All activities / Wildlife Safaris / Nyungwe Forest National Park
Wildlife Safaris in Nyungwe Forest National Park
One of Africa's oldest and largest montane rainforests, blanketing the mountains of southwest Rwanda along the Congo-Nile divide. Nyungwe holds thirteen primate species including chimpanzees and huge troops of Angola colobus, more than 300 bird species, and East Africa's first canopy walkway strung 70 metres above the forest floor.
Why here
Nyungwe is a rainforest that has been growing since before the last ice age, and its great draw is primates. Thirteen species live under this canopy, led by two habituated chimpanzee communities that trekkers set out to find at dawn, following the calls and drumming through steep, wet forest. Alongside them move some of the largest troops of Angola colobus in Africa, black-and-white monkeys that can number several hundred and pour through the trees in a single band. The forest is also one of the richest birding sites in the region, with more than 300 species and dozens found nowhere else in Rwanda. Between treks you can walk the canopy walkway, a suspension bridge hung 70 metres above a ravine, for a swaying view over an unbroken sea of green. This is the wilder, quieter counterpart to the gorillas in the north.
Best months
Chimpanzee trekking runs year-round but is most reliable in the drier months of June to September and December to February, when trails are firmer; the wet seasons bring fruiting trees that can concentrate the chimps but also slick, muddy paths. Treks start very early from the park stations at Uwinka or Gisakura, and chimps move fast, so a sighting can take a short walk or a long, hard one. The canopy walk is a gentler two-hour outing suitable for most.
Getting there & around
Nyungwe is a long drive from Kigali, about five to six hours to the southwest, so most visitors stay at least two nights near the park at Gisakura or the lodges on its edge. Chimpanzee permits are booked through the Rwanda Development Board or a licensed operator, and the canopy walkway carries its own separate fee. Combining Nyungwe with Lake Kivu on the way makes the distance easier to justify.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate
Schools & guides (1)
Explore Rwanda Tours
OutfitterExplore Rwanda Tours is a Rwandan tour operator with offices in Kigali that runs primate and wildlife safaris across the country's three main parks, including chimpanzee trekking and the canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest, gorillas at Volcanoes and game drives in Akagera. It handles Rwanda Development Board permits, transport and guiding as a package, and also arranges gorilla trips over the border in Uganda's Bwindi and Mgahinga.