Top Things to See and also Do in Nyungwe Forest

Top Things to see and do within Nyungwe Forest – Rwanda –land of a thousand Hills home to Nyunge Forest.  The forest covers more than 1000 square kilometers of land – but in reality it is larger than that as it extends into the neighboring Burundi where it’s called Kibira National Park.

Nyungwe Forest is East or Central Africa’s biggest tropical Afro-Montane Rainforest, and it receives around 2000 mm of rainfall annually making it the biggest water catchment area in Rwanda, and source of two thirds of all the water Rwanda. This forest is fed by water from River Nile as well as River Congo.

The park offers habitat to different wildlife including: 300 species of bird, several species of butterflies plus orchids, as well as more than 75 mammals species including 13 different primates. Below we have highlighted what to do and see in this park

Top Things to do and see in Nyungwe Forest National Park:

Nyungwe-Forest-Hiking

Nyungwe Forest National Park is a Paradise for those who love hiking. It offers 13 different hiking trails covering more than 130 km of trails across the Forest.

Visitors may spend an entire week simply hiking the different trails, going through the very old rainforest and learn about the different traditional culture of the locals living around the forest.

There are shorter hikes that take between one and eight hours and these will require you to be fairly physically fit. However there are longer hikes which will give you an opportunity to see different birds, primates, animals, butterflies and different plant species.

Chimpanzee-Tracking in Nyungwe-Forest:

Nyungwe Forest is the perfect location where you can add Chimpanzee trekking to your Gorilla Trek in Volcanoes National Park without driving long distances.

Because Chimpanzee Tracking commences in the early morning its advised to carry a day-pack with a couple of snacks plus some drinking water, wear hiking boots, long trousers a hat as well as a rain jacket.

A maximum of eight (8) people in a group are allowed to see / track a group of chimpanzees at a time.  Fortunately the chimps in Nyungwe Forest habituated which means that they are familiar with human beings.

Although Gorilla tracking more popular and with higher success rate, chimpanzee tracking does not offer you a 100% guarantee that you will see them each time you set out to trek man’s closest living cousins.

Nyungwe Primate Tracking: Colobus-Mangabey- Ruwenzori Colobus Monkey, Grey Cheeked Mangabey

This Nyungwe forest has 13 different primate species living in its boundaries. Other than Chimpanzee Tracking, visitors will have an opportunity to track the Gray-Cheeked Mangabeys as well as the Runwenzori  Colobus Monkeys living in Nyungwe Forest.  These Colobus Monkeys are often seen in big groups of as many as 300 Monkey, a very exciting sight.

During this primate tracking you are likely to encounter other species of primates including: the Blue Monkeys, L’Hoest’s Mountain Monkey, Mona Monkey as well as the Owl Faced Monkey, among others.

Canopy –Walk in Nyungwe Forest

The Forest Canopy Walk in Ngyungwe is the very first of the king in the whole of East Africa and in Africa it is the third.

This is a must-do activity during your Safari in Rwanda.  For those of you visiting Rwanda to track Mountain Gorillas don’t forget to add this amazing activity on your itinenray. It is worth it and very memorable.

This walk is 50-meters above the ground and will offer you great opportunities to see various monkeys playing at a lower height right below you; plus different birds playing about in the forest canopy; very fascinating sight indeed.

It covers a total length of 90 meters which may not seem long a distance, however when you are moving at a height 50 meters above the ground; certainly it’s long.

Birding-Safari in Nyungwe-Forest

With more than 300 bird species living in Nyungwe Forest National Park among which are 27 species endemic to the Albertine Rift (for instance the Grauer’s Rush Warbler) this is certainly the right place to be.

You will see large numbers of the big Blue Turaco as well as the Rwenzori Turaco in Nyungwe Forest. Different types of Sunbirds including the purple-breasted as well as the blue-headed sunbird are very common as well.

Nyungwe Forest is one of the best birders paradises you will find on the African continent and shouldn’t be missed on your safari in Rwanda.

For more information about Destination Rwandaa, please visit gorillasafarirwanda.com