Chimpanzee Trekking in Rwanda

The Experience

Tracking Chimps in Nyungwe Forest

Nyungwe National Park is home to several chimpanzee communities, with one (based in the Cyamudongo forest fragment and the park's main block) habituated for visitor tracking. Treks begin early, often before 5am, since chimpanzees wake and start moving through the canopy at first light, making an early start your best chance of a good sighting before the group ranges further into the forest.

Compared to gorilla trekking, chimp tracking is less predictable: chimpanzees move quickly and can cover long distances through dense canopy, so treks sometimes involve several hours of walking, and sightings, while still very good odds with an experienced guide, aren't quite as guaranteed as with habituated gorilla families. What you get in exchange is a different kind of encounter. Watching a chimp troop's social dynamics (calling, grooming, moving as a coordinated group) is a livelier, noisier experience than the calmer gorilla encounters in Volcanoes National Park.

Most visitors pair chimp trekking with Nyungwe's canopy walkway and a colobus monkey walk on the same visit. See our full Nyungwe National Park guide for the complete activity list.

What to Expect

• Early start. Briefing before dawn at park headquarters, to catch chimps before they range far.
• Variable difficulty. Anywhere from one to five hours of walking on forest trails, depending on where the group is that morning.
• One hour with the group. Once located, you get a ranger-timed hour observing the community.