Nyungwe national park is among the biggest national park in Rwanda and has an area cover of 1,019 square kilometers. The national park is located in the southwest of rwanda next to the Burundi border. The national park is famous for chimpanzee trekking due to the fact that it has the largest number of chimpanzees. Besides the chimpanzees the national park is a home to other primates species, 300 bird species where29 are endemic to the Albertine rift.
ATTRACTIONS IN NYUNGWE NATIONAL PARK
WILDLIFE
The national park is blessed with a number of wildlife which includes primates, mammals, insects as well as birds which attract a large number of tourists. These include buffalos, elephants, bushpigs, golden cats, giant forest hog, blotched serval, carnival genet, mongoose, otter, black-fronted duiker, primates such as red-tailed monkeys, Angola colobus monkey, Rwenzori colobus, silver monkey, dents mona monkey among others
CHIMPANZEE
Nyungwe national park has the largest population of chimpanzees and the chimpanzees aren’t habituated like the gorillas. The national park has over 500 individuals but only two troops have been fully habituated for chimpanzee trekking. One troop is found at nyungwe main forest and the other is found in Cyamudongo which is a small patch found in the east of the national park
BIRDS
Bird watching within the national park is very amazing because the park has over seven areas where tourists can spot a number of birds. The national park has a number of constructed bird trails which makes the birding Rwanda safari memorable. The trails include; bigugu trail, karamba trail, gisakura trail and kamiranzovu trail. Each trail has its amazing and beautiful sceneries. Birds that can be spotted include; short-tailed warbler, grey-crested kakamega, mountain masked apalis, regal sunbird, kivu ground thrush among others.
MOUNT BIGUGU
The mount bigugu is located inside nyungwe national park and is one of the oldest rain forest in Africa. The trail is challenging and requires physical fitness. The trail is amazing for visitors who want to take part in hikes. The trail takes 6 hours with a distance of 13.2 kilometers that heads to the birding points of the park.
CANOPY WALK
The canopy walk in nyungwe national park is a breathtaking activity where a suspended bridge 70 meters high is above the nyungwe forest. The walk is a guided walk on a 160meters long walk away and it takes 2 hours to complete the walk.
ACTIVITIES IN NYUNGWE NATIONAL PARK
BIRDING
Nyungwe national park is blessed with over 300 bird species where 29 are natives to the Albertine rift. Birds that are found in the park include African hill babbler, bar-tailed trogon, blue-headed sunbird, dwarf honeyguide, handsome francolin, kivu ground thrush, kungwe apalis, grauer’s warbler, Shelley crimsonwing, mountain masked apalis, red-faced woodland warbler among others.
CHIMPANZEE TREKKING
Nyungwe national park is blessed with a large population of chimpanzees and chimpanzee trekking is the major activity carried out in the national park. Chimpanzees are not orderly and un settled which makes the trekking fun and exciting as well. The trekking of the chimpanzees is done with an experienced park ranger.
NATURE HIKING
The nature hiking trails within nyungwe national park takes 4hours to 3 days to hike. Within the national park there are well constructed hiking trails with 130 kilometers including Congo Nile which is the longest one. The most difficult one is the Imbaraga trail and the shortest is the Igishigishigi trail.
CANOPY WALK
The walk is part of the Igishigishigi trail that is a high suspension bridge that has amazing views over the valley as well as the surrounding forests. This is the most popular activity and the second done by many tourists while on their safari in nyungwe national park. The canopy walk was established in 2010 with an aim of boosting domestic as well as international tourism. The canopy walk is done from 9am and the last trip is carried out at 3pm.
TROPICAL WATERFALL
The national park has a number of waterfalls but the biggest and most known is kamiranzovu waterfall that is found in the park. The tourists that love hiking enjoy the most and it takes 3 to 4 hours. The trail starts from Gisakura reception center. The water flows about 3km and flows through lake kivu, Congo River, Tanganyika up to Atlantic Ocean.
CAMPING
Camping within nyungwe national park is really breathtaking and amazing. Camping is where the tourists spend the whole night within the national park which is a tropical rain forest. There’s a camp site that is set at uwinka reception center and it’s a tented campsite and the tents are attached to the wooden made platforms because it doesn’t have walls. Camp fire is already set and it has modern toilets as well as bathrooms.
The cost for camping within the national park is 40 USD with a tent and persons with their own tents are charged 30 USD.