Nyungwe National Park
🇷🇼 Rwanda
East Africa, Rwanda 1314 spp. recorded
Nyungwe National Park is a tropical rainforest tucked in the mountains of southwestern Rwanda, forming part of the Albertine Rift. Its steep valleys, mist‑cloaked hills and thick, multi‑layered canopy set it apart from the open savannas that dominate many East African reserves.
-2.525° S 29.292° E
🦜 Nature
422 Species sighted
45,538 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Jul Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
+ 737 more species with insufficient data
Recent sightings in Nyungwe National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSounds of Nyungwe National Park
Afternoon soundscape0:55
Rwanda · 2025
© Alain Malengreau · XC1069272 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Sighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
39Jan
36Feb
32Mar
32Apr
36May
34Jun
45Jul
37Aug
34Sep
39Oct
32Nov
42Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
Bigugu Trail
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Uwinka
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Blue Monkey~90%+20%
Boehm's Bush Squirrel~80%+20%
Black-faced Apalis~60%+10%
Red-legged Sun Squirrel~50%+20%
grey-mantled grey-cheeked mangabey~50%+10%
Green White-eye~50%-10%
African Dusky Flycatcher~50%-10%
Ruwenzori Sun Squirrel~40%+20%
L'Hoest's Guenon~40%-40%
Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird~40%≈
Regal Sunbird~40%-20%
-
Gisakura, Ndambarare Trail
-
Kamiranzovu Trail
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Good
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
ExcellentHow rich is the wildlife?
4.7
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 856
🐒 Mammals 246
🦎 Reptiles 166
🐸 Amphibians 46
1314 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
53 Threatened 4 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
GoodHow likely to see animals?
2.9
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
63% 📊
Coverage (187 species at ≥5% of 1314 in the inventory)
14% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (6 mammal, 6 bird)
67% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
135 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
9 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
23 🏕️
Experience
Very goodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
3.9
Climate Harsh Low
Entrance Paid Low
Tourism Low High
Trails Moderate Medium
World Heritage Yes Bonus
What visitors say
And chimpanzees were exactly what I had come to see.
This is one of the few birds named for a feature found only on the female! (I didn’t see a female) A family of Black and White Colobus watched us carefully.
Eight and a half hours later, at 5:30pm, we finally arrived at our destination...our home for the next two nights: One&Only Nyungwe House, perched on the edge of Nyungwe National Park.
With fresh eyes, we were ready to tackle the new day’s onslaught on our senses as we travelled through the Nyungwe Forest National Park.
Before you go
What animals can you see in Nyungwe National Park?
1,314 species
Nyungwe National Park has 1,314 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are L'Hoest's Guenon (about 80%), Chubb's Cisticola (about 70%), Blue Monkey (about 70%), Common Bulbul (about 60%) and Green White-eye (about 60%). Among reptiles, the most-seen is Johnston's Chameleon (about 30%); among amphibians, Brown Reed Frog (about 40%).
When is the best time to visit Nyungwe National Park for wildlife?
July and December
In those months the park's 12 most-seen species average about 70% on a given day, against about 50% in April and June.
Can you see a L'Hoest's Guenon in Nyungwe National Park?
Yes
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a L'Hoest's Guenon sighting in Nyungwe National Park on a given day, based on 86 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is January–March, July and September–October (about 90%).
Can you see a Chimpanzee in Nyungwe National Park?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Chimpanzee sighting in Nyungwe National Park on a given day, based on 31 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is June and September (about 70%).
Can you see an Angola Colobus in Nyungwe National Park?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report an Angola Colobus sighting in Nyungwe National Park on a given day, based on 24 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is December (about 80%).
Where in Nyungwe National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Uwabutarima trail nnp bz
The richest sighting zone is around Uwabutarima trail nnp bz, followed by Bigugu Trail and Uwinka, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Nyungwe National Park good for wildlife watching?
3.4 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Nyungwe National Park rates 3.4/5: 222nd of 316 parks worldwide and 61st in Africa. 30 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
