The park is located in south western part of Rwanda, at the border with Burundi, in the south of Lake Kivu and in the west there is Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Nyungwe rainforest is the world’s most beautiful and pristine mountain rainforests, and It’s believed to be one of Africa’s oldest forests, evergreen even through the Ice Age, which identifies its biodiversity. Probably, it’s the best conserved Montana rainforest in Central Africa. It is located in the watershed between the basin of the river Congo to the west and the basin of the river Nile to the east. From the east side of the Nyungwe forest comes the branches of the Nile sources.
Nyungwe Forest National Park was established in 2004 and covering over 1000 square kilomtres of rainforest, bamboo, grassland, swamps, and bogs.
The closiest town is Cyangugu, 54 km away to the west. Mount Bigugu is located within the park borders. It’s a birder’s paradise with over 300 species of birds, including 16 endemics with over 74 different species of mammal.
The park is a home to the habituated chimpanzees and 12 other species of primates including: a 400-strong troop of habituated Rwenzori Black & White Colobus.
This majestic rainforest consists of various species of flora and fauna, boosting nature and wildlife experiences for self-love. Hiking and mountain biking the beautiful terrain, tracking the famous chimpanzees, canopy walking, witnessing beautiful birds, relaxing by waterfalls are just a glimpse of activities that Nyungwe offers to its visitors.
Sounds and views all together create a unique kind of wildlife experience. Exploring through the forest, travellers will witness the lush green mountains and cooling mist of the landscape that make your travel experience unforgotten.
Nyungwe forest national park has a wide diversity of animal species, making it a priority for conservation in Africa. The forest is situated in a region in which several large-scale bio geographical zones meet and a number of terrestrial biomes providing a great span of ecological approach for many different species of plants and animals.
The park contains of 13 primate, 275 birds, 1068 plants 85 mammal, 32 amphibian and 38 reptile species. Many of these animals are restricted-range species that are only found in the Albertine Rift montane forests Eco region in Africa. In fact, the number of endemic species found here is greater than in any other forest in the Albertine Rift Mountains that has been surveyed. The forest, which reaches its maximum altitude of 3000 meters above sea level, is of particular interest for the presence of colonies of chimpanzees and Angola colobus.
The forest dominated by a number of mountain chains, originating on the Lendu Plateau in northern Uganda and Congo, running south through the Rwenzori mountains, western Rwanda and Burundi, to some isolated massifs on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. The Albertine rift eco-region is one of Africa’s most endemic rich regions. The forest has walking trails that lead through the forest to various waterfalls and other viewing points.
A number of accommodations are situated within the forest and alongside the main road, and they range from budget midrange and luxury depending on the visitors choice.
The forest can be reached by road a distance of 432 km from Kigali Rwanda’s capital city commonly known as the place of thousand hills is approximately 7 hours’ drive.
