Other activities in the Nyungwe forest national park : The Nyungwe forest national park is famously visited for the chimpanzee trekking experience however there is much more that this park can offer to the visitors. Guests tend to accompany their chimpanzee trekking experience with a visit to the Canopy walk way or even take on an other primates trekking while here but this article enlightens more that the park has to offer besides these three activities.
The Nyungwe forest national park is located in the south western part of Rwanda and is a 5 to 6 hours’ drive from Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda and the base of the Kigali International airport. Nyungwe forest national park is located within Africa’s oldest pristine rain forest and within this forest is about 13 different primate species and this is almost a quarter of all the primates in the world.
The Nyungwe forest covers an area of about 970 kilometers with diverse animal and plant species. The Nyungwe forest national park was established as a national park of Rwanda in 2004 to protect the ecosystem of this forest. The Nyungwe forest is also a great place to visit for birding as there are about 275 bird species recorded in this forest and you can spot a number of these on your Rwanda safari headed to this part of the country.
The chimpanzee trekking experience in the Nyungwe forest national park is similar to that of the Gishwati Mukura national park and the price of the chimpanzee trekking permit is more or less the same. The Nyungwe forest national park is currently under the management of the African Parks, joining the Akagera national park, one of the national parks in Rwanda that have long been managed by the African parks.
The Nyungwe forest national park offers activities such as chimpanzee trekking, canopy bridge walk way and other primate trekking experience however if you have more time to spare in this park, there are many other activities that guests can take on and these are discussed below. Every activity in the Nyungwe forest national park is priced according to the attraction and different categories in which the guest falls.
Guest categories
The guest categories for the Nyungwe forest national park in which guests are classified to purchase permits are the foreign non-residents who are the class of visitors spending less than 30 days in the country, the foreign residents these are those who are living in Rwanda without citizenship, the Rwandan residents and these are the Rwandan people born and living in Rwanda, the East African community nationals are those from the countries under the east African community and these are Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya.
There is another category of the East African community foreign residents who are foreigners but staying in one of those countries and the students. The students are further divided into the East African students and the foreign resident students. To qualify to be in a certain guest category, one will need to have identification and after will be offered the permit price accordingly.
The other activities in Nyungwe forest national park.
Besides the chimpanzee trekking, canopy walk and the other primates trekking in Nyungwe, guests can book themselves the below activities.
Guided nature walks
Nyungwe forest national park has about 12 nature trails which guests get to enjoy and get lost in the wild. The guided nature walks in the Nyungwe forest take guests through the forest to explore the flora and fauna. There are a few of these nature trails such as Imbaraga trail, Igishigishi trail, Umugote trail, Irebero trail, Umuyove trail, Rukuzi trail to mention but a few.
The foreign non-resident permit goes for 40 USD per person, the foreign resident will pay 30 USD for a guided nature trail while the Rwandan residents will pay 3,000 Rwandan francs for the experience.
Tropical water fall hike
The tropical waterfall hike in the Nyungwe forest goes to the Isumo waterfall. This is a 4 hours activity to and back crossing a large tea plantation. This is a 5.3 kilometers walk both ways of the activity. Get to spot the breathtaking waterfalls at only 50 USD per permit for one foreign non-resident and 40 USD for foreign residents and 5,000 Rwandan francs for the Rwandan people.
Bird watching
Take on a bird watching experience in the Nyungwe forest to spot some of the 200 plus bird species plus some endemic Albertine rift species. There are knowledgeable guides waiting to take you on this experience on one of the trails. The foreign non residents a permit is for 50 USD and the foreign residents pay 40 USD while the Rwandan citizens will only pay 5,000 rwandan francs.
Congo Nile Divide
The Congo Nile Divide trail has two options where one takes 3 nights and the other is 4 nights. These are 42.2 kilometers and a 54 kilometers respectively and start at 8 am. Get to reach the source of the Nile and end at Gatare or even visit the Richard Kandt source of the Nile.
Foreign residents can purchase a permit at 100 USD while the foreign residents can pay 70 USD for a permit.
Take on a tea plantation visit to one of the plantations in the area. This is one of the best tea growing regions. Get in touch with us and let us organize or book for you your permit to any of the above activities.
