Immerse yourself in the largest and oldest montane forests of Africa. Nyungwe Forests National Park is a montane rain forest located in Rwanda’s Kivu Belt region. Nyungwe Forest is part of the Congo-Nile divide forest which originally stretched over the entire mountain range which divides the Congo Water Basin from the Nile Water Basin all the way from Congo to Burundi. Today’s remainders of these forest complex include Nyungwe Forest, Gishwati Forest, Mukura Forest in Rwanda and Kibira National Park in Burundi.
Nyungwe Forest National Park is the largest of the remaining rain forests of the Congo-Nile divide. The other remaining rain forests of the Congo-Nile divide are small and fragmented. Nyungwe Forest is a huge, vast area with a unique biodiversity including more than 500 eastern chimpanzees. There are plans to create more forests corridors to connect all the remaining forests to Nyungwe Forest National Park, but so far these are only plans and have not been realized.
Even though the main attraction of Nyungwe Forest are the chimpanzees, this is not the only thing which makes Nyungwe worth a visit. There are a total of 13 primate species in the Nyungwe Forest National Park as well as other monkeys and mammals including serval, golden cat and duikers. Nyungwe Forest is situated in the Albertine Rift Valley and home to several endemic bird species which can only be found here. Nyungwe Forest National Park has several hiking trails, many of which lead to one of the many beautiful water falls which can be found in the forest.
One of the main attractions of Nyungwe Forest National Park is the Canopy Walk. The Canopy Walk is a series of hanging bridges across the canopy of Nyungwe Forest which allows for visitors to experience the canopy of the forest first hand and is unique of its kind in East Africa. The Nyungwe Canopy Walk was recently named the best canopy walk in the world by Lonely Planet.
Animal Life of Nyungwe Forest National Park
Nyungwe Chimpanzees
Other primates of Nyungwe Forest
Hiking in Nyungwe Forest National Park
For more information about hiking including description of trails, read more on the page hiking in Nyungwe Forest
Contact Information and Booking
Nyungwe National Park is managed by African Parks in cooperation with the Rwandan Government and Rwanda Development Board.
- Pre booking is not always necessary but is strongly advised.
- All park activities can be booked through the park office +250 788 625 359
- African Parks, Park headquarters +250 788317027/8/9 nyungwe@africanparks.org
- Official Website: Nyungwe Park
Good to know:
- Raincoats, boots and walking sticks are available from the reception
- All Nyungwe hikes are classified as hiking in protected area/National Park.
- Animals live in their natural habitat
- Guide and permit are needed
Most of the websites and contacts about Nyungwe Forest online are not official park websites and the information is sometimes wrong and not reliable.