Nyungwe Forest Night Trekking
The Nyungwe forest night trekking is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to uncover the hidden secrets of Nyungwe Forest, its natural beauty, and outstanding nocturnal wildlife or bird species during the night. With the help of flashlights, you will venture into a unique World inhabited by the most outstanding, diverse, and shy nocturnal creatures that hide from predators during the day.
The nighttime is the perfect time to see nocturnal primates like Pottos and bush babies, serval cats, Carnival Genets, Mongoose, shy snake species, and many other wildlife species that only come out after dark. The Night walking tours are one of the recently introduced activities in Nyungwe Forest and have to be undertaken by an armed and experienced Ranger (Rwanda Development Board). Book Now
How Nyungwe Forest night trekking Tours are done?
Nyungwe Forest night trekking tours usually begin at 5:30 pm and last 3-4 hours (ending at 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm). This adventure begins with a briefing at the Visitor Center with briefing provided by the Ranger Guide. Your Ranger guide will have a flashlight and you will also be advised to carry one to avoid missing the unmissable nocturnal wildlife species, especially Bush babies, Pottos, flying Squirrels, Tree hyraxes, Mongoose, Genets, serval cats and so much more.
Besides wildlife, a number of nocturnal bird species will be spotted during the Nyungwe Forest Night trekking tour and these include the Red-chested owlets, the iconic Rwenzori Nightjar, the Albertine Owlets, and many others.
What to Carry for Nyungwe Forest Night Walk.
For your Nyungwe Forest Night trekking tour, the most important item you will need is a flashlight for spotting hidden wildlife, birds, and other nocturnal species. Additionally, you will need sturdy hiking boots for maneuvering through the jungles, comfortable and lightweight long-sleeved shirts, as well as breathable and lightweight long trousers to protect your hands and legs from insect bites, gaiters, a rain jacket to cater for unexpected rain showers during the walk, a hat, gardening gloves, a First Aid Kit, hand sanitizer, a good camera with good camera settings for night photography in addition to having extra memory space and batteries, a backpack for storing everything you need during the Nyungwe Forest Night Trekking Tour, a warm sweater for the cold evenings, a reusable water bottle because you need to keep hydrated during the night walks as well. Get a full pack list for visiting Nyungwe.
When to undertake the Nyungwe Forest Night Walk.
This is available all year round but during the dry season- December to February and June to September is more ideal because rainfall levels are considerably reduced thus forest trails are less muddy, soggy, or slippery hence less challenging walks. The wet season- March, April, May, October, and November is marked by increased precipitation levels which make forest trails muddy and slippery. Also, temperatures drop so much and it becomes extremely cold to undertake night trekking tours in Nyungwe during these months.
About Nyungwe Forest National Park
Situated over a 5-6 hours drive from Kigali is the beautiful Nyungwe Forest National Park extending for over 1000 square kilometers. Rwanda’s second largest Protected Area shelters over 1000 Nyungwe plant species, about 80 mammal species, and over 320 bird species that include a great number of Albertine Rift endemics. The majority of these unique attractions can be spotted during the day while others are only spotted by undertaking a night walk in Nyungwe. Besides the night treks, Nyungwe Forest National Park also offers day trekking tours/hiking, chimpanzee trekking, bird watching, tea plantation tour, cultural tours, and canopy walks, to mention but a few.
In fact, Rwanda is a great choice for combining primate safari and game safari, Akagera National Park in the eastern parts of th country, home to the big Five, is amazing for guests to go White Rhino trekking and boat safaris to witness the best of wildlife viewing here.
