Do at the Forest
The Canopy Walk
Nyungwe Forest sits on 1,015sq km and is today, the largest remaining area of Tropical Afro Montane rainforest in East Africa. The canopy walk is in essence, a 2 hour stroll on a 200meters long trail 50 meters above the forest cover and one of the most exhilarating activities to do at Nyungwe Forest National Park. The view at the top gives you the eagle’s eye experience; panoramic views that a hike on ground would not offer. For safety reasons, children below the age of 6 years are not allowed to participate in the canopy walk.
Chimpanzee trekking
Nyungwe Forest National Park is home to 25% of Africa’s total primate species. The chimpanzee population here is only second to that of Uganda’s Kibale National Park. It should be noted that while there are so many trails you can hike along to see the chimpanzees, you may have to veer off the beaten paths into the forest albeit with the guide’s help. The rewarding sight after the hike is often comprised of acrobatic chimpanzees swinging on tree branches, mother chimps cuddling baby chimps and more sights that will not only surprise you but warm your heart.
This thrilling chimpanzee trekking experience starts at 5am which implies that you should be up earlier. Each trekking group can only have a maximum of 8 members. Nyungwe Forest is a rainforest with a slippery terrain that will require sturdy hiking shoes, a rain poncho in the likely event of a downpour, long sleeved thick shirts for the cold weather, long trousers to protect you from the long creeping undergrowth if you happen to go off the beaten path and binoculars for a better view of the chimps should you find them high up in the trees.
The Nyungwe Forest Bird walk
Nyungwe Forest is among the Top birding destinations in Rwanda with over 310 bird species. From the Albertine Rift endemics to the Forest endemics there are numerous species to set your eyes upon. The best yet rarest ones to see are the Great Blue Turaco, the Re-Throated Alethe, the Paradise Flycatcher and the Gigantic Forest Hornbill. The bonus views include the purple breasted and the blue headed sunbird, the Rockefeller’s Sunbird, Green Pigeons, Ross’s Turaco, Red-Breasted Sparrow Hawk, White Headed Wood Hoopoe, Francolin, Rwenzori Turaco, Red-Faced Woodland Warbler, Collared Apalis, Mountain Masked Apalis, Rwenzori Batis, Stripe-Breasted Tit and the Regal Sunbird.
There are several trails in the park upon which you can hike to see the birds. The more trails you hike, the more birds you are likely to see. Due to the forested terrain of the park, it may be hard to easily find certain species. Because of this, it is better to go with a guide who by experience can point you to a bird that he or she will have identified merely by its call.
Hiking at the forest
If you thrive on walks and take pleasure in a good hike, Nyungwe Forest National Park is the place for you. The park has a total of 13 different hiking trails along which you can walk for 1 to 8 hours viewing a multitude of plant, tree, bird, primate and butterfly species of all sorts. Igishigishigi Trail is the shortest trail along which you also find the canopy walk; another adrenaline-charged experience. The longest trail at Nyungwe Forest National Park on the other hand is the Bigugu Trail upon which a hike can take up to 8 hours. Each trail offers its own diverse wildlife experience showing you species that are predominantly found in this particular trail. Visiting Nyungwe Forest National Park specifically for a Hiking Safari is an idea worth considering because it takes days to finish all the 13 trails.
Colobus Monkey Trekking
There are 13 primate species at Nyungwe Forest of which more than half of these are monkey species. Some of the monkeys are endemic to this region and among these is the Rwenzori Colobus Monkey. A hike along one of the 13 hiking trails in Nyungwe will usher you into the world of the Grey-Cheeked Mangabeys, L’Hoest Monkeys, Owl Faced Monkeys, Blue-Monkeys and Mona Monkeys. Further into the forest and off the beaten track of the trails and accompanied by a guide you can chance upon a group of up to 200 Rwenzori Colobus Monkeys all at once which is a sight like no other.
