Are you looking for chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe forest national park? Well, this park is one of the top national parks in Rwanda that receives a lot of tourists and it is known as the second popular destination after Volcanoes national park. Nyungwe forest national park is also one of the oldest and largest national parks in the entire part of Africa which is found in the southwestern parts of Rwanda on the border with Burundi.

Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe forest national park is the one of famous and popular tourism activity which attracts most of the safari tourists in Rwanda. The park is also home to a various number of wildlife animal species and bird species for example duikers, golden cats, giant forest hogs, amphibians, African civet, reptiles, butterflies and other primate species like colobus monkeys, blue monkey, L’Hoest’s monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, vervet monkey, white and black monkeys, golden monkeys, silver monkey, olive baboons and among others.

Nyungwe forest national park is the first famous park with a big number of chimpanzees in East Africa. The forest is a natural habitat for over 500 chimpanzees, of which there are 90 habituated chimpanzees families which is ready for tourism all year round and these habituated chimpanzee families are located in different places within the park that is Cyamudongo forest that hosts about 30 habituated chimpanzee families and Nyungwe forest which has over 60 habituated chimpanzee families

Chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe forest national park is usually starting early morning that is around 6: 00 am with a briefing at the park headquarters though the park has 3 sections where chimpanzee trekking start from which include Gisakura section, Kitabi section and Uwinka section which is the park headquarters and the activity in most times it starts from here. During the briefing period, tourists are categorized into groups of 8 people and they will be guided by the expert park trackers that will accompany them in the forest searching for the chimpanzees because these primates are always moving from one place to another looking for food.

A maximum of 8 people per tour is required for chimpanzee tracking in the Nyungwe forest. To participant in this experience, you need to have a chimpanzee trekking permit which costs 90USD per person each day. Chimpanzee trekking permits are got from the Rwanda Development Board which is the governmental body that is behind tourism in Rwanda.  This activity will take you about 2-6 hours because chimpanzees are always moving from tree to tree searching for food in the forest and once you meet chimpanzee family you’re allowed to spend only 1 hour enjoying their lifestyle, taking photos with them and many more, this is also Important know that this activity is done only by people above 15 years of age.

Nyungwe forest national park can be visited throughout the year, however, the best time to enjoy the chimpanzee tracking safari is during the dry months when there is no or little rainfall and during this period the trails are less wet and slippery hence making the trekking experience easier. The dry season start from January, February, June, July, August, September and December

Nyungwe forest national park is a tropical rainforest, so we expecting rainfall at any time of the year and even in dry months therefore you are advised to be well prepared enough for every tourism safari into the park at all times to avoid disturbance when the activity taking place by carrying hiking boots, long-sleeved shirt, long trousers, waterproof rain jacket, hat, packed lunch and energy drinks.

The park is known as the number one national park with a high population of chimpanzees and this is the most activity attracts most of the tourists to visit the park but apart from chimpanzee tracking, the park has many tourist attractions such as Canopy walk experience, bird watching, you can do colobus monkey trekking, wildlife animals viewing like the golden cats, duikers, huge forest hogs and many more.

Besides Nyungwe forest national park is the largest park with a high population of chimpanzees in East Africa which attracts a lot of tourists. There are also other parks in Rwanda such as Volcanoes national park for gorilla trekking which is the one key activity for most of the travelers that come to Rwanda. You can also do golden monkey trekking.