New attractions in NYUNGWE 

With new attractions including one of East Africa’s longest zipwires and a wonderful eco-lodge that places guests at the heart of the ancient rainforest, there’s never been a better time to visit Nyungwe Forest National Park. Mark Edwards finds it a magical place for animal and aerial adventures.

I am being propelled by gravity at a speed of 60 kilometres per hour, the wind roaring in my ears. Around 50 metres below me, when I pluck up the courage to look down, I see the verdant canopy of one of Africa’s oldest rainforests intersected by jagged ravines and a rushing waterfall.

This unforgettable, adrenaline-charged experience is provided by the Nyungwe Zipline, which was opened to the public in May this year as the latest visitor attraction in Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda’s south-west corner.

It’s my first time visiting the park and when my picturesque five-hour car journey from Kigali (RwandAir offers flights from the capital to Kamembe, the closest town to the park’s western edge, if you’re in a hurry) reaches its final stages on the smooth paved roads that wind through the mountainous terrain here, I am transfixed by the floating layers of mist that seems to hold the forested peaks in a magical embrace.

Around an hour later, having received my zipline safety briefing at the 2,400-metreabove-sea-level Uwinka Visitor Centre where the ride begins, I am hurtling through that very mist, wrapped up in its magic and feeling its moist air kiss my skin. The zipline is made up of three sections, with each subsequent section being longer, higher, and faster than the previous one. The first section, ‘Monkey’, is 335m, the second, ‘Chimpanzee’, is 580m, and the last, ‘Gorilla’, is just over a kilometre long and connects facing cliff tops across the spectacular rainforest valley. The names for the individual rides not only reflect their ascending size, but also Rwanda’s diverse primate population.

While Volcanoes National Park in northwest Rwanda is one of only four national parks in the world where mountain gorillas can be seen in the wild, Nyungwe National Park is known for its chimpanzees and diverse monkey species. Nyungwe harbours around 6 percent of Africa’s primate species, or about 12 percent of those found on the African mainland, making it a vital stronghold for primate conservation.

As it comes first when you’re not sure what to expect, ‘Monkey’ was the one to give me pre-ride jitters. I could see that the ground below the zipline soon plunged away into a deep crevice.

Fortunately, I had Jean-Paul, my driver and guide for my three-day adventure in Nyungwe, designed by a Rwandan-owned tour company, Shalom Safaris Rwanda, to offer encouragement. Along with many other young Rwandans working in the local hospitality industry, Jean-Paul had recently been given the opportunity to ride the zipline before its official opening to the public.

He tells me he was nervous, but he loved the experience, ending up riding each section twice. “Face the fear and do it,” is his advice. “It will be worth it.” He proves right.

By the time I was riding the ‘Gorilla’, all my nerves were gone, and I was able to relax and soak up the stunning views.

It took just 45 seconds to whizz along the final section’s 1,020 metres, but I relished each one as a moment of pure freedom. That sense of emancipation was to remain throughout my time in Nyungwe.

The national park is Rwanda’s largest tract of mountain rainforest, covering 1,019 sq km, and there were times when I felt like I had it all to myself. Nyungwe is the first natural site in Rwanda to be featured on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

I feel that immersion in nature, walking the Igishigishigi Trail back up to the visitor centre from the last zipline station, with the route shrouded by an abundance of the giant tree ferns that the trail is named after in Kinyarwanda.

One of the three guides who oversaw my zipline rides accompanies me back along the trail. Like the other young locals who will steer my explorations over the next few days, he has been trained by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). This government body has managed Nyungwe since 2010 and has done so in partnership with international conservation organisation African Parks since 2020.

Our trek also takes us past the canopy walk. Like the ziplines, this 160-metre-long bridge suspended 70 metres above the ground offers exhilarating panoramic rainforest views.

My accommodation while in Nyungwe is Munazi Lodge. As the first and only property built within the national park, the new eco-lodge comprising nine wooden A-frame chalets officially opened in June. I am privileged to be among the first guests – it is just a 5km drive from the Uwinka Visitor Centre.

Assistant manager at Munazi Lodge, Marie Solange Umotoniwase, points out that all the wood used is from invasive trees cut from Nyungwe to allow for the natural regeneration of indigenous plants in the national park. Nyungwe’s mountain streams are considered the most remote sources of the Nile and Congo basins. The park’s high rainfall and numerous rivers create a network of microhabitats, leading to the evolution of species found nowhere else.

Run by RDB and African Parks, Munazi Lodge is aligned with the park management team’s drive to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of Nyungwe.

Munazi’s low-impact living includes site-wide hydropower-supplied energy and solar-powered systems for water supply. The kitchen serves delicious meals made from locally sourced ingredients. As in the rest of the park, no plastic bottles are allowed. Glass carafes in the rooms are refilled daily with chilled water sourced from a mountain spring and filtered on-site using high-quality, approved filtration systems.

The elevated chalets make the most of their forest views with floor-to-ceiling windows that open onto a large veranda complete with a hammock. The height of the A-frame structure allows for a cosy mezzanine-level bedroom. The downstairs living area is spacious with banquettes to stretch out on and soak up that view, a workspace (there is wi-fi), a kitchenette, and an en-suite shower room.

I head to the communal area for dinner. It’s a cavernous space artfully divided by two log fires, which are lit each evening for welcome warmth.

Outside, there is a large veranda with a fire pit surrounded by a semi-circular stone seating area ideal for story-swapping with fellow guests after your day’s adventures.

Munazi Lodge also offers plenty of food to enjoy. Stays are full-board, and meals are inventive, artistic, and nutritious. The hotel’s charismatic chef, Pacifique Niyonkuru, crafts a delicious three-course dinner that begins with homemade guacamole and chapati chips. Then, steak fillet with mustard sauce is served on a bed of dodo, a type of spinach that thrives locally. The meal is rounded off with a heavenly homemade chocolate pudding.

Stomach satisfied, I return to my chalet, which feels a little chilly compared to the fire-warmed lounge. However, when I pull back the duvet of my bed, I find housekeeping has left two ‘bush babies’, the name the hotel gives to its complimentary hot water bottles to warm the sheets.

I’m up at six the next day to meet Jean-Paul. Who knows what time Pacifique woke up, because he is waiting for me in the lounge, having created an amazing breakfast.

After breakfast, Jean-Paul and I head to the Gisakura Visitor Centre in the park’s western corridor. As well as a café and a campsite, the centre now has its own tree-top obstacle course that tests your ape-like agility. We, though, are heading on a hike to one of Nyungwe’s hidden gems, the Kamiranzovu waterfall. Jean-Paul shows me the fall’s starting point first, stopping the car on a mountain road so we can look down on a vast, almost circular expanse of high-altitude wetland. This is the Kamiranzovu swamp. Its Kinyarwanda name derives from ‘kamira’ (to swallow) and ‘nzovu’ (elephant) as its ooze is believed to have claimed the lives of elephants unfortunate enough to test its depth.

We begin our hike to the falls at the Gisakura tea plantations on the park's edge. Near the entrance to the luxury resort One&Only Nyungwe House, we find the start of the trail and immediately drop down into forest cover. The enormous variety of plants in Nyungwe National Park, which is home to at least 1,000 species, amazes me.

Jack knows his flora – he also points out a cluster of towering Munazi, the tree my lodge is named after, and which is also known as ‘the broccoli tree – but his real passion is birds. The 6km hike to the waterfall offers an excellent opportunity to see some of Nyungwe’s 275 bird species. Stand-out spots include yellow-eyed black flycatcher and blue-headed sunbird, both endemic here, as well as great blue turaco, Neumann’s warbler, and red-throated Alethe. Jack encourages the birds to come close by imitating their calls.

We hear the falls before we see them, which adds to the anticipation. Soon, the trail grows slick with water spray, and there it is: a torrent of crystal-clear water bursting from rocks 20 metres above us. This moment of communion with wondrous nature is ours alone.

The steep uphill return journey is happily broken up by more bird sightings, including a soaring African harrier-hawk. Back at the plantation, a mother-and-daughter team gives me a crash course in tea picking. They are among the more than 1,000 residents of Gisakura village 530 pickers and 700 to clear the bushes of weeds, employed at the farm.

The next morning at 4 am, Jean-Paul and I are heading back to the Uwinka Visitor Centre for the start of a chimpanzee trek. Unbelievably, by this time, I have already had a three-course breakfast lovingly prepared by Pacifique. When does this man sleep? I’m thankful for the fuel because chimp trekking is more intense than your standard hike.

There are about 400 eastern or mountain chimpanzees in Nyungwe, but they are constantly on the move and build tree-top nests in new locations each night. Trackers have been out ahead of us to find the latest nesting site. However, the chimps rise at dawn to begin foraging for food, and they move fast and cover large distances. Hence the early start, and why seven more tourists and I are frantically trying to keep up with the lead ranger as he swishes through the dense foliage. I stay close behind and can hear crackling reports on the chimps’ location come through his walkie-talkie. We are moving faster than ever now.

Suddenly, the ranger instructs us all to stop and stay silent. Then, the peace is broken by a chorus of grunts that builds into highpitch screams. It’s so loud, reverberating through the forest. This is the famous ‘panthoot’ of excited chimpanzees. The reason for their excitement is a stand of fig trees filled with ripe fruit. They are joined for breakfast by a troop of mountain monkeys and grey-cheeked mangabey monkeys. There is some fighting over food with the chimpanzees, not monkeys with bigger bodies and no tails, benefiting from their size advantage. However, the mangabeys give as good as they get.

A chimpanzee trek permit—which must be booked through the RDB in advance—allows the holder one hour to observe the animals once they are located. There are few things more joyous than watching playful chimpanzees swing from branch to branch before you.

The chimp trek marked the end of my time in Nyungwe. The park’s vast network of trails allows for guided multi-day hikes with accommodation in wooden huts along the route. This seems an ideal next step in embracing the freedom of this wild, magical place.

Mark’s travel and Nyungwe tour itinerary was curated by Shalom Safaris Rwanda, a familyrun Rwandan tour company specialising in personalised tours across the country and East Africa. For more details on tours and destinations, visit www.shalomsafarisrwanda.com.

To book a full-board stay at Munazi Lodge, visit www.visitnyungwe.org/munazi-lodge or email munazi.lodge@africanparks.org or edwardb@africanparks.org.