By admin While most people visit Rwanda primarily to go gorilla trekking, adding a visit to Nyungwe Forest National Park is well worth it if you can spare a few more days. The park is full of verdant tea plantations and lush rainforest, and it offers plenty of trekking trails for active travelers. You can also track chimpanzees, which is an excellent introductory experience before the main event of seeing the gorillas. I had the privilege of visiting Rwanda in April 2022 as part of a “fam” (short for familiarization) trip with my host travel agency, and Nyungwe was one of my favorite parts of the trip. We were fortunate enough to stay at One&Only Nyungwe House, which is the premier lodge in the region. If you can afford the splurge, you will not regret it.
Hotel overview
If you’re not familiar with the One&Only brand, it is a collection of ultra-luxury resorts, typically located in far-flung destinations around the world. They currently have just twelve properties, with four more announced. All of the resorts are categorized as either “beach” or “nature,” with Nyungwe House obviously falling into the latter. Each property has a completely unique look and feel, designed to complement the spectacular scenery of the particular location. They all have a few things in common, however: the design is gorgeous, the hospitality is impeccable, and the attention to detail is mind-blowing.
One&Only Nyungwe House is located on a working tea farm set against misty, forested hills, offering iconic Rwanda views. There are 22 rooms spread across six different villas, and you walk through the leafy tea plants to get around the property. The main lodge is luxuriously cozy, with crackling fireplaces, comfy sofas, and no shortage of local art. There are plenty of nooks and crannies both inside and out–you definitely want to save some time to just relax and enjoy the thoughtfully-designed property.
When we arrived, we were greeted with a glass of champagne and a warm welcome from Ryan and Nitesh, the Resort Manager and Wellness Manager, respectively. They gave us some information about the property and our schedule, and we then sat down for a delicious family-style meal.
Property amenities and hospitality
All the food and drinks are included during your stay at Nyungwe House. The onsite restaurant and bar serve locally-inspired dishes and cocktails–and of course tea! You can’t stay on a tea farm and not try the product. Everything was terrific: well-spiced and healthy, featuring herbs and vegetables from the organic garden located just steps from the kitchen. I was glad that both our meals were served family style so I could try a little bit of everything.
The resort has wellness covered; once you return from your active excursions, the spa offers a complete range of treatments in its two treatment rooms overlooking the forest. The complex also includes a yoga room and an inviting outdoor pool with awe-inspiring canopy views.
I of course also have to mention the hospitality at Nyungwe House, which is par to none. The entire team is there to ensure you are enjoying all that the property and region has to offer, complete with warm smiles and friendly chit-chat. It’s a very relaxed and unpretentious atmosphere, yet completely luxurious at the same time.
Room category recommendations
There are just two room categories, which makes choosing a room easy. Most of the rooms are Nyungwe Rooms, which are 473 square feet and set up with either a king bed or two twin beds. They all have a large balcony and views out to the jungle. The decor is upscale, but with local touches throughout. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
If you’re traveling as a family or with friends, there is also a two bedroom suite that includes two bathrooms, private balconies and a living room.
Activities around One&Only Nyungwe House
As beautiful as the property is, you’re likely not coming all the way to Rwanda to sit at a resort all day. While I absolutely recommend saving some time to enjoy the stunning grounds, you’d be remiss to not take advantage of some of the unique activities that the national park offers. For example:
Chimpanzee trekking – If you’re into nature and wildlife, this is the premier thing to do in the area. It’s a great introduction to primate trekking if you plan to track gorillas later in your trip (and the chimp permits are much less expensive). You do need to plan your trek and obtain your permit in advance, and you will need to arrive at the national park visitors center very early in the morning to meet your assigned group and guide. Primate treks are highly controlled in Rwanda (for good reason), with a limited number of people allowed to see the primates on any given day, always in a very small group, and only for one hour.
Walking sticks are offered at the beginning of the hike.
Check your ego and take the stick!
The trek itself will vary, depending on the group you’re assigned to. The local guides asses travelers’ fitness levels in advance, and you may end up with a relatively easy trek or a much more challenging one. Either way, you will have no idea what is in store for you. I was inadvertently put into an easy group and only had to hike for about fifteen minutes to find “our” chimpanzee family. It was still a very steep and treacherous hike down (and back up), so I wouldn’t advise for anyone with serious mobility issues. That being said, we did have the option of hiring porters (for $10, not including gratuity) that would carry our bags – and us – if necessary.
Oh, and O&O provided us with all sorts of gear if we needed it: hiking boots, gaiters, backpacks, hats, ponchos
The other half of our group ended up in a much more strenuous trek. It looked gorgeous, as they got to hike through fields of tea plants, but some of them were quite jealous to hear that we only had to work for fifteen minutes to find chimps, while it took them a couple hours. I will note that if you book with me, I can put in a request for the type of trek you want and do my best to make it happen.
Personally, I was a bit disappointed that we found our chimps so quickly, as I wanted to have to work a bit harder to get to them, but it was still an incredibly special and rewarding experience to be able to watch them interact in their natural habitat for an entire hour.
Our group observed a male-female couple that seemed to be having some personal issues. At first they were having a great morning, swinging around the trees and eating some delicious leaves. Then for some reason the male decided to make his way to another tree, leaving the female behind. She had no problem voicing her discontent, which was quite distressing for us to watch as the male sat sheepishly in a smaller tree. We had no way to figure out exactly what the problem was, but they eventually both ran into the forest together, and I can only hope that they resolved their issues!
Canopy walk and other treks – We only had time to do the simplest trek (the Igishigishigi trail) to the canopy walkway, which took about 90 minutes roundtrip. There are plenty of other routes if you’re looking for something longer/more challenging, however.
Similar to the chimpanzee trek, we first met at the Nyungwe visitors center, where we met our local guide. One thing to note about Nyungwe is that you cannot hike on your own without a guide. Rwanda tightly controls the visitor experience in the national park for conservation reasons, which you will appreciate during your visit. While rugged, the trail we hiked on was safe and well-maintained, and we only saw a couple other travelers.
The canopy walkway itself was exhilarating. It’s definitely not for anyone with a fear of heights, but it felt completely safe and the views were simply magical.
Logistics: Best time to visit and getting around
The Nyungwe Forest National Park is literally a rainforest, so it’s unrealistic to expect that you won’t get any rain during your visit, but there are some months that are drier than others. June-September and December-January tend to get less rain; however the wet months are generally better for chimpanzee trekking since food (aka leafy trees) is in abundant supply then. April-May are the rainiest months; however, I visited in April and still had the most wonderful visit (with the exception of Akagera National Park–I advise against visiting that region of Rwanda during the wet season). I really don’t think you can go wrong visiting Nyungwe at any time of the year.
As I noted in my Rwanda itinerary post, you can either get to Nyungwe by private transfer or helicopter. To get around once you arrive, you will need a car and a driver, which I of course can arrange for you.
One other note: if you want to do any kind of primate trekking in Rwanda (chimps, gorillas, etc.), you will need a permit arranged in advance by a local tour company. Hotels are not authorized to issue permits. This is where I come in. 🙂 I can coordinate all of your accommodations, transportation, guides, permits, excursions, etc. with vetted local companies that are the best at what they do.
A final note: One&Only Nyungwe House is one of my favorite properties in the world, which is saying a lot. If Rwanda is on your travel list and you have the time/budget to go to Nyunwe, DO IT. I already said this, and I stand by my advice: you will not regret it.
