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AfriGuide🇷🇼 RwandaNyungwe Canopy & Chimps — 3 Days
🐒 CANOPY WALK · 200MTop-ratedChimp permit · canopy walkLocal guides

Nyungwe Canopy & Chimps — 3 Days

★ 4.8 · 410 reviews· Nyungwe Forest NP· English, French, Kinyarwanda· Start & end Kigali (KGL)
Duration
3 days · 2 nights
👥
Group
Max 8
Start
Kigali (KGL)
Includes
Chimp permit · canopy walk
🏠
Stay
Forest lodge · tea estate
🛡
Wildlife
Chimps · colobus · golden monkeys

About this trip

Three days in Nyungwe Forest — one of the oldest rainforests in Africa, 1,000 km² of montane jungle in southwest Rwanda. The canopy walkway is 200 metres long, 70m above the forest floor — the only one of its kind in East Africa. We pair it with chimp tracking (~13 habituated groups), a colobus monkey troop walk, and a sunset stay on the Gisakura tea estate. Quieter than the gorilla side, no permit lottery, half the price.

Highlights

Canopy walkway
200m suspended bridge · 70m above the canopy · the trees are 80m tall, you're walking among them.
Chimp tracking
5:30am start · habituated group · 1–4 hour trek through montane forest · ~80% sighting rate.
Colobus monkey walk
400-strong troop of Rwenzori colobus · acrobatic black-and-white monkeys.
Gisakura tea estate stay
Lodge in the green tea fields · sunrise mist rolling over the hills.
Tea factory tour
Plucking, withering, fermenting, drying · take home a fresh batch.
Kamiranzovu marsh walk
Wetland trail · orchids, sunbirds, frogs · ~3 hours easy walking.

Day-by-day itinerary

01
Day 1
Kigali → Nyungwe
  1. 08:00 — KGL hotel pickup · drive west via Butare (4 hr 30 min).
  2. 12:30 — Lunch at Hotel Faucon · classic Belgian-era address.
  3. 14:00 — Continue to Nyungwe · arrive lodge by 16:00.
  4. 17:30 — Forest walk from the lodge · birdsong, settle in.
02
Day 2
Canopy walk · chimp tracking
  1. 05:30 — Drive to Uwinka HQ · meet ranger team.
  2. 06:00 — Chimp tracking · 1–4 hrs depending on group location.
  3. 11:00 — Brunch back at lodge.
  4. 14:30Canopy walkway · the 200m suspended bridge experience.
  5. 17:00 — Sundowner at viewpoint · the forest goes pink.
03
Day 3
Tea estate · back to Kigali
  1. 07:00Gisakura tea factory tour · packing & take-home batch.
  2. 09:30 — Colobus monkey troop walk (45 min).
  3. 11:30 — Drive back to Kigali (5 hr) or onward 4 hr to Volcanoes NP for gorillas.
  4. 17:00 — Drop at Kigali hotel or KGL airport.

What's included

  • KGL pickup & drop
  • 2 nts forest / tea-estate lodge
  • All meals + bottled water
  • Private 4×4 with English-speaking guide
  • Chimp permit ($150)
  • Canopy walk entry + ranger fee
  • Colobus walk + tea factory tour

Not included

  • × International flights to KGL
  • × Visa on arrival ($50)
  • × Tips · ranger $15/day
  • × Travel insurance

Cancellation

100%
30+ days before.
50%
30–14 days before.
0%
Inside 14 days.

410 reviews

4.8
★★★★★
Quiet alternative to gorilla traffic
★★★★★
"Canopy walk is the moment — you stop in the middle 70m up, the forest stretches forever. Chimps were the bonus."
Aoife N.
Dublin · Sep '25
★★★★★
"Half the price of Volcanoes, twice the silence. Our guide James knew every bird call."
Pieter B.
Amsterdam · May '25

Common questions

Nyungwe vs Volcanoes (gorillas)?

Nyungwe is the wider rainforest experience — chimps, monkeys, canopy walk, hiking trails. Volcanoes is one transcendent hour with mountain gorillas. Pair them — see our gorilla trek. Combined 6-day from $4,890/pp.

How hard is the canopy walk?

Easy. 30-min uphill walk to the bridge entrance, then 200m across at your own pace. Wobbles a bit. Vertigo-sensitive guests sometimes turn back at the start — no shame.

Chimp sighting rate?

~80%. Some days the trackers can't relocate the group. We give you a second chance the next morning if you missed.

Best time?

June–September dry season — easier trails, drier canopy walk. December–February also dry. Avoid March–May (long rains).

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