Packing List for Chimpanzee Trekking Tours in Rwanda: Chimpanzee trekking in Rwanda is one of the most popular wildlife safaris in Rwanda, maybe second only to gorilla trekking. The chimpanzee trekking safari in Rwanda is only available in Nyungwe Forest National Park. This park, located around 5 – 6 hours from Kigali in the southwest of Rwanda, protects an old mountain forest that is reported to have existed since the ice age, so safeguarding a vast biodiversity, with several species discovered to live exclusively in this forest. Visitors planning a chimp trekking safari in Nyungwe national park in Rwanda should bring the following items:
- Chimpanzee trekking permit; this is a legal document that allows you to trek chimp families in Nyungwe forest or Cyamudongo woodland, which is next to Nyungwe national park. A chimp trekking permit should be good for one hour and allow you to hike a chimp family. In Rwanda, chimp trekking permits cost $90 for foreign non-residents and $60 for foreign residents.
- Hiking footwear, hiking boots should be comfortable so that you can hike in the jungle for long periods of time while also protecting your feet from dirt, especially during the rainy season.
- Insect repellent, the insect repellent will protect you from biting insects such as tsetse flies, safari ants, and mosquitos, among others, while trekking.
- Long-sleeved shirt and pants, which will keep you warm while hiking through the forest and protect your body from prickly trees.
- Long socks, which will be tucked into the long trousers to keep insects from entering and biting you while in the forest.
Garden gloves, which will protect your hands from pathogens while travelling and holding prickly and stinging plants.
- Waterproof rain jacket, which will keep you dry if it rains while you’re still trekking chimps.
- During the dry season, wear a hat and sunglasses to protect your head from rain and bright sunlight.
- Walking stick, which is given at the starting point, is useful for support during hiking, particularly on steep slopes, and will save you from slipping or falling.
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Packing List for Chimpanzee Trekking Tours in Rwanda
Energy snacks, which include a packed lunch from the resort and plenty of drinking water. Chimpanzee trekking, like gorilla trekking, is unexpected, therefore bring energy foods to keep you going when trekking chimps for lengthy periods of time.
- Camera: When going on chimp trekking in Nyungwe National Park, bring a charged camera and additional batteries to capture all of the moments and shoot a lot of images during the one hour with the chimp family.
- Binoculars, because Nyungwe forest and Cyamudongo woodland are both homes for diverse bird species, binoculars will allow you to clearly watch different bird species in the forest, providing you with unforgettable memories and experiences throughout your safari in Nyungwe forest national park.
- Backpack, a backpack that will be used to carry all of your goods such as energy food, camera, chimp trekking permit, binoculars, and so on.
About Nyungwe Forest National Park in Rwanda.
Nyungwe Forest National Park is well-known for its primate diversity, with 13 primate species documented there, including a large number of chimps — man’s closest cousins. Nyungwe National Park has about 500 chimpanzees, making it one of the greatest places to watch chimps in their natural habitat. Other chimpanzees can be discovered in Rwanda’s Gishwati-Mukura National Park, although there is currently no chimp trekking there.
The park, which encompasses 970 square kilometres, was designated as a national park in 2004. It is Rwanda’s most popular place for chimp trekking excursions. Rainforests, grassland, bamboo, marshes, and marshland dominate the park.
The national park is home to over 1000 species and is situated in the centre of a tea plantation, with the Cyamudongo forest being the most popular hiking destination for tourists. The Canopy walk, Isumo waterfalls, and golden monkeys are among the other spectacular features in the national park, Packing List for Chimpanzee Trekking Tours in Rwanda .
When is the best time to visit Nyungwe Forest National Park?
The dry season, which runs from December to February and June to August, is the greatest time for people to explore Nyungwe Forest National Park. However, you may visit this magnificent national park at any time of year.
What are the chances of seeing Chimpanzees in Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park.
Chimpanzees, like humans, live in communities, and two chimp populations in Nyungwe National Park have been habituated for chimp tracking tours in Rwanda. The first settlement is located in the larger Nyungwe forest, while the second is located in Cyamudongo forest, a small piece of woodland to the east of Nyungwe forest. The Cyamudongo forest is part of Nyungwe Forest National Park, however it is geographically separated from the main forest. It used to be a continuous forest.
The habituated chimp group in the main Nyungwe forest is larger, with about 60 chimps, but due to the size of the forest and terrain, it sometimes offers fewer chances of seeing the chimps, whereas the chimp group in Cyamudongo forest, with about 30 chimps, offers the most successful sightings due to the small size that can be covered to find the chimps in any part.
Before going out on a hike in Nyungwe Forest National Park, the park would carefully examine the odds of sighting the chimps so that tourists have practically little possibility of missing them.
The Gisakura ranger station serves as the starting point for chimp trekking expeditions in Nyungwe National Park. Tourists are asked to be at Gisakura station at 4.30 a.m. to meet park guides for a briefing before transferring to the starting location of the journey inside the park at 5 a.m. In Nyungwe, there is just one chimp tracking session, which occurs in the early morning.
Get in touch with us if you are looking to book a chimpanzee tour/safari in Rwanda.
