Hiking trails in Nyungwe forest national park

HIKING TRAILS IN NYUNGWE FOREST NATIONAL PARK

Hiking trails in Nyungwe forest national park : Nyungwe forest national park thrills with lots of hiking/ walking trails that range from a few hours walk to several hours and days depending on which trail one chooses. These trails thrill with in the montane forest are a better way of exploring this forest on foot. With these trails, trust me, Nyungwe forest national park is one of the best park to visit in Rwanda for both outdoor safaris and many other breath taking safaris in Rwanda. Nyungwe can be explore even after encountering with the mountain gorillas in Volcanoes national park and visiting Akagera national park for wildlife viewing safaris.

Below are some of the hiking trails in Nyungwe forest national park;

Igishigishi trail

This is the most commonly used hiking trail in Nyungwe forest national park basically for tourists who wish to enjoy a canopy walk. Igishigishi trail sets off from Uwinka reception which is the starting point for tourists heading on a Canopy walk. Igishigishi trail is a 2.4Km stretch that can be covered within 5 hours including the canopy walk trail that is a 150m stretch elevated at about 50M above the ground offering best views of different fauna and flora species in the Nyungwe forest national park.

Bigugu trail

Bigugu trail is a 7 km stretch that enables tourists to hike up to Bigugu peak at 2,950m high above the sea level. This trail is the best spot for birding though it’s not easy to complete it given that it requires ascension and sometimes the trail slippery making it difficult to complete.

Kamiranzovu trail

This Kamiranzovu trail is used by tourists who wish to walk to the swamp. It is a 6km trail that enables tourists to explore the caldera and the swamp within Nyungwe forest national park. This entire trail is so rewarding with lots of stunning flora of flowering plants, and several fauna species like birds, mammals and many more that thrill within Nyungwe forest.

Umuyove trail

Umuyove trail is as well one of the best and commonly used trail for tourists who wish to explore the waterfalls  and a line of Mahogany trees that make an entire walk on Umuyove trail so rewarding. Be sure to views beautiful wild flower and many other attractions in the park along the trail. Umuyove trail is one of the shortest trails in Nyungwe forest National Park taking about 3 and a half hour to complete.

Ngabwe trail

This 4.7 km Ngabwe trail is as well one of the shortest and best trail in Nyungwe forest national park that takes about 3 hours to complete though adventurous travelers can add more hours and explore the tea plantations  basically Kitabi tea plantations. This trail is yet the best spot for tourists to view some primates as they riot in the forest including L’Hoest’s monkey, Mangabey monkeys, Colobus monkeys and many more. This Ngabwe trail is also a good for picnic especially if one decides to add on a visit to Kitabi tea plantations.

Isumo water falls

Isumo waterfall trail is a 10.6km walk that can be covered within 4 hours and it rewards tourists with a visit to stunning waterfalls. It as well enables tourists to have a view of different wildlife species including primates and birds. On a lucky day, you may spot the Rwenzori turaco bird species along the tea plantations where the trail pass.

The Congo Nile Divide Trail

This is the longest trail that takes several days to make a complete cycle of 227Km stretch from North of Lake Kivu to southern shores of Rusizi though some tourists usually cut it short after a few days or a few hours. This trail requires passing through hills, dusty trails, slopes, local communities and thrilling vegetation and being a long trail, it requires spending overnights along the trails. Be sure to pass through some towns and trading centers where you can buy some eats and drinks, meet and interact with the local community member in their farms and even at home. Since this Congo Nile divide trail is very long, one may opt to explore it by Motorcycle, by bike, by car or probably by foot. So whichever means one choose will determine the number of days to spend on this trail.

For instance opting for a walking safari along Nile Congo divide trail takes about 10 days, however opting for biking safari takes about 5 days implying that a motorcycle takes about 2-3 days. This trail is best explored during dry months when the trails are dry and the ground is dry for easy camping.

Hiking trails in Nyungwe forest national park
Hiking trails in Nyungwe forest national park

Muzimu trail

This Muzimu trail is a 5.2 km trail in Nyungwe forest national park which requires about 3 hours and a half to make a complete cycle. The most fascinating thing with Muzimu trail is that it offers stunning views of the entire Nyungwe forest national park and the Lake Kivu with an added advantages of viewing the different volcanos with in Virunga massif as long as the clouds are clear for easy viewing of these volcanoes especially those that thrill in Rwanda.

Imbaraga trail

Imbaraga trail is a 10km trail within Nyungwe forest national park that starts from Uwinka taking about 6 hours to complete. The Imbaraga trail is one of the hardest trails like its name Imbaraga which is referred to as strength thus require enough strength to with stand the toil. This Imbaraga trail is hard but offers fascinating views of several attractions including Chimpanzees.

Irebero trail

The word Irebero basically means viewing point therefore, Irebero trail takes tourists on a raised viewing point where you have a glance at 2 peaks, Lake Kivu and the park of Nyungwe forest national park itself. Irebero trail takes about 3 hours to complete 3.4Km walk.

Rukuzi trail

Rukuzi trail is a 9km trail in Nyungwe forest national park that takes travel lover onto a forest walk while sighting out several park dwellers. On a lucky day, you may have a chance to spot chimpanzees along the Rukuzi trail and chimpanzees being the major attractions of the park, an encounter with them is such a fascinating experience.

Karamba trail

This is one of the best trails used by birders while on a Birding safari in Nyungwe forest national park. It is a 4km trail taking tourists via an open forest. This trail is along the place where they used to mine gold but later on turned into an army campsite. While on this trail, look out for some monkeys and several bird species among others.

Umugote trail

This is a 3.6km trail that can be completed within 3 hours. It offers great views of the forest biodiversity and golden chance of viewing the mountains in Burundi.

Conclusion,

You need to visit any of the above mentioned trails in Nyungwe forest national park, do not hesitate to let us know. We can as well tailor make an itinerary to suite your areas of interests be it in Rwanda, Uganda, DRCongo, Kenya and Tanzania.

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