Chimpanzee Trekking in Rwanda: Everything you need to know

Chimpanzee trekking in Rwanda is a fantastic experience you don’t want to miss. Whether you’re adding this as part of your primate experience in Rwanda, pairing it with golden monkeys and gorillas, or thinking this is your one primate experience here, you won’t regret it.

I visited the chimpanzees in Rwanda with my mother and sister when they were here for a 2-week Rwanda adventure. They also visited the Golden Monkeys in Musanze but decided not to splurge on the gorillas. They hope to do that next time they visit… Visiting the chimpanzees gives a similar sense of wonder and excitement with full-on primate screeching, without the $1,500 cost of the gorillas.

I totally think this is worth it, both for expats who live in Kigali and also for visitors. The chimpanzee trekking in Rwanda is definitely something I’m going to remember forever, and hopefully I’ll be able to go to it again as more friends and family visit.

A note: I visited the Nyungwe National Park area of Cyamudongo, so that’s what I’ll be focusing on in this blog.

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Chimpanzee Trekking Basics

There are actually two areas where you can do chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park. Cyamudongo, which has been separated from the main forest, makes it easier to find the chimpanzees. I recommend this area, but you will have to book in advance as only eight people are allowed to trek a day.
- You’ll use Gisakura Reception Center for the Cyamudongo hike, check in the day before by 5 pm.
It costs $250 per person to do chimpanzee trekking ($135 for foreign residents).
Book 1-2 months out (as soon as you know, basically)
You must wake up at 4:30 am to meet your guide at 5:00 am.
It takes just under 2 hours of driving to the start of the chimpanzee trek at Cyamudongo.
You must have a car that can handle bumpy roads. A 4×4 is recommended. I didn’t have one, and the guy did not seem confident I would make it, but I managed in a Kia Sorento.
Bring a packed lunch or snack for your onward drive
Bring cash or prep your MTN Momo account for: $20 for a porter + $30 for trackers

Where To Stay around Nyungwe National Park

To visit Cyamudongo, I highly recommend you stay at Chimpanzee Lodge. It is only 5 minutes from the 5 am meeting point for the drive to get to the Cyamudongo forest entry.

At Chimpanzee Lodge, the rooms are clean, there is somewhat hot water, and the staff are very friendly.

Welcome tea and biscuits, with cute bathroom swans

We had a nice dinner, which had the best pumpkin I’ve had in Rwanda. Portions are huge, and the three of us opted for 2 mains and a side of soup—it was still a lot of food. Splitting these dishes, it was around $12 per person.

The total cost of one night, with dinner, was about $120 per person. Other lodges I was thinking of booking were Nyungwe Top View Hill hotel, Ear Ken Barham Guesthouse (I’ll try this next time I go), and, if I really had a lot of money, I would stay at One And Only Nyungwe House.

How to Book Chimpanzee Trekking

I suggest reaching out to nyungwe@africanparks.org to organize your date and payment. You can confirm with them which location you’ll be hiking. They fill up Cyamudongo first and then the larger area of the park.

International: Chimpanzee trekking 150 + Park entry fee $100 = $250 total
Foreign resident: Chimpanzee tracking $60 parks entry + $75 chimpanzee tracking= $135 total

Check the latest entry fees here. Please note that the link is not the official website to book through. You must do so directly via the park rangers and the email to avoid additional “admin” charges from third parties.

I used a combination of WhatsApp and email to book our chimpanzee trekking experience. First, I asked my hotel for the contact number, and they gave me the direct contact for the park ranger. With her, I organized our dates. She sent me the email address and then followed up with our passports and my residency card. I confirmed the date and documents, and I was given an online payment link.

You must check into the Gisakura Reception Center by 5:00 p.m. the day before your chimpanzee trekking in Rwanda. This allows the park to confirm your documents.

It took about 10 minutes for the staff to confirm our passports at the reception center, and they were very friendly. I was given the WhatsApp number for my specific park ranger who would meet me in the morning, and I communicated with him to confirm our departure.

About Nyungwe National Park

Nyungwe National Park is a vast rainforest covering over 1,000 square kilometers. It feeds both the Congo and Nile Rivers and is bursting with biodiversity. The forest is home to 345 bird species and 85 mammal species, including 13 of Africa’s primates. While chimpanzees are the main draw, you’ll also likely see black-and-white colobus, blue monkeys, and vervet monkeys. Other primates you may spot include L’Hoest’s monkeys, owl-faced monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, golden monkeys, crowned monkeys, Dent’s mona monkeys, olive baboons, and grey-cheeked mangabeys.

Other monkeys we saw

The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is made up of two separate forest areas. The first is the large expanse of Nyungwe National Park that you see on the map.

The second is a smaller, separate forest called Cyamudongo, which was cut off from the main park by farming and tea plantations before the area was officially protected. In the main section of Nyungwe, it can sometimes be harder to find chimpanzees simply because the forest is so large. In Cyamudongo, the land area is much smaller, and there is only one chimpanzee family, which makes them easier to locate.

Our guide explained that the Cyamudongo chimp population does face some inbreeding challenges due to this isolation, but there are plans to eventually introduce chimpanzees from the larger forest. Thankfully, the population is not currently in danger. There are also long-term plans to reconnect the two forests, though this is extremely difficult because local farms, grazing land, and communities now fill the space between them.

When chimpanzee trekking in Rwanda, it’s important to note that these are still wild animals, and they have no trackers on them. The forest ranger trackers go out before you in order to help find the chimpanzees before your group arrives. But, that said, I have read some reviews that some people don’t see the chimps on their trek. Just keep that in mind.

Chimpanzee Trekking in Cyamudongo

After the 2 hour-ish drive to Cyamudongo, you’ll arrive at the visitors center where you can use the bathroom and have some of your packed breakfast while you get a briefing.

Views on the way to Cyamudongo

Then, you’ll get started! The hike down into the forest is relatively steep, and we were advised to get a porter but opted not to. However, we definitely regretted this within 15 minutes of the hike because, even though it was the dry season, the rainforest floor was very slippery. Everyone was slipping, sliding, and falling on their bottoms. Therefore, I highly recommend you get a porter. They are very kind (they don’t need to carry your bag if that makes you feel weird). Instead, they can guide you on where to place your feet and help you stay steady on the trail.

It can take anywhere from 40 minutes to 2 hours to find the chimpanzees. Our hiking group was very lucky because the chimpanzee appeared after only a 40-minute hike!

It was so fantastic seeing them. The chimps are so talkative and screeching the entire time.

They came pretty close to our group… maybe about 6 ft away at the closest interaction.

At one point, a chimpanzee stood up and (though I didn’t get a photo of it), it felt like I was witnessing evolution in real time!

Chimpanzees are humans’ closest cousins. We share about 96% to 98.9% of our DNA with them. I recently read an article that said humans still have a connection to the screech of chimpanzees and another that we can interpret some of the chimp hand signals. So crazy. You’ll get some info from the guide as you’re looking at the chimps.

You’re only allowed to spend about 40 minutes to an hour with the chimps, and then you head back.

The hike back was far less slippery, but it was still helpful to have the porter.

When we arrived back at the parking lot, there was a local dance performance.

A Timeline for Chimpanzee Trekking

The Night Before

5:00 p.m. – Check into the Gisakura Reception Center to confirm your guide and payment.
6:00 p.m. – Check into Chimpanzee Lodge, relax, have dinner, and organize your packed breakfast.

Trekking Day

4:30 a.m. – Wake up, check out, and pick up your packed breakfast.
4:45 a.m. – Drive to the meetup point (likely here). I suggest arriving a few minutes early.
5:00–6:45 a.m. – Drive to Cyamudongo.
7:00–10:20 a.m. – Hike and experience the chimpanzees. (This is the shortest possible your experience can be. You could be hiking for 2 hours to find them).
11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. – Drive back to the main road and continue your journey.
Afternoon/Evening – I suggest you drive to Kibati Eco Center and spend the night before continuing to Kigali. (that’s what we did) I was exhausted after the 4:00 a.m. start, but it’s absolutely worth it as it significantly shortens the drive to Kigali the next day.

Tipping Advice

5,000 RWF to local dance performers
$20 for porters. If you’re a group, then maybe get 2 porters. Even if you don’t hire a porter, if you end up using their services, you should tip.
$30 for trackers. There were 6 trackers total the day we hiked.

I recommend you bring either dollars/euro or local currency to tip the trackers and a porter. You can also use MTN Momo (for locals and residents), but you’ll only get signal back at the parking lot, so get a tracker’s number to Momo after.

What to Wear for Chimpanzee Trekking

Although the hike isn’t extremely strenuous, you are trekking through a rainforest, so I highly recommend hiking boots for chimpanzee trekking in Rwanda. Running shoes may also work as long as it hasn’t been raining much and they have good tread.
Wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt if you don’t like getting scratched by vegetation. Long pants are required, though some people switched to T-shirts once it got warm.
Bring water and a granola bar in case you get hungry, but note that there’s no opportunity to eat a packed breakfast on the trail.
Pack bug spray and sunscreen.
- These are the OFF wipes that I buy in bulk.
Free hiking sticks are provided at the start of the trail and are very helpful.
If you’re trekking during the rainy season, bring a rain jacket or parka.