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Covering about 1,019 km2 of the total surface land area, Nyungwe Forest National Park is one of the oldest rainforests on the African continent and one of the biggest national parks situated in the southwestern part of Rwanda.
The park is largely dominated by wetlands, grasslands, Afro montane forests and bamboo home to over 300 different bird species, about 1000 plant species and several mammal species.
In 2020, a 20-year agreement to manage Nyungwe was signed to restore and protect the park by several 20 national parks in Africa, Rwandan Development Board together with Akagera National Park. This was a result of increased poaching, illegal settlement, illegal mining and agricultural encroachment that initially threatened the existence of the rich biodiversity of the park.
CHIMPANZEE TREKKING EXPERIENCE IN NYUNGWE FOREST NATIONAL PARK.
Chimpanzees are very charismatic human-like primate species and are believed to be the most intelligent species after humans. Watching them in their natural habitats can be such a breathtaking lifetime experience. Nyungwe Forest National Park is one of the finest spots for chimpanzee tracking in Rwanda.
Here are about 400 chimpanzee individuals sheltered in the Nyungwe forest alongside other several wildlife species. Tracking chimpanzees in Nyungwe takes about 3 to 6 hours depending on their location as they are quick in their movements making them move for longer distances.
Visitors are advised to wake up early in the wee hours of the morning around 4:30 am to prepare and embark on their tracking journey. By 5:00 am, briefing on the dos and don’ts commences before the activity can take place.
The essence of waking very early in the morning is as a result enormous size of the park where the earlier the better. The best way to track the chimpanzees is waking up early as they tend to move quicker in deep forests to start their day.
Later on, trackers and park rangers may use their experienced knowledge to tell the location of chimpanzees and once they are tracked, visitors can be able to take stunning photos of the chimpanzees, learn about their breastfeeding habits, mating, and how they behave exactly like human beings.
ACTIVITIES IN THE PARK.
Birding Activities.
Nyungwe Forest National Park is one of the best hot spots for birding activities in Rwanda given its rich biodiversity. There are about 300 different bird species in Nyungwe including Archer’s robin chat, Ruwenzori mantis, Grauer’s warbler, Dusky crimson wing, Kungwe appalis, sunbirds, Neuman’s warbler and large blue Turaco alongside about 26 bird species that are endemic to the Albertine river.
Cultural Encounters.
While visiting Nyungwe, visitors can also have a rare opportunity of visiting the neighbouring Rwandan cultural communities for example Banda community village, and Kitabi cultural village where they can learn about their way of living, art, and cultural history background.
ACCESSIBILITY OF THE PARK.
Nyungwe Forest National Park can be accessed by both road means of transport and by flight air. By using road means visitors will either have private means or public means where they can use a bus that takes off every one hour from Kigali City through Karongi town to Nyungwe taking about 6 to 7 hours.
Helicopter flights are also organized and a helicopter takes about 45 minutes to the tourism destination. Private lodges work hand in hand with Akagera Aviation to transport visitors to their accommodation facilities where they can spend a night and dive into the chimpanzee tracking activities the next day.
BEST TIME TO DO CHIMPANZEE TREKKING.
Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe Forest National Park is an all-year-round tourism destination. However, the dry period of the year between December to February and July to September in Rwanda is the best time to carry out this activity.
The tracking routes are dry and accessible making it easy to maneuver and track these primate species without much complications unlike during the rainy season where they are slippery, muddy and almost inaccessible. Sighting the chimpanzees and other primates in Nyungwe is also made easier and clearer during the dry season as a result of short and reduced vegetation.
HOW MUCH CHIMPANZEE TREKKING PERMITS COST?
The chimpanzee trekking permit costs 25 USD per trek per person for Rwandan citizens and East African community citizens. International visitors pay about 150 USD per trek per person and Rwandan residents and East African residents pay about 75 USD per trek per person.Â
What our customers Say ?
Headspun2023-07-16Unforgettable Rwanda Emerald tailored our 5 day trip to Rwanda to all our many and frequently changing requests without any fuss. Chris, our driver/guide for the duration, could not have been more helpful and professional
Nic2022-10-25Amazing holidays! Great holidays! Even my special wishes were included into the planning although time was short. Our guide and driver City Tyson Magezi was caring and responsible. We traveled for four weeks and stayed in different accommodations from hut to tent to amazing hotels.
Susanne2022-08-19Just amazing It felt so safe and comfortable and exciting to travel with emerald. Our guide was so caring, so experienced and always friendly and an a great mood. He showed us so many animals included lions and leopards. That was just amazing . We saw wonderful landscapes like waterfalls and had contact to people . No Uganda or Eastern Africa without emerald . I m deep in love with Uganda and will come back as soon as possible.
Jose Murta2022-05-13Memorable Family Trip in Uganda Fantastic Trip that exceeded our expectations! Travelled to Uganda with wife and 2 children (9 and 10y old) for 7 days. Since the start (at planning stage) got a great support from Bob (company owner) and Edmund (our guide) via WhatsApp. They tailored a program to our needs including the unforgettable mountain gorillas hike, general hikes to waterfalls, safari including boat trip to see hipos!! Edmund, our guide, always super polite and the kids enjoyed him a lot! All our hotels, meals included in the package so no hassle on this….we just paid for drinks! The only regret I have is not staying one extra day in the Mburo National Park to explore a bit more ;) Memorable trip with so much nature and a super-humble people that made the experience even more enjoyable!! Super recommend!! The whole family just feeling we need to get back to explore more ;)Dwayne B2022-05-13Great Experience With Emerald!! It was an amazing experience! My guides Lucky and Hillary made me feel as if I was family and took care of everything I needed. They were very knowledgeable as we trekked to gorillas in Bwindi and a ride a wildlife safari through Queen Elizabeth. I learned so much from them about the animals, the terrain and the surrounding people. They we also incredibly helpful in helping me find activities around Buhoma, where I stayed, all of which were great. By the time I left I knew I had made friends who I will continue to stay in touch with. Can’t wait to come back with my family!
Dávid B2022-05-12Feeding python - 9 lions on a tree - leopard vs. lion We saw all animals and extremely special situations in a short period of time, good organization and friendly guide Paul with lots of knowledge.
Rachmurta2022-05-10Unforgettable trip! We spent one week in Uganda travelling by the guidance of Gorilla Experience safari. The whole experience were definitely above our expectations. Edmand was a friendly, polite and kind guide the whole time!
Vit Siv2022-04-22Ultimately Unique Experience of Uganda! It was unbelievable unique experience, one in a life time. Everything right from arrival to minor ditals was taken care of, too service! Itinerary was compiled/tailor to our wishes and needs as well as to include as much activities as possible. Tyson was our guide. He is an amazing guide, but even better person. He did an incredible job to put this all together, and make it all happen. We managed to do everything we wanted and even more. Definitely a trip to remember!!
Emmanuel OKalany2022-01-08A rewarding experience for a family visit to queen Elizabeth National Park My family and I had an excellent guided tour to Queen Elizabeth National Park. The itinerary planning provided was good and the costing of items was realistic. The care and hospitality of the team was excellent. They were also flexible to make time adjustments brought about because of traveling with children
Gordon Y2021-06-23Trip to Kaiso Tonya Game Reserve The guide/driver was too keen to find out my interests. That way, we always had something to talk abouts. Thank you
