Nyungwe National Park is the oldest and bestselling safari destination to go on a chimpanzee trekking on a Rwanda safari. The park is in the southwest corner of Rwanda, in the south. In the south, where it meets the line between Rwanda and Burundi, the Park is about 970 square kilometres big. Nyungwe Forest National Park is one of the greatest destination in the world to see pristine mountain rain forests with a lot of different kinds of plants and animals. The forest starts in the north of Uganda and Congo and spreads through the Rwenzori Mountains, western Rwanda, and Burundi to the shores of Lake Victoria. It is a very impressive forest that is dominated by mountains.
Attractions in Nyungwe Forest national park.
Nyungwe Forest National Park is one of the most frequently visited destinations to go because it has so many amazing attractions to see.
Animal species.
Nyungwe Forest National Park is home to many different kinds of animal species, which draws travelers from all over the country to observe them. There are thick forests in the park that are home to all of the animals, including mammals and primates. Nyungwe Forest National Park is home to a very large number of animals, such as civets, jackals, golden cats, duikers, leopards, golden cats, and many others.
Primates.
Primates are one of the most popular attractions to see in Nyungwe Forest National Park. There are 13 species of primates that live in the forest, including red-tailed monkeys, chimpanzees, L’Hoest’s monkey, olive baboon, vervet monkey, bush babies, and many more. These animals are favored with tourists on a Rwanda safari who want to learn more about the area.
Bird species.
Bird lovers who discover Nyungwe forest national park becomes well contained with the chances to spotting the best attractive bird species in the park. This is because the park is made up of all alpine forest and is home to more than 310 bird species, of which 120 are forest species and 16 are unique to the Albertine rift. In Nyungwe Forest National Park, there are many different kinds of birds, such as red-collared mountain babbler, handsome francolin, Rwenzori turaco, purple-breasted sunbird, African hill babbler, Albertine owlet, Archer’s robin-chat, Bar-tailed trogon, Blue-headed sunbird, Dusky crimsonwing, Dwarf honeyguide, Grauer’s swamp warbler, Great blue turaco and among others.
Vegetation.
Nyungwe forest national park has got its distinctive characteristics wrapped by Albertine rift montane rainforest that exists in the Albertine rift area. The park is a 1,000-square-kilometer forest with more than 1068 plant species. Of these, 200 are trees, such as the giant lobelia, orchids, bamboo, shrubs, and others. 68 of the species are unique to the park, including the mahogany, talenna rwandense, and others. There are also bamboo grasslands, swamps, bogs, and others.
Canopy.
Nyungwe forest national park is the appealing national park on Rwanda safari, where it is 50 meters and 200 meters raised canopy above from the ground which is so attractive to the majority of the tourists. As the third best in all of Africa, the country’s canopy is an important attraction for the many tourists who visit. With the metal walkway that tourists use to explore the park’s secrets.
Activities to do in Nyungwe Forest national park.
Chimpanzee trekking.
Nyungwe forest national park is an oasis to plenty of the chimpanzees which allows the tourists to carry out chimpanzee trekking safari. Chimpanzees mostly live in two areas of the park: Uwinka area and Cyamudongo area. Chimpanzee trekking begins with a briefing early in the morning at the park headquarters where they give you rules and regulations to follow while trekking the chimpanzees. After the briefing, you can explore the trekking trails into the forest with the help of expert guides. Once you find the chimpanzees, you have an hour to spend with them. This is astounding during the chimpanzee trekking safari the travelers can come throughout many different animals in the park including the various primates like red tailed monkeys, olive baboon, vervet monkey, grey-checked mangabey, bushbabys and among others and spotting various bird species.
Canopy walks.
When travelers go to Nyungwe Forest National Park, they can do the canopy walk, which is a beautiful safari activity. The canopy walk is a 50-meter-high steel bridge that goes over the trees. Canopy walk has three walking parts. The longest one is 90 metres, the second is 45 metres, and the third is 25 metres. The safari activity is a two-hour exhilarating ride that starts at the tourists centre in Uwinka. This gives you a chance to see the beautiful animals of the park from above as you move along.
Bird watching.
Nyungwe Forest National Park is an excellent safari destination to see birds. There are more than 310 different kinds of birds in the park. The park is a fantastic destination for bird fans to go because they can see beautiful and colourful birds like Rwenzori batis, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Handsome Francolin, Stripe-breasted, Stripe-breasted Tit, Chestnut Owlet, Regal Sun-bird, and many others.
Guided nature walks and hiking.
Nature walks in Nyungwe Forest National Park deliver tourists a chance to see hidden parts of the park that vehicles can’t reach. They can also explore the park’s steep terrain on foot, using a variety of trails that lead them to different parts of the park’s wildlife that is a wonderful safari experience.
Gisakura plantation tour.
Tourists can go outside the park by taking a tour of the Gisakura tea plantation, which is on the edge of the Nyungwe Forest National Park. The beautiful tea plantation gives off a magical feeling, and during the excursion, tourists can engage in activities like pick tea and talk to the local farmers. When tourists go on nature walks, they use different paths like Umuyove trail, Karamba trail, and Umugote trail to get to different parts of the area.
Best time to visit Nyungwe forest national park.
Nyungwe Forest National Park can be visited at any time of the year, but the best times to go are during the dry season from June to September or the short season from mid-December to mid-February.
Where to stay in Nyungwe forest national park.
Tourists who arrive to see Nyungwe forest national park are offered with several accommodation facilities that offer relaxed space to the tourists that fall in to Budget, Mid-range and luxuries which includes Nyungwe top vie hill hotel, Nyungwe forest lodge, Gisakura guest house, other guests can adopt camping to experience the natural environment in the park and among many others.
How to get to Nyungwe Forest National Park.
Nyungwe forest national park is situated in south western region of Rwanda near Lake Kivu. From Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, a trip of 225 kilometres takes 4 to 5 hours. You can also get to the park by air, using flights from Kigali that lands at the Nyungwe Forest Lodge, which is the quickest means to arrive the park.