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Gishwati-Mukura
Rwanda's youngest park, where a ravaged forest is healing
- Type
- Montane rainforest national park, Albertine Rift
- Size
- Around 34 km² (Gishwati and Mukura forests combined)
- Altitude
- Roughly 2,000–3,000 m above sea level
- Established
- Gazetted 2016; opened to trekking 2019
- Status
- Part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (designated 2020)
- Best for
- Chimp and monkey trekking, birding, conservation-minded travellers
High on the ridge that separates the Congo and Nile watersheds, in the far west of Rwanda, Gishwati-Mukura is the country's newest and smallest national park, and quite unlike the others. It is two fragments of montane forest, Gishwati and Mukura, stitched together and given protection in 2016, with trekking beginning a few years later. The forest you walk through here is not pristine wilderness; it is wilderness being knitted back together, and that is precisely the point of coming.
These hills lost almost all of their tree cover in the decades around the turn of the century, as the land was cleared for farms, cattle and resettlement in the years that followed the 1994 genocide. What survived shrank to a tiny remnant. The park is the centrepiece of an ambitious effort to reverse that loss: to reconnect the surviving patches, replant the bare slopes, and give the chimpanzees and monkeys that clung on a forest big enough to live in again.
For the traveller, Gishwati-Mukura is a quieter, more intimate proposition than Rwanda's headline parks. There is no convoy of vehicles, no jostling at the trailhead. Treks are small and permits strictly limited, the eastern chimpanzees are still semi-habituated, and the forest is dense, wet and steep. You come not for guaranteed close encounters but for the rarer experience of watching a wild place recover, on foot, with the people who are making it happen.
What you come here for
Chimpanzee trekking, the quiet way
A small community of eastern chimpanzees lives in the Gishwati sector. Numbers on the trek are kept low and the apes are still semi-habituated, so an encounter is earned rather than assured, but those who find them often have the moment entirely to themselves, with none of the crowding of busier forests.
A multi-monkey forest
Alongside the chimps, Gishwati shelters L'Hoest's monkeys, blue monkeys, big troops of black-and-white colobus and, at higher elevations, golden monkeys. A morning here can deliver several primate species in a single walk through the canopy.
Walking a forest back to life
Much of what you see is regeneration in progress: replanted slopes, nursery plots, the boundary between old forest and new. Guides from the local community explain how the land was lost and how it is being recovered, which turns a trek into a conservation story you can stand inside.
Birding on the Albertine Rift
The forest is rich in birds, including Albertine Rift endemics, and its edges and clearings make for rewarding, unhurried watching. It pairs naturally with a primate trek for anyone who likes a slower morning in the trees.
A genuine off-the-map detour
Set between Lake Kivu and the Volcanoes, Gishwati-Mukura sees a fraction of the visitors of either. For travellers who want somewhere few people have been, it is one of the most authentic stops in Rwanda.
The wildlife of Gishwati-Mukura
Eastern chimpanzee
A small, semi-habituated community in the Gishwati sector; the headline primate and the focus of the trek. Sightings are not guaranteed, which is part of the honesty of the place.
L'Hoest's monkey
A handsome, ground-loving forest guenon with a pale moustache, endemic to the Albertine Rift and regularly seen moving through the understorey.
Blue monkey
A widespread but lovely canopy guenon, often in mixed groups with other monkeys.
Black-and-white colobus
Travels in large, conspicuous troops; the flowing white mantle and leaping displays are a highlight of any walk.
Golden monkey
The striking Albertine Rift endemic better known from the Volcanoes; recorded here too, mostly at higher elevations, though seen less reliably than the other monkeys.
Forest birds
A diverse community including Albertine Rift endemics, with the forest edges and clearings especially good for watching.
Tree frogs and chameleons
The wet montane forest is full of smaller life; guides are good at finding chameleons and amphibians along the trails.
Ways to experience the park
Chimpanzee trek
The flagship activity. After a briefing at the park office you set out on foot with a ranger-guide and trackers to look for the chimps, typically a two-to-five-hour outing depending on where the apes have moved. The forest is steep, dense and often muddy, and the chimps range widely, so this is properly active walking and an encounter is never guaranteed. Permits are strictly limited and required; Wildtouch arranges them in advance, as numbers are capped and the park cannot be visited on a walk-up basis.
Monkey and primate walk
A gentler guided walk focused on the forest's monkeys, L'Hoest's, blue, colobus and, with luck, golden monkeys, which are easier to find than the chimps and give a strong primate experience without the longer, steeper pursuit. A good choice for less confident walkers or as a complement to the chimp trek.
Guided forest and birding walk
Slower trails through old and regenerating forest with a local guide, geared to birds, smaller wildlife and the story of the restoration. Rewarding for naturalists and anyone who prefers a measured pace.
Waterfall and viewpoint hikes
Short walks lead to forest waterfalls and to ridgelines with long views over the hills towards Lake Kivu, a good way to feel the landscape beyond the primate trek.
Community and conservation visits
Time with the people protecting the forest, tea-growing neighbours, reforestation teams and guides drawn from local villages, who explain how the park was created and what it means for the surrounding communities.
The best months, and the weather right now
Gishwati-Mukura is a wet forest and walkable year-round, but the trails are far kinder in the two drier windows, roughly mid-December to February and June to September, when the steep ground is less slick and the canopy easier to move through. The long rains of March to May and the shorter rains around October and November bring heavy, frequent downpours; trekking still goes ahead, but expect mud, leeches and slow, slippery going. Whatever the month, this is high, cool country, mornings can be genuinely cold, and rain is possible at any time. The drier months simply load the odds in your favour for both comfort and visibility.
Rwanda's forests are wet year-round; the drier windows (around June–September and December–February) make for firmer trekking trails.
The park sits in Rwanda's Western Province, on the main road between Karongi (Kibuye) and Rubavu (Gisenyi) on Lake Kivu, with the road passing right through the forest to the park office near the tea estates. From Kigali it is a scenic drive of roughly three to four hours by road. Rubavu, on the lakeshore, is a short drive away, which makes Gishwati a natural stop on a Lake Kivu circuit or on the overland route between the Volcanoes in the north and Nyungwe in the south. Wildtouch handles all transfers and timings, and because treks start early from the park office, most travellers stay nearby the night before.
Camps and lodges
There is no lodging inside the park itself, so most travellers base on the shores of Lake Kivu around Rubavu or Karongi, a short drive away, where there is a good spread of accommodation from comfortable mid-range lakeside hotels to a small number of more upmarket, design-led retreats with lake views. Closer to the forest, options are simpler and more rustic, suited to travellers who want to be at the trailhead early. Wildtouch matches the base to your itinerary and tier, often pairing a Gishwati trek with a relaxed night or two on the lake.
Protecting Gishwati-Mukura
Gishwati-Mukura is, above all, a recovery story. In the decades around the turn of the century these forests were all but destroyed, cleared for farmland, pasture and resettlement, until only a small fraction of the original tree cover remained and the chimpanzees and monkeys were left clinging to isolated scraps of habitat. Creating the national park in 2016, and reconnecting the two surviving forest blocks, was a deliberate attempt to reverse that collapse. The work since has combined active reforestation, replanting bare slopes and widening the forest, with the protection of the primates that hung on, and the involvement of the communities living around the park, including former forest users now employed as guides, trackers and nursery workers. The Forest of Hope Association has been central to managing the restoration. In 2020 the wider landscape was recognised as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, a structure that ties the protected forest core to the farms, tea estates and villages around it, so that conservation and livelihoods advance together rather than at each other's expense. Tourism is a deliberately small part of this: limited permits, modest numbers and revenue that helps fund the forest's regrowth. Visiting honestly, on foot and in small groups, is one of the most direct ways to support a forest that is being brought back from the brink.
Parks that pair well with Gishwati-Mukura
Questions about Gishwati-Mukura
- Will I definitely see chimpanzees?
- No, and we would rather be honest about that. The Gishwati chimps are a small, semi-habituated community that ranges widely across steep, dense forest. Many treks are rewarded with a sighting, but some are not. If a high chance of close chimp encounters is your priority, Nyungwe is the surer bet; Gishwati's appeal is the quietness, the monkeys and the chance to be part of a forest's recovery. The L'Hoest's, blue and colobus monkeys are seen far more reliably.
- How fit do I need to be, and how hard is the trek?
- Moderately fit and prepared for effort. The forest is high, steep, dense and frequently muddy, and the chimps can move a long way, so a trek can mean two to five hours of demanding walking at altitude. Sturdy waterproof boots, rain gear and a willingness to get wet and muddy all help. Those who prefer something gentler can focus on the monkey and forest walks, which are far less strenuous.
- Do I need a permit, and can I just turn up?
- Yes to the permit, no to turning up. Trekking requires a permit and numbers are strictly capped, so the park cannot be visited on a walk-up basis. Wildtouch arranges permits in advance as part of your itinerary; because places are limited, we recommend booking well ahead, especially in the drier months.
- What is the etiquette around the chimps and monkeys?
- The rules exist to protect the animals and keep them wild. Keep the distance your guide sets, stay quiet, never feed or touch the primates, and do not visit if you are unwell, as they are vulnerable to human illnesses. Flash photography is not allowed, and groups are kept small for the same reason. Following your guide's instructions closely is part of trekking responsibly here.
- Is Gishwati-Mukura worth it given how new and small it is?
- For the right traveller, very much so. It will not give you the polished, high-odds experience of Rwanda's established parks, and you should come knowing that. What it offers instead is a genuine off-the-map forest, several monkey species in a morning, excellent birding and a front-row view of one of Africa's most hopeful restoration projects, all without the crowds. It slots beautifully into a Lake Kivu route between the Volcanoes and Nyungwe.
Build Gishwati-Mukura into your safari
Sketch a route around it with the Wildtouch Safari Designer, then hand your plan to Jacob to make real.