Community visit in Nyungwe Forest National Park is one of the key activities that gives tourists a chance to mix and mingle with the local people living and surrounding the park. The community is nestled around the Park making it easier for tourists share and learn the lifestyle and values of the local communities. This is something guests compliments with the famous activities within the Park such as Chimpanzee tracking, colobus monkey tracking, canopy walk, bird watching, and guided nature walks in this pristine living forest.
Banda Community Visit -Photo by:- Banda Village
It is always amazing while on a community visit in Nyungwe, they inhabits places around including villages, towns, and districts, all are on a high potential for the sustainable development of tourism to benefit local communities. The town like Cyangugu is found on the southern edge of Lake Kivu close to the lush Nyungwe Forest along Butare road and is the largest and Capital City of Rusizi district within the Western Province of Rwanda. It is an excellent location near the Park makes it a perfect shopping center for tourists heading to the popular Chimpanzee trekking destination. The Mashesha hot springs with the pool of boiling water oozing from the earth’s crust are also popular tourist attractions within Cyangugu making it a source of revenue for the local people of Cyangugu. Tourists visiting Cyangugu Town can also visit Lake Kivu where water sports such as boat rides, kayaking, dug-out canoes, and swimming can be enjoyed.
Kamembe town is another town nearly with Nyungwe National park which is a rarely known Town but is surprisingly a tourist hub near/or connecting a number of tourist destinations in Rwanda and beyond. The town is a perfect connection point for tourists interested in accessing the 1020 square kilometer forest National park by air transport. Visiting Kamembe Town allows tourists to visit Nyungwe Forest National Park in south-western Rwanda (just 45 kilometers/one hour’s drive away) and Kahuzi-Biega National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (122 kilometers/2 hours’ drive away). The popular Congo Nile Trail also starts at Kamembe hence a perfect spot for tourists interested in hiking and mountain biking. Above all, this has improved the standard of living for local people in Kamembe town indirectly and directly through collecting some revenue.
Bisesero is not an ordinary village but is very instrumental in shaping the tourism industry around Nyungwe forest-Rwanda due to its rich historical background of genocide Bisesero Village is important and popular for being the home to breathtaking scenery as well as a dramatic genocide memorial. Other nearby communities near Nyungwe Forest National Park include those in Rusizi district and Butare village. Other interesting communities in Rwanda to visit include the famous Iby’Iwacu village, this is one of the greatest cultural community encounter of an ordinary Rwanda with inspiring stories of ex-gorilla poachers.