Gishwati-Mukura National Park

Gishwati was once a large montane forest and by the 2000s it had been reduced to a few hundred hectares, one of the more severe forest losses recorded anywhere in the region. Declared a national park in 2015 alongside the smaller Mukura fragment, it is now the subject of an ambitious restoration, with buffer zones being replanted and corridors opened between the two blocks. It holds a small population of eastern chimpanzees along with golden monkeys, blue monkeys and a long bird list. Activities are modest by design: guided forest walks, chimp and monkey tracking with lower success rates than the famous parks, waterfall hikes and a tea-plantation and beekeeping circuit run with the neighbouring communities.

The landscape

• Chimpanzee tracking - a small habituated group, with lower sighting odds than Nyungwe.
• Golden and blue monkeys - more reliably seen than the chimps.
• Guided forest walks - montane forest with a strong bird list.
• Community tea and beekeeping circuit - the buffer-zone livelihoods around the park.

When to go

The drier windows, June to September and December to February, make the steep forest paths manageable. The long rains from March turn the trails to mud.

Before you go

This is a small park recovering from serious damage, and it does not compete with Nyungwe or Volcanoes on wildlife; going expecting a headline experience is the wrong frame. Chimp tracking here often ends without a sighting. Trails are steep and slippery. The reason to come is to see restoration in progress and to have a forest to yourself.

Nearby

Lake Kivu and Rubavu are west; Volcanoes National Park lies north.