Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge In Nyungwe Forest national park
Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge is a mid-range accommodation facility found in Kitabi in Nyamagabe district. The lodge is located on the hills giving a clear and stunning view of Nyungwe forest national park, surrounding hills, and tea plantations. Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge can be accessed using Air transport or road transport from Kigali city in a single day.
Nyungwe forest national park is one of the most visited places in the southwestern part pf Rwanda. The park harbors over 13 primates among which include chimpanzees, colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, vervet monkeys, crowned monkeys, grey crowned monkeys, red tailed monkeys and l’hoest’s monkeys among others. The park also protects over 85 mammals, more than 310 bird species and about 1086 plant species.
Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge has 10 rooms that are made in African style with room service, free Wi-Fi, and private bathrooms with hot and cold water. The lodge has free parking, laundry services, high-speed Wi-Fi, and they do offer free breakfast. The food at Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge is cooked by well-trained chefs who prepare both local and international dishes and the bar has soft and hard drinks.
Activities to do while staying at Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge
Chimpanzee trekking: Guests staying at Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge can have chimpanzee trekking activities in Nyungwe forest national park which is found a few km from the lodge. To trek the chimpanzees of Nyungwe forest national park, you must have booked a trekking permit in advance from Rwanda Development Board.
On the day of chimpanzee trekking, guests at Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge going for chimpanzee trekking will have to wake up early in the morning and have breakfast after which mee their driver to Uwinka headquarters for a briefing with other trekkers. During the briefing, they will be taught about the rules and regulations of the trekking activity and they will be assigned a ranger guide to lead them into the jungle.
While going through different hiking trails with the guide, trekkers are able to see different park attractions such as waterfalls, mammals, primates, birds, and different plant species. Once the chimpanzees are located, the trekkers are given 1 hour to be around these apes, watch them do daily activities, take photos and learn about their habits.
Colobus monkey trekking: This is another activity tourists having a stay at Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge can do. The guests will have to wake up early in the morning for breakfast and then drive to Uwinka park offices where they will have a briefing. During the briefing, trekkers are taught about the rules and regulations of the colobus monkey trekking activity and a ranger guide is assigned to the group to lead them into the jungle.
While going through different trials of the park searching for the colobus monkeys, trekkers are able to see other primates such as olive baboons, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, crowned monkeys, mammals, birds, and different bird species. Once the colobus monkeys are located, the trekkers are given 1 hour to be around them, watch them do daily activities, and take photos.
Birding: Guests staying at Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge can have birding activities around the lodge or in Nyungwe forest national park. The birding activities are guided and they are done at a fee which is paid at the park offices. Birding around the lodge or national park is done using different walking trails with stopovers at the best birding spots.
Some of the birds you are likely to encounter include Archer’s robin chat, blue-headed sunbird, Albertine owlet, dwarf honeyguide, buff-throated apalis, Kivu ground thrush, handsome francolin, dwarf honeyguide, crowned hornbill, mountain masked apalis, dusky crimsonwing, strange weaver, eastern mountain greenbul, real sunbird, shelley’s crimsonwing, rockefeller’s sunbird, Rwenzori turaco, chinspot batis, red collared babbler, Rwenzori batis, ted throated alethe, Rwenzori nightjar, stripe-breasted tit, African paradise flycatcher, and long-crested eagle among others.
Canopy walk: Guests staying at Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge shouldn’t miss out on the canopy walk that is done in Nyungwe forest national park. Guests that are interested in the canopy walk activity will have to leave the lodge hours before the activity starts so as to make it to the briefing point in time. At the briefing point, they will meet other participants and a briefing will be held where they will learn about the rules and regulations of the activity.
After the briefing, a ranger guide is assigned to lead the group throughout the whole activity. At the canopy walk that is 50 meters above the ground, participants are able to have an aerial view of the national park, primates, mammals, birds, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, and different bird species.
Nature walks: Guests having a stay at Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge can have nature walks around the park or around the lodge. The nature walks are done to enable the guests to explore nature on foot and those done around the park area, give guests an opportunity to meet different plant species, butterflies, birds, animals, and much more. The nature walks in Nyungwe forest national park are done using different walking trails and the activity gives participants an opportunity to see birds, plants, mammals, primates, and different water sources in the park.
Community walks: Guests staying at Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge can opt to have community visits to any of the nearby places. The driver will take you to any of the surrounding communities such as Banda village or Bisesero village where you will meet local people, interact with them about how they live their day to day life, watch them do daily activities, be part of ceremonies if any, taste their foods, visit schools, orphanages and in the end, you will get entertained by the local traditional dancers.
Best time to stay at Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge
Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge is open at all times of the year for guests to stay but there are months that are better than the rest most especially of you are staying at the lodge while conducting tourism activities. The drier months are the best to stay at Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge because such months favor tourism activities at Nyungwe forest national park since the rainfall is little or not there at all. The roads leading to the park are passable. The trekking trails are less muddy and slippery, and the vegetation in the park is short with clear views of the park animals.
Tourists most especially budget travelers can visit Nyungwe forest in the rainy season of March to May and October to November to enjoy huge discounts on accommodation facilities. But during these months, there is plenty of rainfall, the trails around the park and lodge are muddy and slippery, the roads leading to the park are passable and the vegetation is tall around the park and lodge giving unclear views of the animals.
