Chimpanzee Trekking Tours In Nyungwe Forest National park
Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe Forest National Park is the tourism activity that attracts more visitors to Nyungwe Forest National Park in Rwanda. This forested park offers the ideal environment for travelers to come and enjoy chimpanzee tracking as well as habituation.
Nyungwe forest national park has a total population of more than 400 chimpanzee individuals that re-group themselves and live in different cliques. Chimpanzee trekking has been mad possible simply because chimpanzees are fully habituated. Chimpanzee habituation in Nyungwe National Park involves the process of training chimpanzees such that they can get used to people and be ready for trekking by visitors /tourists.
The activity of chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe Forest National park is done all the year round commencing early in the morning at around 4:00 am. You will have amazing chimpanzee tracking experience in Nyungwe National park with the help of experienced professional guides who will accompany you in the field while guiding you of what to do and at the right time.
At the moment there two fully habituated chimpanzee groups in Nyungwe Forest National park which are ready and are being trekked by tourists. One of the groups is found at Uwinka and the huge and largest group inhabits the fragmented forest of Cyamudongo all within in this park. The chimpanzee trekking activity reacquires the visitor to be well physically fit because the chimp groups especially the one in Cyamudongo is so mobile and this may necessitate you to trek for long-distance.
Importantly in the Cyamudongo sub forest, provided its gain altitude, distance, and time taken will depend on the location of the chimpanzee group and the topography/terrain of the forest being trekked for chimpanzees. The trip for chimpanzee trekking in Cyamudongo in the Chimpanzee group lasts for about 4.2 kilometres to and from at an average altitude of about 250 meters. This presents 1 hour of adventure walking and more than 2 hours of raising your heads trying to look for primates; chimpanzees, monkeys on top of the trees.
It’s very prudent that visitors who cannot afford the activity of gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National park in Rwanda, can instead to chimpanzee trekking which is one of the topmost activity in Rwanda that is only conducted in Nyungwe Forest National park. Nyungwe Forest National park comprises of the forest that managed to remain natural green during the ice age and chimpanzees here are very easy to deal with because of the efforts invested to habituate them.
An interesting encounter with chimpanzee tracking during thus activity will expose you to what extent do these chimpanzees relate or behave like human beings. You will notice that there different features that describe the relationship between chimpanzees and human beings. For example, Chimpanzees are among the top intelligent creature on earth after human beings yet they are apes. Interestingly they also belong to the same group with humans and mountain gorillas.
Best time encounter chimpanzees in Nyungwe National park
Best time to encounter chimpanzees; this involves the best time of the day when visitors can go and trek chimpanzees in Nyungwe national park in Rwanda without difficulty. Poor timing sometimes lead to disappointments as most of the two groups of chimpanzees that are fully habituated tend to be mobile so it is important to spot the best time.
The chimpanzees in Nyungwe Forest National park are easy to trek during the early morning hours. This means that tourists/travelers in June, July, and August need to wake up very early in the morning at around 4; 00 am to start the adventurous journey of chimpanzee trekking. The presence of fig trees with eatable fruits for the chimpanzees makes Nyungwe forest good for chimps. Chimpanzees spend most of their time eating until in the late hours of the morning which enables tourism who even wake late to see them.
As per regulation, only two groups of travelers /tourists are allowed to visit each group of chimpanzees a day and allocated one hour to spend with the chimpanzees. This is done as part of conservation efforts not alter the behavior of these species.
What you need to come with for chimpanzee trekking safari
To have the best chimpanzee trekking safari experience, there some necessities that you as a traveler you need to pack as you prepare your chimp trekking safaris in Nyungwe Forest National Park. Among the necessities, may include binoculars, cameras, gumboots, water, and some snacks because you may walk for long and need to refresh and regenerate your energies.
It’s also recommended that you hire the services of the porter if you need to have a memorable experience. The porter can help you carry heavy luggage. You will as well be provided with supportive /walking stick to help you firmly on the ground as you’re walking. Cyamudongo is the popular forest section of Nyungwe Forest National Park where very many people /tourists travel from the world to trek chimpanzees in Rwanda.
You can obtain a chimpanzee trekking permit directly from Rwanda Development Board which costs $100 or you can use a trusted tour operator and Company like Africa adventure vacations to help you get the chimpanzee trekking permit, air ticket and booking for your accommodation while on your Rwanda safari destination.
