Nyungwe Top View Hotel in Nyungwe Forest National Park
Nyungwe Top View Hotel is a mid-range accommodation located on the western side of Rwanda near Gisakura center. Nyungwe Top View Hotel is located at the top of the hill and it’s positioned in a way that gives you a beautiful view of Nyungwe forest national park, Lake Kivu, and surrounding areas. The lodge is located about 24 km from Nyungwe forest national park a place hosting chimpanzee, 12 primates, 85 mammals, 310 birds, and over 1086 plant species.
Nyungwe Top View Hotel has free parking space, wifi, baggage storage area, laundry service, picnic area, bar with soft and cold drinks, and a restaurant with well-trained chefs that serve the best foods. Nyungwe Top View Hotel has 12 rooms of which 6 face in the east of the park and the other 6 face in the west of the park. The rooms are separate from each and each of them has a living room, a balcony, and a fireplace where guests can go when they feel cold. The rooms are well ventilated with good air conditioning, mosquito nets, desk, water, hot and cold shower, private bathrooms, clothes rack, and alarm clock.
Guests staying at Nyungwe Top View Hotel will spend some time at their private verandahs enjoying the stunning views of the hills, plantations, national park, wild animals, birds, and much more. Dinner is served above the reception and if you want they can bring it to your room. The food is prepared by well-trained chefs who cook local and international dishes. On certain days of the week, you can get entertained by the cultural Rwandan dancer.
Activities to do while staying at Nyungwe Top View Hotel
Chimpanzee trekking: Chimpanzee trekking is the most done activity by tourists staying at Nyungwe Top View Hotel. The chimpanzee trekking activity is done in Nyungwe forest national park which is located a few km from the lodge. Guests staying at Nyungwe Top View Hotel will have to wake up early in the morning, have breakfast, and then drive to Nyungwe forest national park to join other participants for briefing. During the briefing, the tourists do learn about the dos and don’ts of the trekking activity.
After the briefing session, the trekkers are led by armed ranger guides into the jungle, and using different walking trails, they are able to meet different primates such as vervet monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, crowned monkeys, mammals, birds, and different plant species. When the chimpanzees are located, trekkers are able to watch them do daily activities, learn about their habits and take photos.
Colobus monkey trekking: Another activity that can be done by guests while staying at Nyungwe Top View Hotel is colobus monkey trekking. Apart from trekking chimpanzees, tourists can now trek the black and white colobus monkeys since they are now habituated for tourism activities. Guests will have to wake up early in the morning, have breakfast, and then move to Uwinka offices where you will meet other participants for a briefing.
The briefing helps the trekkers know about the rules and regulations of the trekking activity and from there armed ranger guides do lead the trekkers into the jungle to search for these monkeys. During the search, trekkers are able to meet different monkey species, olive baboons, chimpanzees, duikers, buffaloes, otters, bush pigs, birds, waterfalls, and different plant species. After locating the monkeys, the trekkers are given 1 hour to be around these apes, watch them do daily activities, and take photos.
Birding: Guests at Nyungwe top view lodge can do birding activities around the lodge or within Nyungwe forest national park. The birding activities are led by well-trained ranger guides who know about different bird species and who can protect you from dangerous wild animals in the jungle. During the bird watching activity, guests at Nyungwe forest national park will be able to spot over 310 bird species that live within Nyungwe forest and Cyamudongo forest. All they have to do is move with a birders’ book, a notebook, pen, camera, and a pair of binoculars to spot distant bird species.
The bird species likely to be seen around Nyungwe Top View Hotel or Nyungwe forest include chinspot batis, African paradise flycatcher, crowned hornbill, long-crested eagle, eastern mountain greenbul, yellow-eyed black flycatcher, regal sunbird, stripe breasted tit, rockfeller’s sunbird, strange weaver, Rwenzori batis, shelley’s crimsonwing, Rwenzori nightjar, Rwenzori turaco, red-throated alethe, buff-throated apalis, red-faced woodland warbler, dusky crimsonwing, red-collared babbler, grauer’s swamp warbler, purple-breasted sunbird, handsome francolin, neumann’s warbler, Kivu ground thrush, mountain masked apalis, blue-headed sunbird, Albertine owlet, and archer’s robin chat among others.
Nature walks: Guests staying at Nyungwe Top View Hotel can organize nature walks with their tour operators so that they get armed ranger guides to take them around the lodge or around the park. the nature walk activities can be done in the afternoon after chimpanzee trekking or canopy walk in Nyungwe and they are organized to enable tourists to explore the park on foot. The nature walks are done using different walking trails and during the activity, tourists are able to see different water sources, birds, primates, mammals, and different plant species.
Canopy walk: Guests at Nyungwe Top View Hotel can also do the canopy walk which is in Nyungwe forest national park. The canopy walk activity requires the guests to go early and participate in the briefing where participants are taught about the dos and don’ts of the activity before the ranger guides lead them through Igishigishigi trail that takes them to the starting point of the canopy. The canopy walk is done in a raised bridge that is 50m above the ground and during the activity, the tourists are able to have an aerial view of the national park, surrounding areas, waterfalls, lakes, rivers, monkeys, mammals, chimpanzees, birds and different plant species.
Community visits: Guests at Nyungwe Top View Lodge can take a visit to any of the nearby communities where they can visit homesteads, orphanages, schools, and hospitals to mention but a few. Visiting the homesteads of people gives you an opportunity to interact with local people about how they live their day to day life, watch them do daily activities, visit the local art crafts, and get entertained by the local traditional dancers.
What is the best time to stay at Nyungwe Top View Hotel?
Tourists can stay at Nyungwe Top View Hotel at any time of the year but there are certain months that are good for a visit especially if you are to visit Nyungwe forest national park. The drier months that occur from June to September and December to February are the best to stay at this lodge because there is little and sometimes no rainfall, the vegetation around the lodge and the park are tall giving clear views pf animals, the roads leading to the lodge and the park are passable and the trekking trails are dry.
Tourists can still stay at Nyungwe Top View Hotel in the rainy seasons and they will enjoy huge discounts on accommodation facilities. The rainy seasons occur from March to May and October to November and they are characterized by too much rainfall, the trekking trails around the park and the lodge are muddy and slippery, the vegetation is tall giving unclear views of the wildlife, and the roads leading to the park and lodge are impassable.
