What is the best time to trek chimpanzees in Gishwati-Mukura national park? Gishwati-Mukura is available and open for visitation by tourists / travelers throughout the whole year. This means that the park is open for tourists for chimpanzee trekking on daily basis.   However, it is always advisable that visitors do visit the Gishwati-Mukura national park for chimpanzee tracking during the dry periods of the year that is the dry months which included December to February and June to September. Most visitors prefer visiting the park during this season of the year because all the trails in the park are accessible and visitors can easily navigate through the forested areas to track and see the gorillas. Yes, the wet season/rainy season might t be good for chimpanzee tracking because the food is plenty and thus the chimpanzees do not move c for long distances searching for food and visitors can see them nearby. The rainy season happens in October and May. Also, the rainy season presents a challenge in that trails within the forest tend to be slippery sometimes limiting the chimpanzee trekking experience. Thus; the dry season remains the best time for tracking chimpanzees in Gishwati-Mukura National Park.

Gishwati-Mukura national park is the newest national park in Rwanda and is known for chimpanzees. Chimpanzee trekking is the major activity in this park and visitors’ chances of seeing chimpanzees in this park are very high. The park also has some other primates and on your lucky day as your trekking chimpanzees, you will be able to spot other primates including, baboons, including Blue monkeys, L’Hoest’s Monkeys, and golden monkeys. The chimpanzee trekking safari begins in the morning with a briefing from the guides and after you go to the forest to search gorillas. Once seen, visitors will spend only one hour seeing the chimpanzees as you get an opportunity to sight other mammal species. Gishwati-Mukura national park was declared as a national park in 2015 and it was found on the right that divides Congo and the Nile waters along the Albertine rift catchment.it is the smallest of all the four national parks in Rwanda with 34 square kilometers.

Gishwati –Mukura national park shelters over 232 species of birds some of which are endemic to the Albertine species. Because of this, the park has been included on the list of the best birding destinations in Rwanda.

Other Activities that you can do while in Gishwati-Mukura National Park

Guided Nature Walks

Gishwati-Mukura national park has a lot of established trails that you can use to explore the park, the guided nature walks will make you encounter a lot of species including insects, primates, tree species such as Mahogany, eucalyptus, Bamboos, Ferns and Macaranga and polyscias fulva which have been introduced within the park have also been introduced in the park and is available for you to see and enjoy.

Primate watching

Primate watching is the major tourism activity done in Gishwati-Mukura National Park, with this activity, you will be able to encounter and see different primates including baboons, golden monkeys, blue monkeys among others. The activity still begins with a briefing about the does and don’ts while on primate tracking within the forest. It is rangers that lead you to the forest as you feel free to ask them any question you feel like asking. Encounter more mammals and birds as you enjoy the primate trekking in Gishwati-Mukura National Park.

Bird watching safaris

Gishwati-Mukura National Park is one of the parks that offer amazing bird-watching safaris in Rwanda. There are over 232 bird species that inhabit Gishwati-Mukura National Park and these include among others Ruwenzori Batis, Regal Sunbird, Wood hoopoes, Red-throated Alethe, Mountain Yellow Warblers, Ruwenzori Turaco, Martial Eagle, Stripe-breasted Tit, the Grey Crowned Crane, Strange weavers among others.

Visiting tours to the Waterfall 

Visitors visiting Gishwati-Mukura National Park can also follow the waterfall hiking trail that provides one of the best adventures. The hiking trail will lead you to Kazeneza waterfall which is found in the middle of the forest to provide you with good-looking views of the park and its associated features like primates and chimpanzees.

Biking and Cycling via the Congo Nile Trail 

This is one of the wonderful trails that most visitors follow when visiting Gishwati-Mukura National Park. It provides the best experience with visitors cycling up to the shorelines of Lake Kivu via Nyungwe Forest National Park. Visitors can also decide to go and tour different communities adjacent the park and engage in different community-based activities such as beekeeping, plantation farming tours, enjoy the live cultural dance of the people, and have a glimpse at traditional herbalist who uses traditional medicines and herbs to treat fellow local community members and get cured.

How to get to Gishwati-Mukura National park

Gishwati-Mukura National park is located in Rwanda and visitors can access the park by flying to Kigali international airport and then drive for about two hours on the road from Kigali to the park, chartered flights can also be organized for those interested in air transport from Kigali international airport to Gishwati-Mukura National Park. Visitors can also get to Gishwati-Mukura National Park through Bwindi impenetrable forest National Park in Uganda which makes it possible to combine the safaris to Gishwat-Mukura National Park with gorilla tracking in Bwindi impenetrable forest National Park.

Where you can stay at Gishwati-Mukura National Park

There are few accommodation facilities around Gishwati-Mukura National Park in Rwanda and this has been attributed to the fact that the park is the newest of all parks in Rwanda. However, the best accommodation lodge available is known as Gishwati Lodge. The lodge provides luxurious accommodation facilities and services for visitors and comes with 6 perfect chalets each taking nit more than fifteen guests at once. This means that visitors interested in staying at this lodge must book it early in advance to avoid inconveniences. Giahwati-Mukura national park is close to Kivu and volcanoes national park and therefore we recommend that you can book an accommodation facility around these places as you do your chimpanzee tracking in Giswati-Mukura National Park.