Chimpanzee trekking safaris in Rwanda are carried out in Nyungwe Forest National Park. This forested park is the biggest of montane rain forests and has become incredible conservation sight that attracted travelers and researcher especially those interested in primates related activities such as chimpanzee tracking as well as habituation.
Nyungwe forest national park boasts a lot of chimpanzee individuals up to 400 that re-group themselves and live in different groups. And other primates equivalent to 13 species. Chimpanzee tracking in Rwanda is carried out because chimpanzees are fully habituated. Chimpanzee habituation in Nyungwe National Park is the process of training chimpanzees such that they can get accustomed to people and be ready for trekking by visitors. Chimpanzee tracking safaris in Rwanda 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 Rwanda accompanied by experienced professional guides.
At the moment there two fully habituated chimpanzee groups in Rwanda which are ready and are being trekked by tourists. One of the groups is found at Uwinka and largest group inhabits the fragmented forest of Cyamudongo all in Nyungwe national park .You need to be well physically fit because trekking the chimpanzees in Cyamudongo may necessitate you to trek for long-distance.
Chimpanzee tracking in Rwanda last between 2 to 6 hours and after this heavy trek, you will find chimps well settled and you be will expose to what extent do these chimpanzees relate or behave like human beings. Chimpanzees are among the top intelligent creature on earth after human beings yet they are apes.
The chimpanzees in Rwanda are easy to trek during the early morning hours. This means that tourists/travelers in June, July, and August will have to wake up in the morning at around 4; 00 am to start the adventurous journey of chimpanzee trekking. 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.
chimpanzee tracking permit can be obtained from Rwanda Development Board and 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.
Rules and regulations for chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe forest national park Rwanda
For tourists interested in chimpanzee trekking in Uganda during covid-19, they should avoid smoking in presence of the primates because increased exposure to smoke can lead the vulnerable species to catch diseases like pneumonia, lung cancer among others with exposure to smoke which can be fatal to the primates
During chimpanzee trekking in Rwanda, you should follow the lead of the guide in order to have a safe activity this is because the guide will take you through the safe routes along the different hiking trails in Nyungwe national park to access the chimpanzee troop and failure to follow the guide, you can encounter vicious wild animals that can attack you.
You should avoid eating in the presence of the chimpanzees to avoid spreading diseases to the primates in a process this is because the highly active primates can attack you just to get a piece of what you’re eating and in the process in case you contracted the virus, when tourists have a number of diseases that they can spread to the primates through food this is because the primates will attack you just to get a bite of your food and in the process it can also be fatal.
You should maintain a distance of 7 metres to spreading any disease or the virus to the chimpanzees when you get in contact with them.
Littering in the park should be avoided during chimpanzee trekking in Rwanda because it can cause accidents like the primates choking on the litter which can be fatal to the primates and in cases where the litter is contaminated the primates can contract the virus which can be quite a hard thing to deal with given the fact that they are highly active species.