Nyungwe forest national park

Located in southwestern Rwanda, Nyungwe is a Rainforest forest park, probably the best preserved montane rainforest in Africa. It has a canopy walk through the forest; one of only three in Africa.

The canopy walk is 50 meters high above the treetops. Other activities at your disposal include hikes, chimpanzee tracking, nature walks, monkey tracking, and birding- some of the best birding havens in Africa.

Given the small size of Rwanda and the undisputable beauty of this region, Nyungwe forest should certainly be on your list of must-visit places in Rwanda.

One of the wondrous sights in the land of a thousand hills is the Nyungwe forest. National park, It covers a wide area of over 1000 sq. Km in Rwanda extends to Burundi where it's called Kibira national park. Nyungwe forest receives about 200mm of rain annually and is Rwanda's largest water catchment belt. It holds 2/3 of Rwanda's water and feeds both the River Nile and River Congo.

The 4-5 country side journey to Nyungwe forest national park features long windy roads through vast tea fields, beautiful scenery and cool weather. Nyungwe forest features Kamiranzovu swamp, a forest canopy walk, hundreds of bird species, flowers, butterflies, chimpanzees and other 12 primate's species.

The only canopy walk in East Africa of 3 in Africa, Gives an ultimate opportunity for Birding, Primate Viewing including Chimpanzee Tracking and scenic viewing over this beautiful countryside.

Wildlife in Nyungwe Forest Park

Nyungwe Forest National Park boasts of 85 different species of mammals of which 13 are primates, 32 amphibians, 38 reptile species and about 300 bird species.

The primates include chimps and unhabituated golden monkeys, the L'hoest monkey, the silver monkey, Hamlyn's monkey, the red tailed monkey, the vervet monkey, the olive baboon and others.

Nyungwe forest national park Activities to choose from

There are several exciting activities you can take part in while on a Rwanda safari in Nyungwe forest national park.

Hiking

The Park's thirteen hiking trails, Run through about 130 km of the forest. This offers an opportunity to nature lovers who would wish to take long hours hiking through and also exploring the ancient rainforest. Hiking through Nyungwe forest gives the hikers a chance to see some primates, birds, various tree species and butterflies along the trails. An individual hike in the forest can take one hour or but there are optional longer hikes of up to 8 hours a day, depending on how much time you have and your fitness level.

Canopy Walk

The Nyungwe forest canopy walk is an activity unique to only three places in Africa, the 50 meters high, 90 meters long canopy walk is a thrilling walk and you can enjoy some really amazing views of the neighborhood from way up there, and some wildlife in the branches, keep your eyes open.

Chimpanzee Trekking

Tracking chimpanzees in Nyungwe National park should be top on the list of Gorilla tracking add-ons as it helps give a comparison between these two man's closest relatives. The location of the park and the forest is such that you can go gorilla trekking in the volcanoes national park and extend your trip and activities to include tracking chimpanzees in Nyungwe forest.

Tracking chimpanzees in Nyungwe forest National Park starts early in the morning and may last the day, which gives you more time to explore this primeval forest at your pace and on one entry ticket.

Monkey tracking in Nyungwe Forest national park

Tracking the Grey Cheeked Mangabey and Rwenzori Colobus Monkey is another exciting thing to do in Nyungwe forest.

The forest has 12 primates to see on top of chimpanzees. Colobus monkeys are quite easy to find since there are over 300 of these. You are also likely to see the L'Hoest's Monkey, Owl Faced Monkey, Mona Monkey and Blue Monkeys, and others

Birding in Nyungwe forest National Park

Nyungwe forest is a birding haven for any hardcore bird watcher out there, with over 300 bird species, including grauer's rush warbler which is endemic to the Albertine rift valley and other 27 bird species. Other birds to look out for while here include Rwenzori turaco, the large blue turaco, purple and blue breasted sunbirds and many others, if you are a bird lover, before you look into other optional destinations, first explore Nyungwe unique bird list and as you can see it easy to combine with Gorilla tracking in Rwanda.