Nyungwe: Chimps, Colobus and a Walkway in the Canopy

Nyungwe is the part of a Rwandan trip that people most often leave out and most often wish they had not. It is a long way from Kigali, which is the whole reason it stays quiet.

It is also old. Nyungwe survived the last ice age when most of Africa's forest did not, which is why its biodiversity is so unusual — a great deal of what regrew elsewhere started from refuges like this one. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023 and has been managed by African Parks since 2020.

Thirteen primate species

Chimpanzees are the headline, and they are the hardest to see. Tracking starts around five in the morning, follows the calls, and succeeds more often than not — but chimps move fast and high, and no honest operator will guarantee them.

The Angolan colobus are the surer thing and, for many visitors, the better spectacle. Nyungwe holds exceptionally large troops, and watching several hundred black-and-white monkeys move through the canopy at once is something very few forests can offer.

The canopy walkway

Reached on the Igishigishigi trail from Uwinka, the walkway is strung between forest giants above a steep ravine. It puts you level with the crowns rather than under them, which changes what the forest looks like entirely — it stops being a wall of green and becomes a structure with layers.

It is railed, maintained and safe. It also moves underfoot, and if you strongly dislike heights you will find the approach fine and the bridge itself hard.

The trails

Nyungwe is a walking park with a proper trail network, from hour-long interpretive loops to full-day hikes. The Isumo waterfall trail is the classic longer walk: a steep descent through tea fields and forest to a tall waterfall, and a harder climb back out.

• Igishigishigi trail and the canopy walkway — two to three hours, moderate
• Isumo waterfall — a half day, steep in both directions
• Chimpanzee tracking — half a day from a five in the morning start, challenging
• Colobus tracking — a few hours, easier, and reliably rewarding
• Birding walks — Nyungwe holds a concentration of Albertine Rift endemics found almost nowhere else

Getting there, and how long to stay

Five to six hours from Kigali by road, or three to four from Karongi on Lake Kivu. That is why it works far better as part of a route than as a there-and-back trip — most itineraries reach it down the length of the lake, which is one of the best drives in the country.

Two nights gives you one full day, which covers chimp tracking and the canopy walk. Three lets you add the waterfall or colobus tracking without rushing. One night is not worth the drive.

What to know before you go

• It rains. This is montane rainforest and no month is dry; the trails get genuinely slippery.
• Boots with grip matter more here than anywhere else in Rwanda.
• Chimp tracking briefings start around 5am, so stay close to the park.
• The Congo-Nile divide runs along the ridge: rain falling on one side reaches the Atlantic, on the other the Mediterranean.