Nyungwe Forest National Park is the largest remaining tract of montane rain forest with in East Africa; Nyungwe extends for 1,015km over the mountainous southwest of Rwanda, forming a contiguous forest block with Burundi’s 370km Kibira National Park. The park is the most vital catchment area in Rwanda supplying water to 70% of the country, and its central ridge divides Africa’s two largest drainage systems, the Nile and the Congo, a spring on the slopes of the 2,950m Mount Bigugu which is regarded to be the most remote source of the world’s longest River.
Nyungwe is a great rich center of biodiversity. It has more than 1,050 plant species, 250 Albertine Rift Endemics and 200 orchids, along with 120 butterfly species. The vertebrate fauna include here includes 32 amphibians, 85 mammals, 38b reptiles, and 310 bird species of which 15% are Albertine Rift endemics. The Nyungwe primates are the main attraction and 13 species are present including chimpanzees with a population estimated at 500-1000 which is usually tracked at a short notice or even the sound they usually make in the jungle and many other monkeys seen including; L’Hoest’s monkey and acrobatic Ruwenzori colobus. Nyungwe is highly appealing to birders, botanist and keen walkers, with its 130 network of walking trails and the only sight for the canopy walk.
