Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park is an outstanding adventure for encountering chimpanzees in their habitats. Nyungwe Forest National Park, as it is also known, is Rwanda’s biggest chimpanzee destination. It is situated in the southern region of the country, close to the border of Burundi. It forms an ecological extension of Burundi’s Kibira National Park.
Nyungwe National Park was established in 2004 as a national park. This was after an assessment that highlighted this protected area as a wildlife sanctuary. Nyungwe Forest National Park is home to up to 13 primate species. Among these primate species, chimpanzees are the face of the park and highly sought-after.
Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park is basically done in two habituated groups of chimpanzees. These chimpanzee groups, or communities, are situated in Nyungwe and Cyamudongo forests. These two forests make up the larger Nyungwe Forest National Park. Chimpanzees are very intelligent primates that share over 98% of the DNA with humans. This is why they are unique, and encountering them offers an intimate experience.
This chimpanzee trekking experience in this park takes place in habituated chimpanzee communities. Habituation is the process that trains wild chimpanzees that have never seen humans to get accustomed to them. Even if chimpanzees are habituated, they remain wild. However, they don’t show aggression or fear towards humans, as could be the case with non-habituated ones.
Trekking chimpanzees measures up as the best experience in this park. This experience sees visitors venturing through the dense forest canopies under the guidance of the rangers. These primates are constantly monitored as a conservation measure; thus, the trackers help to locate them. The forest is vast, making the treks appear long and exhausting. However, the encounter with chimpanzees is always worth it.
Why is briefing important before chimpanzee trekking?
Before visitors can venture into Nyungwe Forest National Park to embark on a chimpanzee trekking experience, a briefing is delivered. The pre-trekking briefing is very important as it prepares the visitors for this trekking adventure. Nyungwe Forest is a vast jungle and habitat for several species. The briefing brings out the details of most of the park’s inhabitants and their behaviors.
The briefing entails the rules and regulations of the chimpanzee trekking experience. These are the guidelines that must be followed. These rules ensure the safety of visitors and the primates too. Safety is a priority for both visitors and chimpanzees. Briefing puts in account the expected code of conduct of the visitors once in the presence of the chimpanzees.
This briefing also brings visitors up to speed with the facts of this chimpanzee trekking activity and the destination. This is done so that visitors can be well versed in the environment they are in and seek to discover. The pre-trekking briefing is the first step for chimpanzee trekking and also most other primate activities like gorilla trekking and golden monkey tracking in Volcanoes National Park. This is why it is an important step in chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park.
How is chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe done?
Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe kicks off with a briefing entailing the dos and don’ts of the activity and the expected code of conduct. It is a detailed breakdown of the activity, the destination, and also how the visitors must behave. From the briefing, visitors are grouped into groups of 6-8 people and allocated to a chimpanzee group.
Chimpanzees are social beings that live in groups known as chimpanzee communities. Every day, about 6-8 visitors are allocated to a chimpanzee community to trek. This is a conservation measure to avoid stressing the chimpanzees with large crowds. Large crowds can also negatively affect the chimpanzee habitats by trampling over the young vegetation. This contradicts the conservation efforts of only leaving a green footprint.
After the grouping is done, rangers lead the visitors into the tropical forest to track the chimpanzees. The length of the trek is dependent on the distance of the chimpanzees or how far they are. Averagely, the chimpanzee trekking experience takes about 4-6 hours. The terrain is very uneven and requires visitors to have good equipment or gear for this activity. Visitors must be physically fit and able to walk for long distances in rough terrain. This is why we advise visitors to always do physical exercise a few months before the activity.
Nyungwe Forest is relatively dense, with thick undergrowth that poses a challenge to the trekkers. However, the experience is manageable, and venturing through the rough terrain and thickets is all worth it when you encounter the chimpanzees. When visitors finally find the chimpanzees, they are given an hour in the presence of the chimpanzees.
During this time, visitors are free to live in the moment as they take pictures and record videos for memories. Words may not bring out the actual picture of how incredible this experience is, but is one-of-a-kind venture of a face-to-face interaction with the chimpanzees.
How much is a chimpanzee permit in Nyungwe?
The costs for a chimpanzee permit are set by the Rwanda Development Board, a body in charge of the management of the protected areas. Chimpanzee permit prices are categorized according to the origin and nationality of the visitors. As visitors embark on a chimpanzee trekking experience, they must present a chimpanzee permit. This is a document that grants visitors access to the chimpanzee destination to track chimpanzees. The costs for a chimpanzee permit include the following;
Foreign non-residents – USD 150
Foreign residents – USD 75
East Africans/Rwandans – USD 25
The above prices don’t include the entrance fees, which cost about USD 100. This means the entrance fees must be added to the permit prices for the total fee. The money collected from the purchase of the chimpanzee permit goes to funding conservation efforts. Conservation is a broad effort that involves protection of the primates and their habitat, the destination.
It involves funding constant monitoring and tracking of the primates and also sensitization of the local communities to eradicate the poaching mindset. This is done through community development by building infrastructure like schools, roads, and health centers. This reflects the benefits of the chimpanzees and the forest to the community. Visitors on a chimpanzee trekking experience can also explore the communities and purchase goods from the local markets. This strengthens the communities to protect the chimpanzees and the destination.
Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe can be best done in the dry season. It occurs from June to September and December to mid-February. Several other activities like birding, canopy walk, and ziplining can be combined with the chimpanzee trekking experience. Epic Uganda Vacations helps you purchase your chimpanzee permit from the Rwanda Development Board. Hence, enjoy an uninterrupted experience.
