Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda covering about 1,020 square kilometers, the great Nyungwe forest national park is one of the most popular national parks in Rwanda, Africa, and the whole world at large. Situated in the southwestern part of Rwanda, the prominent park arguably has the largest concentration of chimpanzees in the whole world hence making chimpanzee trekking a popular tourism activity in the country.
Chimpanzee trekking experience in Nyungwe Forest National Park.
It is of no doubt, the most popular tourism activity in Nyungwe Forest National Park is Chimpanzee trekking. Passionate tourists and travelers from all over the world flock the park to engage in this thrilling activity especially during the peak season of the year. There are over 60 habituated chimpanzees in Nyungwe forest and the exciting activity starts in the wee hours of the morning at around 5:00am with a small briefing of about 30 minutes.
It’s after this briefing that visitors can take a simple breakfast before diving into the wilderness of Nyungwe Forest National Park in search of these tricky yet smart primate species. There are about three starting chimpanzee trekking points in Nyungwe forest and these include Uwinka, Gisakura and Kitabi. Uwinka is the most popular starting point and also the park’s main headquarters.
Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe forest national park takes about 2 to 6 hours depending on the location of the chimps since they are quick, tricky and fast tending to go deeper in forests abundant food. Only a group of 8 visitors can track the chimps and once they are located, visitors are only limited to spend 1full hour with these charismatic primate species. While the mountain gorillas are somehow gentle and humble in nature, chimps are way too different as they are noisy, playful, stubborn and sometimes can be seen jumping from one tree brunch to another.
Attractions in Nyungwe forest national park.
Chimpanzees are the key attractions in Nyungwe forest national park and the chances of encountering these tricky and quick primate species are relatively high. Aside chimpanzees, there are also quiet a big number of other primate species sheltered in this magnificent park and these may include golden monkeys, red tailed monkeys, Grey cheeked Mangabeys, olive baboon, black and white colobus monkeys, crowned monkeys, Dent’s mona monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkey, owl faced monkey, etc.
How to access the park?
Accessing Nyungwe forest national park is much more of a walk over since it’s just about 4 to 5 hours and just 225kilometers from the Capital City of Rwanda and the largest business center, Kigali City. Flights are readily available and therefore visitors can use Kamembe Airport and then be ready for pickups. Road means of transportation are also available especially for visitors on a budget tour using a bus from Kigali Central bus station.
Best time to do chimpanzee trekking.
Without doubt, the best time to go for chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe forest and Rwanda at large and have such a remarkable chimpanzee trekking experience is the dry season of the year. A cool dry period around December to February and late June to early September is absolutely the best time to have a less challenging yet a thrilling remarkable chimpanzee trekking experience in Nyungwe.
The lush dense forests of the wilderness of Nyungwe forest tends to clear up during the dry season offering clear views of the tracked chimpanzees and accessible tracking trails. Chimpanzee trekking trails are also dry and free of muddy to offer ease while tracking making also the hiking activities much executable.
The chimpanzee tracking permits tend to be more much affordable during the wet rainy season of the year and even though the chimpanzees themselves tend to keep closer as a result of enough food in the same period, the rainy season remains unfavorable for chimpanzee trekking due to the muddy and slippery nature of the trekking trails.
The visibility and accessibility of these tracking trails is much more challenging during the rainy season as a result of heavy bushy and lush vegetation that tends to cover up trails while it’s way the opposite with the dry season.
How much are chimpanzee trekking costs in Nyungwe Forest National Park?
A chimpanzee trekking permit in Nyungwe forest national park is a valid document that allows visitors to access the thrilling activity of chimpanzee trekking. These permits can be booked from the Rwanda Development Board or easily through the trusted tour operator.
Chimpanzee trekking permits in Nyungwe forest national park goes for 150 USD for foreign non-residents, 75 USD foreign residents and 25,000 Rwanda Francs for Rwanda and East African citizens per person per trek and per day. Unlike the availability of gorilla trekking permits, chimpanzee trekking permits are somehow limited and therefore visitors are advised to book them in advance for a better experience.
