Bird watching in Nyungwe Forest National Park

With over 300 bird species, Nyungwe National Park is the heart and soul of birding in Rwanda.  It has something of a legendary status among twitches in East Africa and is by far the top destination for bird watching tours in Rwanda.

But, the dense cover of this forest park implies that getting a good view of birds can often is frustratingly hard, which means that only serious bird watchers are likely to get feathered into excitement by many of the park’s birds.

There are specialist birding guides based in Nyungwe who can easily identify them and by hearing their sounds.

Depending on what you want to see, the guide will choose a bird-watching trail that maximizes your chances of seeing a variety of Nyungwe National Park’s bird species.

Five is years is the minimum age for birding in Nyungwe National Park.

Birding trails in Nyungwe National Park

For those visitors on Rwanda birding safaris in Nyungwe, the dirt Rangiro Road which starts 1.5km east of Uwinka, and the Imbaraga, Umuyove and Kamiranzovu Trails are all highly recommended for bird watching.

The paved road through the park offers viewing at all levels of the forest. Visitors on this route expect to see mountain buzzards and cinnamon-chested bee-eaters perched along here and numerous sunbirds like regal sunbirds as well as wagtails and flocks of waxbills. Other commonly sighted birds include;

• Handsome francolins,
• Rwenzori turacos,
• Great blue turacos,
• Long-crested eagle,
• Rwenzori Nightjar,
• Rwenzori batis,
• Several hornbills,
• Red-collared mountain warbler, and
• Kivu ground thrush,

The trail around Kamiranzovu offers a chance of seeing the Grauer’s rush warblers in one of the largest concentration in the world.

What to carry for bird watching in Nyungwe National Park

• Binoculars and cameras
• Field guide book like Bird of East Africa
• Rain coat
• Hiking shoes
• Snakes
• All-weather notebook and pencil

Nyungwe National Park birding fees

This activity also requires a traveller to book a birding permit before just like other activities.

The permit can be obtained through Rwanda development board on through a reputable tour operator. The permit fees for different categories of visitors include;