Gishwati Mukura Park | Rwanda's Pristine Eco-tourism Hub

Gishwati Mukura national park is the newest of the 4 national parks in Rwanda having been established as a national park in 2015. It consists of 2 forests after which it is named, that is Gishwati forest and Mukura Forest (the smaller of the 2 forests).

This National Park is situated in the Western part of Rwanda not far from the famous Lake Kivu covering an area on 32 square kilometers, making it the smallest national park in Rwanda.

GISHWATI MUKURA NATIONAL PARK AT A GLANCE

Facts

Rwanda’s newest park established in 2015
The park consists of 2 separate evergreen forests, that is Gishwati Forest and Mukura Forest.
It is the smallest park in Rwanda covering only 34 sq kms.
Tourist Park activities in this national park started in 2019.
A troop of 20 semi-habituated chimpanzees inhabits the park alongside other primates and over 200 bird species.
The greatest threat to the forest and its habitats is encroachment for illegal mining.
The 2 forests that make up the park are separated by a 50km buffer zone that is set for reforestation.

WILDLIFE IN GISHWATI MUKURA NATIONAL PARK

The Animals: This park is home to mainly primates which include the common chimpanzees, the blue monkeys, the olive baboons, golden monkeys, vervet monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, L’Hoest monkeys among other small animals like the serval cats, bushbucks, tree hyrax, black fronted duiker and red river hogs.

The Birds: The park is home to over 300 bird species jointly recorded in both forests with the most species inhabiting the Gishwati forest. Some of the birds are the white-headed wood hooper, mountain yellow warbler, old world warbler, Ruwenzori turaco, martial eagle, purple breasted sunbird, Ruwenzori batis, regal sunbird, red throated Alethe, dusky crimson wing, grey crowned crane among others.

TOURIST ACTIVITIES IN GISHWATI MUKURA NATIONAL PARK

What to do in Gishwati Mukura National Park:

Bird watching
Guided nature walks and hiking
Biking through the Congo-Nile trail
Guided Cultural tours
A visit to the waterfall

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN GISHWATI MUKURA NATIONAL PARK

What to see :

Gishwati forest
Mukura forest
Birdlife
Primate species
Plant and tree species (bamboo and indigenous hardwood)

CONSERVATION EFFORTS IN GISHWATI MUKURA NATIONAL PARK

Established in 2015 as a national park to protect and preserve the remaining forest cover and the wildlife within the forests and to also revive the lost forest cover.

ACCESSIBILITY

How to get there

This national park is only 84 kms from Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda.

By road

A 2 – 3-hour drive from Kigali and visitors can also connect to the park by road from either Volcanoes national park or Nyungwe Forest national park

By air

Visitors can charter a small aircraft from Kigali to the park on a 45-minute scenic flight. Organized by Akagera Aviation or RwandAir.

ACCOMMODATION IN GISHWATI MUKURA NATIONAL PARK

There are a few accommodation options in this national park since it’s a new park, but more facilities / lodges are being built. Nonethe less, visitors can make use of the established lodges and camps in the nearby national parks like Volcanoes national park which is about 30 minutes away and Nyungwe Forest national park.