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Nyungwe Forest National Park lies in the south-west of Rwanda, close to the southern tip of Lake Kivu. It’s one of Africa’s most ancient rainforests, alive with biodiversity with a wide range of endemic flora and fauna. Vast lush tracts of rainforest range over high fertile mountain slopes.
This is the only place in Rwanda where you can track wild chimpanzees. And hearing their excited hoots echo through the forest is often your first clue that they’re nearby.
Nyungwe Chimpanzee Trekking
Treks start early in the morning, with guides leading you deep into the forest to find a family group. With around 400–500 chimpanzees living in Nyungwe, sightings are often thrilling, if not guaranteed. You’ll probably hear these excitable primates before you see them, as their hoots travel through the deep forest.
Insider Tip
You can get the Gorilla permit for only $1 050 outside of peak season - June to October - if you also visit another National Park such as Akagera or Nyungwe Forest.
In the afternoon, the famous Nyungwe Canopy Walk is a must, offering impressive views of the forest. Suspended high above the forest, it’s both exhilarating and a little vertigo-inducing.
The canopy walkway is the only one of its kind in East Africa, and one of the highest in Africa — suspended at 60–70m above the ground. As you are so high up, the 1½ to 2 hour walk allows you to witness the upper parts of the forest. Here you’ll glimpse unique canopy-dwelling birds, butterflies, and perhaps even primates. It’s a perspective of the rainforest few get to see. And once experienced, it’s impossible to forget.
If you have a little more time (and energy), we recommend a longer half to semi-full-day trek to see the black-and-white Angolan Colobus monkeys. Found in troops of several hundred — sometimes up to 450 — they are an incredible sight. Imagine watching 50 or more monkeys leap through the forest canopy at once. It’s like rush hour, but with better views. This fair to moderate trek can be adapted to your fitness and can lasts up 6 hours.
Facts and More facts
Nyungwe is home to over 1,000 plant species, 85 mammals, 43 reptiles, and 310 bird species, 29 of which are found nowhere else on earth.
Accommodation ranges from the luxurious One&Only Nyungwe House to boutique hotel options , near Lake Kivu, just 30–40 minutes away. Conveniently, there’s also an early morning domestic flight back to Kigali, one of the few scheduled domestic flights in Rwanda.
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