Further Afield
ENJOYING NYUNGWE FOREST AND SURROUNDS
(For detailed information on Nyungwe Forest, the booklet "Nyungwe National Park Guide" published by the Nyungwe Forest Conservation Project is available at most ORTPN offices and is a good introduction)
Nyungwe Forest is a proclaimed National Park and managed by ORTPN. This is the largest remaining single tract of montane rainforest in Africa and covers more than 1000km². Altitudes range from 1600m to 2950m above sea level. The substantial biodiversity here makes the visit even more worthwhile and memorable and will whet the appetite of even the most hardened birders (275 species including 24 Albertine Rift endemics), lepidopterists (120 butterfly species including 40 regional endemics) and botanists (240+ tree species and over 140 orchid species), not to mention the primate lovers (13 species). Whether driving along the main road or walking through the forest along the trails, the vistas will bring water to the photographer's eyes.
The website of ORTPN, www.rwandatourism.com offers full details on Park entry fees, activities, prices and accommodation.
ACCOMMODATION
Camping is available at six maintained sites, four of which are near the Uwinka tourism reception area; another, two hours walk into the forest and another near the summit of Mount Bigugu. Facilities at these sites include only pit latrines and the visitor should be self-sufficient in all respects, including water supply. Please check with ORTPN for any changes in this regard.
The main accommodation is available at the ORTPN Guesthouse at Gisakura. It is located next to the Gisakura Tea Estate and about 30 minutes drive from Uwinka. The guesthouse has lovely gardens and drawing a mass of birds and butterflies every day. Other visitors include a small troop of Vervet Monkeys, Blue Monkeys and at least one pair of Ruwenzori/Boehm's Squirrels.
The guesthouse has several 'houses' with a number of rooms and a bathroom in each section, a lounge and a verandah for those late afternoon sundowners. The rate per room is RFr15,000 (approx. US$30) per night and meals are available by arrangement with the kitchen staff and supervisor. The dinners are generally in the range of US$5-7 per person, whilst having to wait sometimes a little longer for the food when the guesthouse is busy, the food is delicious and the quantities enormous. We never met anyone there complaining of being hungry. A word of advice for those who enjoy a cold beer at the end of the day, ask the kitchen staff to put your required number of beers in the refrigerator. The guesthouse offers the two main local beers, a variety of sodas and mineral water for sale.
SIGHTINGS SHORT-LIST (Nyungwe & Cyamudongo Forests)
The following is only an extract of the various sightings we had in and around Nyungwe and includes sightings at the ORTPN Guesthouse.
Birds:
Pennant-winged nightjar (at the guesthouse ± 6pm), Great Blue Turaco, Ruwenzori and Ross' Turacos, White-starred Robin, Forest Buzzard, Ruwenzori Double-collared Sunbird, Cinnamon-breasted Bee-eater, Olive Thrush, Black & White Casqued Hornbill, Giant Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Striated (green-backed) Heron, Pied Wagtails. We heard some of the endemics in Nyungwe but didn't get to see them this time round.
Primates:
Vervet monkeys, Blue monkeys, Olive baboons, L'Hoest's/Mountain monkeys, Chimpanzees, Mona monkeys.
Squirrels:
Boehm's and the Mountain Sun Squirrels.
Butterflies:
We didn't really get time to spend much time on the butterflies this time but there was a huge variety of species out and about, ranging from at least four Charaxes spp . to the small blues and whites. The butterflies definitely justify a dedicated trip.
ACTIVITIES (NYUNGWE FOREST)
The forest offers a variety of walking trails of varying length and difficulty and all walks undertaken are accompanied by an ORTPN ranger/guide. The rangers are very knowledgeable and make for pleasant guides. Activities can be booked the day before at the Uwinka tourism centre or at the ORTPN Guesthouse office. In many cases, the rangers at the guesthouse will accompany the visitors from there.
Clothing & accessories is as important here as any walking trails anywhere. Ensure you have enough water and wearing long trousers, good and comfortable walking boots. Take rain and cold weather wear with as the weather can be very different to when you set off in the morning. It's always good to have some insect repellent and anti-histamine handy for the insect bites and possible irritation from plants. Also have some snacks and/or energy bars handy especially with the primate specific trails where the duration can be anything from an hour to 6 hours.
Primate specific trails are very rewarding if finding that elusive primate is what you went to Nyungwe for. It can obviously be hard work especially if the primates start moving and when they move, they don't wait for anyone. Be aware that sometimes you might not find the chimpanzees, Colobus monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys and blue monkeys on the primate specific tracking trails. Discuss a 're-track' with the ranger if you weren't successful on the particular day but please remember this is subject to forest conditions and ORTPN policy. The two 'tours' discussed below are the ones that we participated in.
Chimpanzee tracking is one of the activities that is very popular and must be booked at least the previous day. Depending on where the trackers find the chimps nesting early morning, your ranger/guide will tell you whether it's best to track the chimps in Nyungwe or Cyamudongo Forest (see "Excursions" section below). Be ready for an early start, the latest meeting time is 6am!
Black-and-White Colobus Monkeys. We tracked the largest group in Nyungwe which apparently at the last census numbered about 450 adults. The walk difficulty ranged from fair to difficult and lasted a total of 6 hours. We came across the group after 2 ½ hours at which time they considered it a good time to move on and necessitated us to continue off-trail for another 45 minutes to 'catch up'. It's absolutely amazing to see so many Colobus monkeys around at the same time, about 50-60 at any given time. Some visitors find this group quickly and other times the rangers/guides do not take visitors out to see them due to them having moved very far away. The good thing is that there are other smaller groups too, so you don't have to leave without seeing any Colobus monkeys.
EXCURSIONS (Nyungwe surrounds)
Gisakura Tea Plantation may be visited on a guided tour which conveniently commences at tea time - 3pm. The tour includes a tour through the plantation, facilities and a tasting session. Tours to the Tea Estate can be organised from one of the tourism receptions at Uwinka and Gisakura.
Cyamudongo Forest: We were privileged to track the chimpanzees in this little patch of forest about 25km from Gisakura. The turn-off is before you reach the town of Cyangugu and takes you through tea plantations and some villages (Access only permitted with an ORTPN ranger/guide). Although this forest is only about 5km², it is a beautiful forest with well laid out trails and crossing over streams are facilitated by newly made wooden bridges with railings. During and after tracking the chimpanzees, we had Mona monkeys who obligingly came closer to pose for photos. There are also some caves along the trails which all form part of the story the guides will tell you of the religious value and history of this forest to the surrounding communities. Even just going for a day's walking here will be hugely rewarding in terms of the views, birds, primates and magnificent trees.
Cyangugu Town is also about 30km from the ORTPN Guesthouse at Gisakura. We had lunch at the Hotel Du Lac located in the lower part of town and overlooks the Rusizi River which forms the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The small bridge crossing the river at the border is also visible from the hotel terrace and provides some nervous views of large trucks traversing this bridge. The lunch was simple but tasty and the afternoon with drinks and food cost us about US$10. Friends of ours had several whiskeys and lunch and their combined bill was US$28. We sat and watched Giant and Pied Kingfishers fishing in the river, Striated Herons chasing each other across the river and various weaverbirds and sunbirds around the hotel terrace. If you have a chance, visit the upper part of town which is also the commercial centre of Cyangugu.
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