Chimpanzee Trekking in Nyungwe National Park

Nyungwe forest national park is one of the top destinations in Rwanda is that receives a number of visitors and second popular national park after volcanoes national park. It is one of the largest and oldest national parks in Africa which is situated in south western region of Rwanda.

Nyungwe forest national park is the best popular and famous for the chimpanzee trekking experience in Rwanda although it is a home to a number of wildlife animal species and birds such as huge forest hogs, golden cats, duikers, African civet, serval cats,  amphibians, butterflies, reptiles as well as other  primates such as blue monkeys, red tailed monkeys, grey checked mangabey, L’Hoest’s monkeys, white and black colobus monkeys, golden monkeys,  vervet monkeys, the olive baboons, silver monkeys among others

Besides gorilla trekking being the one key activity for all travelers that come to Rwanda, chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe forest national park is the second famous adventure activity that travelers don’t want to miss out while on their visit to Rwanda.

Chimpanzee trekking experience.

There are over 500 chimpanzee populations in Nyungwe forest national park 90 habituated chimpanzee communities that are open for tourism throughout the year. The habituated chimpanzee communities are found in the different locations with in the park such as Nyungwe forest that has about 60 habituated chimpanzee community and Cyamudongo forest that harbors about 30 habituated chimpanzee communities.

Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe forest national park is an early morning activity that starts at 5:00 am with a briefing at the park centers. Nyungwe forest national park has about three sections where the chimpanzee trekking starts from such as kitabi section, Gisakura section as well as the uwinka which known as the park headquarters. During the briefing session visitors are divided into groups of 8 people and they are assigned to different park ranger guides that will guide them as they go for chimpanzee trekking in the forest.

To a chimpanzee community in Nyungwe forest national park will take travelers about 2-6 hours due to the fact that chimpanzees in Nyungwe forest national park are found of moving from one place to another from tree to tree as they search for food of the day in the forest. Visitors who go for chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe forest national park are allowed to spend only one hour with the chimpanzee community from the time they have met it.  In the one hour experience, travelers are allowed to take photos and with chimpanzees as they de-nest, beast-feed, as well as with the juvenile monkeys.

The habituated chimpanzees in Nyungwe forest national park are so friendly, calm, playful and they are used to the presence of human being they therefore come done from trees when they see people and they will sometimes walk towards them thus give you an opportunity to take clear photos and videos of them. While trekking chimpanzees in Nyungwe forest travelers will have an insight to encounter with other primate animals such as red tailed monkeys, the olive baboons, silver monkeys, golden monkeys, white and black colobus monkeys, the grey checked mangabey among others. Travelers will as enjoy viewing different bird species such as the Rwenzori bats, purple breasted sun bird among others due to the fact Nyungwe forest national park is one of the birders paradise in Rwanda.

What is the cost of chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe forest national park?

The chimpanzee trekking permit is legal document of card that permits travelers to participate in the chimpanzee trekking experience Nyungwe forest national park. The chimpanzee trekking permits are issued out by the Rwanda Development Board which is a governmental body that is in charge of tourism in Rwanda.

Chimpanzee trekking permit for Nyungwe forest national park is charged 90 USD person per day for all foreign nonresidents as for the foreign residents the permit is 60 USD per person and maximum of 8 people are allowed to meet with chimpanzee community and they are allowed to spend only one hour with the chimpanzees.  The price of the chimpanzee trekking permit is inclusive of the park entry fees, the park ranger guides, as well as the trekking experience.

The chimpanzee trekking permit can be booked with a tour operator such as Adventure in the Wild Safaris that is one of the leading tour company that have experience in organizing safaris to different destinations such as chimpanzee trekking safaris in Rwanda and uganda, gorilla trekking in uganda, Rwanda, Congo and others types of safaris. When you book with us will help you book a chimpanzee trekking permit for Nyungwe forest national park, contact us with details of your original passport, dates and month that you would like to travel.

At the same time travelers can contact directly the Rwanda development board so as to make their booking of the chimpanzee trekking permit, the permits can as well be purchased online for all travelers that would like to engage in the activity. However we advise travelers to book with tour operates who will assist them to organize their chimpanzee safaris in Nyungwe forest national park.

Best time to go Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe forest National Park.

Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe forest national park is open for tourism any time of the year thus the trekking experience will depend on where the traveler is will to travel.  However the best time to enjoy the chimpanzee safari in Nyungwe forest national park would be in the dry season when there is little rain that is expected in that season to inconvenience trekking experience in the jungle. The dry season is during the months of December to February, June to mid-October and this is the time that many travelers are coming to enjoy their holiday safaris thus it’s a peak season in Africa.

However Nyungwe forest national park is dominated by tropical rain forest that receives rainfall throughout the year, therefore travelers are advised to carry a waterproof rain jacket that will help them in case it rains while trekking the chimpanzee community.

During the rainy season, the trekking trails are wet, muddy and slippery making it difficult to hike while trekking. Therefore for all travelers that travel in this season are advised to carry strong gum boots and long socking that will give them firm movement on the ground as they go trekking. The rainy season is also known as the low that is the best season for all budget travelers since lodges reduce the price of their accommodation rooms thus encouraging travelers to book with them so that they can survive in the low season. This is during the months of March, April, may, mid-October and November.