For primates & rare birds
Gishwati Mukura National Park
A sanctuary of hills and forests
Rwanda’s fourth and newest national park that was opened to the public on 1st December 2020. Gishwati Mukura is made up of two separate forests – the larger Gishwati and small Mukura, forming a total of 34 square kilometres plus a buffer zone. The forests sit on the ridge which divides the Congo and Nile water catchment areas, along the incredibly bio-diverse Albertine Rift in the west of the country. It is made up of 60 species of tree, including indigenous hardwoods and bamboo. This is park is a way of improving the biosphere in the area and the reforestation of the area as with deforestation the area faced many challenges such as mudslides, erosion .At the moment, only Gishwati Forest can be visited as Mukura Forest has no infrastructure or hiking trails guides to be able to receive visitors.
To visit Gishwati forest of the Gishwati-Mukura National Park, it is a requirement to stay at the Forest of Hope Guest House and Camp Site as you experience this exclusive off the beaten track experience that help you to enjoy the beauty of Gishwati.
Gishwati is home to a group of 20 chimpanzees which live alongside golden monkeys, L’Hoest’s and Blue Monkeys. There are about 232 species that have been seen at Gishwati and 163 species at Mukura, among them Albertine Rift Endemic species and forest specialists.
Activities that you can do in the park; guided nature hikes, chimpanzee trekking, golden monkeys and other species of monkeys, bird watching, a visit to the waterfalls and visiting a community next to this park.
