Nyungwe National Park

Topographically Nyungwe National Park is dominated by high-altitude, mountainous rainforest and is, as mentioned above, thought to be one of Africa’s oldest streches of forest.

The result of this remote landscape is that there are few settlements, few hotels and properties, and consequently few visitors, which is what makes the forest so idyllic and pleasingly peaceful.

The forest homes habituated chimpanzees and 12 or so other primate species (including black and white colobus monkeys). Nyungwe is also a haven for birders, with over 300 species that can be spotted on guided bird walks.

There are several activities that you can do in and around this picturesque rainforest. Its location, only 4 to 5 hours from the capital, Kigali, also makes it easy to combine with other destinations across Rwanda.

Trekking and guided walks are by far the most popular, with the length and difficulty of the walk tailored to each guest. Exploring by foot allows you to see the most untouched parts of the rainforest, passing waterfalls and lush green mountains. Trekking for the habituated chimpanzees of the Nyungwe National Park begins early in the morning and in groups of no more than eight people. As with the mountain gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park, once the chimps are located, the group has only one hour with them. Although the guides are extremely knowledgeable and experienced, sightings of the chimpanzees are not as reliable as the mountain gorillas as the rainforest is so dense.

For a different perspective of the forest, visitors should do the Canopy walk which hangs 50 metres from the ground in the midst of the giant trees. The hanging walkway is 200 metres long and offers panoramic views across the misty forest, spotting monkeys and birds along the way!

There are two pretty distinct seasons in Nyungwe to consider.

The dry season runs from June to September and makes trekking to see chimps much easiee but, the downside is that the park is busier.

The wet season, from October to May, renders the trails muddy and so makes chimp trekking harder but, as a silver lining, the birding is exceptional and the park is empty.

Do see our interactive best time to visit Nyungwe National Park guide on this page as well as on our parent guide to rwanda page for more in-depth information on when to go.

Or call us on +44 1525 840 149. That’s what we’re here for.

As much as AI has changed the way we all approach our lives, there is still no substitute for picking up the phone and having a chat through the options with one of us on +44 1525 840 149

This allows us to completely tailor the property choices, costs and itinerary length to your needs…but we also understand that this is not always possible with the busy lives we all lead.

With this in mind, we have also put together a safari finder tool that should help you to narrow down the initial stages at which point we can jump in to “round off the edges” as it were.

Alternatively please feel free to send us an email with your timings, group size and rough likes and dislikes and we can get the ball rolling.

As much as AI has changed the way we all approach our lives, there is still no substitute for picking up the phone and having a chat through the options with one of us on +44 1525 840 149

This allows us to completely tailor the property choices, costs and itinerary length to your needs…but we also understand that this is not always possible with the busy lives we all lead.

With this in mind, we have also put together a safari finder tool that should help you to narrow down the initial stages at which point we can jump in to “round off the edges” as it were.

Alternatively please feel free to send us an email with your timings, group size and rough likes and dislikes and we can get the ball rolling.