Gishwati Mukura National Park Rwanda flag

Gishwati Mukura National Park - Rwanda Wildlife Destination

0 Tours 1 Hotels & Lodges

Starting from

$850PP

Overview

Gishwati Forest Reserve is a protected reserve in the northwestern part of Rwanda, not far from Lake Kivu. It consists of two separate parks Gishwati and Mukura forests which are 25km apart from each other. The park is at the present piece of an ambitious landscape reclamation program. Activities in the park started in 2019 which include a guided nature hike, guided chimp and monkey tracking, bird watching and a visit to the waterfalls.

High Season
June to September
Best Time to Go
June to September

Pros & Cons

  • New, off-the-beaten-track destination
  • Opportunity to help a significant preservation drive
  • Chimpanzees trekking accessible
  • Can be visited as a road trip from a few close-by areas
  • Great birding with a few Albertine Rift endemics
  • Restricted path and activities accessible
  • Forest is degraded
  • No accommodation as of now
  • Chimps are less habituated than in more settled spots

Map in Rwanda

Gishwati Mukura National Park map

Wildlife & Animals

A primary fascination is a group of habituated chimpanzees. Other primates include the golden monkey, blue monkey and l'Hoest's monkey which are endemic to the Albertine Rift. Other small mammals include tree hyrax and black-fronted duiker.

Wildlife Highlights

Gishwati is home to a group of 20 chimpanzees which live close by golden monkeys, L'Hoest's and Blue Monkeys.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

Gishwati Mukura can be visited around the year, But still wet season from October to May is awesome for chimpanzees trekking and forest birding. General hiking may be simpler in the drier months from June to September.

Birds

Birds are well represented too, 232 species have been seen at Gishwati and 163 at Mukura, among them Albertine Rift Endemic species and forest specialists.

Best Time for Birding

Gishwati Mukura can be visited round the year, But still wet season from October to May is awesome for forest birding. General hiking may be simpler in the drier months from June to September.

Best Time to Visit – Gishwati Mukura National Park

Gishwati Mukura can be visited around the year, But still wet season from October to May is awesome for chimpanzees trekking and forest birding. General hiking may be simpler in the drier months from June to September.

High Season
June to September
Low Season
March to May, October and November
Best Weather
June to September
Worst Weather
March and April

June to September (Dry Season)

  • General trekking & hiking is easier in this season
  • Skies are brilliant, with basically no rain
  • Few chances for spotting Chimpanzees
  • For spotting, some special bird species will be tricky at this time

October to May (Wet Season)

  • Best time for Chimpanzee trekking as they have plenty of food
  • Forest birding is at its best and migratory birds are present
  • Rain can make forest trails difficult
  • It may rain for quite a long time

No FAQs available for this park yet.

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