Is It Possible To Do Multiple Chimpanzee Treks In Nyungwe Forest National Park?

Doing multiple chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park is possible as long as chimpanzee permits are available and you are ready to purchase a chimpanzee permit for each time of the trek. Rwanda also has a promotional campaign during the low season. If you spend at least two nights in Nyungwe National Park or Akagera National Park, you get a discount of $1050 on the gorilla trekking permit.

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Nyungwe National Park is home to the only chimpanzees in Rwanda and currently has two semi-habituated communities of chimpanzees. The other chimpanzee community lives in Cyamudondo at the periphery of Nyungwe National Park. The headquarters of Nyungwe National Park are at Uwinka, and it's from here that briefing to start chimpanzee trekking happens.

To book the chimpanzee trekking permits for Nyungwe National Park, you can go through an accredited tour operator like Encounter Africa Safaris. We can assist you in reserving the chimpanzee permits, securing accommodation, and planning the trekking safari with your guidance and advice to suit your needs.

You may also directly inquire from the Rwanda Development Board about how to purchase the chimpanzee permits for the sessions you want. Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park is done in two sessions: morning and afternoon.

Securing accommodation where you are to spend the nights during the chimpanzees trekking safari is important as you plan to do chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park.

How To Book Chimpanzee Trekking Permits For Nyungwe National Park

Choose the number of times you wish to do chimpanzee trekking, the dates or sessions, and the number of people traveling for chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park. 

Check for the availability of chimpanzee permits for Nyungwe National Park through an accredited tour operator like Encounter Africa Safaris. Our safari consultants are always ready to provide feedback on the status of the chimpanzee permits per your dates of preference. We can assist you in booking additional amenities that support chimpanzee safaris, like accommodations, transport, driver-guide services, and others.

 Alternatively, you can directly contact Rwanda Development Board about the availability of chimpanzee trekking permits.

Upon finding availability, you must purchase your chimpanzee permits as soon as possible to avoid last-minute disappointment when they are sold out. The peak Rwanda tourism season has high competition for chimpanzee permits. The peak tourism season is June, July, August, September, December and January.

How Much Is The Chimpanzee Trekking Permit For Nyungwe National Park?

At the moment, the cost of a chimpanzee trekking permit for Nyungwe National Park is $90 per person per session.

The cost of a chimpanzee trekking permit includes ranger guide service, security, local community support, one hour with the chimpanzees, conservation, and government tax.

Exclusions in the chimpanzee trekking permit for Nyungwe National Park: park entrance fees, transport, snacks, accommodation, and any other items of personal nature.

Can I purchase the chimpanzee trekking permits for Nyungwe National Park in installments?

The Rwanda Development Board allows chimpanzees permit installment purchases of 30% and 70% as long as they purchase the permits 90 days before the trekking date and top-up 90 days before the trekking date.

Purchase your chimpanzee permit in full to prevent forgetting to top it up as failure to top up the permit may cause you to lose it.

Is the price of a chimpanzee trekking permit for Rwanda worth the cost?

When you purchase the chimpanzee trekking permit for Nyungwe National Park, you not only get to visit the closest human cousins in their original habitat but also contribute to chimpanzee conservation. Chimpanzees are some of the most endangered primate species in the world, but even their habitats are under human threat.

You indirectly support the local community when you purchase a chimpanzee trekking permit. Each year, a portion for the profits acquired from the sale of chimpanzee permits is shared with the community. This compensates for the attacks these chimpanzees sometimes make to the local communities. 

You contribute to running their daily life when you hire a porter to carry your chimpanzee trekking gear.

For every penny you spend on a chimpanzee safari, you contribute to the survival of a number of people and the chimpanzees.

What Accommodation Can I Book For Chimpanzee Trekking In Nyungwe National Park?

Nyungwe National Park has limited choices of accommodations for chimpanzee trekking safari in Nyungwe National Park. The few available accommodations for Nyungwe National Park include:

Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel, Gisaku Guest House, Nyungwe Forest Lodge, Nyungwe House, Gisaku Family Hostel

How To Get To Nyungwe National Park?

Nyungwe National Park lies in the southwestern part of Rwanda, and you can access it by road or air.

By Road

From Kigali Airport, the drive to Nyungwe National Park lasts about 5 hours through winding roads. You must use a 4x4 wheel drive vehicle because the way gets soggy and slippery from the volcanic soils during the severe wet season.

By air

Charter flights from Kigali Airport are available to Nyungwe National Park but you must make a booking so that all necessary clearances can be done.

When is the best time to book chimpanzee trekking permits for Nyungwe National Park?

Book and do chimpanzee trekking all year round in Nyungwe National Park, but the dry season is most preferred. The dry season for Nyungwe National Park is normally June, July, August, September, December, and January.

Demand for chimpanzee permits of this season is higher even if supply is limited to a maximum of 6 per troop. During the peak season, even booking for additional amenities that support chimpanzee trekking, like accommodation, is high so you need to book.

No chimpanzee permit is secured without advance payment.

During the low season, or normally the wet season, that is March. The chances of finding last-minute chimpanzee trekking permits in April, May, and November are low but have yet to be guaranteed.

Is chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park safe?

Although the chimpanzees in Nyungwe National Park are still semi-habituated, they are not harmful. You need to follow the rules of chimpanzee trekking given on briefing days so that you do not agitate the chimpanzees. Never try to provoke or mimic the chimpanzees because you may not know what you are communicating.

Each chimpanzee trekking adventure is led by at least two ranger guides, one holding a rifle while another carries a machete to help trim the protruding vegetation that may obstruct your way. Besides, the ranger guide follows the pace of the slowest trekker so that no one is forgotten in the wilderness.

Carrying your chimpanzee trekking gear protects you from getting hurt while you trek to find the chimpanzees. Upon finding the chimpanzees, you are advised to use a flash-less camera not to scare the chimpanzees who are fearful of new occurrences in the wilderness.

Tourists should only enter the Nyungwe forest with an escorting ranger guide. The wilderness has other dwellers not habituated to human presence, like forest elephants, baboons, vipers, and others. As a tourist, you must mind personal safety too.

Is Chimpanzee Trekking in Nyungwe National Park strenuous?

It is quite strenuous to do chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park. The topography of Rwanda is generally mountainous, with most of the terrain composed of highlands. Although the way is not so steep, you must have some fitness level to get to the chimpanzees in Nyungwe National Park.

Carry the right chimpanzee trekking gear that can support you while you search to find the chimpanzees. Only one hour is allowed with the chimpanzees when you locate them for conservation reasons as they cannot continue running some of their day-to-day life with human presence.

How Long Is Chimpanzee Trekking in Nyungwe National Park?

The duration of chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park depends on the factors prevailing in the wildernesses like availability of food, in case of a fight amongst the mountain gorillas, weather conditions prevailing in the day, pace of trekkers and others.

During the trek to find the chimpanzees in Nyungwe National Park, you may encounter a number of obstacles but you need to be patient. These chimpanzees are wild and are still semi-habituated, but they possess their natural traits. They may hoot, thump hard tree trunks, through some fruits, and much more. The trek to find the chimpanzees takes about 3 hours to four.

When you locate the chimpanzees, you spend just one hour in their presence.

What is the Age Limit For Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park?

Beyond 15 years is the age limit for chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park. This is because chimpanzee trekking is a wilderness activity where you walk to find these primates. A child below 15 and below may not be in a position to withstand the conditions in the wilderness. 

Even the chimpanzees love playing tricks at their visitors, which may not go well with a child below this age. Tourists have to keep quiet or talk at a low tone during chimpanzee trekking, but this is hard to abide by a child below this age.

What else Can I Do In Nyungwe National Park?

Canopy walk

The canopy walk is one of the most thrilling adventures over Nyungwe National Park. You can walk on a 90-meter-long suspension bridge about 50 meters high. Getting to the bridge from Uwinka is a 90-minute walk using Igishigishigi trail.

Above the Nyungwe forest, you can enjoy the stunning view, beautiful highlands and so much more.

Birding in Nyungwe National Park

While on Rwanda birding adventure, Nyungwe National Park is one of the best destinations. There are over 283 bird species in the Park, but the list is still expanding. This forest has a high concentration of Albertine rift endemics. While in Nyungwe National Park, you may spot Rwenzori turaco, Archer'sArcher's Robin Chat, Mountain Masked Apalis, Red Collared Mountain Babblers, Kivu Ground Thrush, Shelley'sShelley's Crimsonwing, the slender-billed and starlings to mention but a few.

Primate walk

While in Nyungwe National Park, you can take 

walk in the wilderness where you may spot other primates like blue monkeys, black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, olive baboons, red-tailed monkeys, Dent'sDent's Mona monkeys and others.

Camping experience in Nyungwe National Park

 Listening to the calls of the jungle while on a campfire in Nyungwe National Park is worth adding to what you can combine with chimpanzee trekking in this Park. The Uwinka Visitor Center has a camping ground where you can pitch your tent. There are shared toilet and bathroom facilities in this Park.

The waterfall walk

A walk to the Kamiranzovu waterfall is unmatched. You get to enjoy the amazing surroundings that you pass by. Look out for different bird species and monkeys that often love spending their day closer to the falls. Locally, the word Kamiranzovu means "swallowed an elephant."

What Are The Rules Of Chimpanzee Trekking In Nyungwe National Park?

• No feeding the chimpanzees because wild animals must look for their meal.
• Spitting on the vegetation is prohibited because this is food to primates in the forest.
• Dumping wraps or any other waste damages the natural setting of the forest so no dumping. Rwanda is also pro-ecotourism and very strict with throwing garbage anywhere, so keep the environment as clean as you find it.
• If you wish to ease yourself, ask the ranger guide to dig a hole about 30 meters deep and cover everything beyond recognition.
• Do not smoke or eat while in front of the chimpanzees. They may be tempted to grab it, yet they are wild animals that must search for their meal.
• Only one hour is allowed to be with the chimpanzees so they can be left free to eat.
• Try not to surround the chimpanzees because this makes them feel ambushed.
• If you wish to sneeze or cough, do it away from the chimpanzees to avoid spreading any infections to them. Volunteer to stay behind in case you catch any infectious illness like the flu Covid-19 just before chimpanzee trekking.

Contact us to plan your multiple chimpanzee treks in Nyungwe National Park.