Gishwati Mukura National Park

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Rwanda’s fourth national park, Gishwati Mukura is made up of two separate forests – the larger Gishwati and small Mukura, forming a total of 34 square kilometres plus a buffer zone.

The forests sit on the ridge which divides the Congo and Nile water catchment areas, along the incredibly biodiverse Albertine Rift in the west of the country. It is made up of 60 species of tree, including indigenous hardwoods and bamboo.

Gishwati is home to a group of 20 chimpanzees which live alongside golden monkeys, L’Hoest’s and Blue Monkeys. Birds are well represented too, 232 species have been seen at Gishwati and 163 at Mukura, among them Albertine Rift Endemic species and forest specialists.

The park is currently part of an ambitious landscape restoration program. Activities in the park are due to begin in 2019 and include a guided nature hike, guided chimp and monkey tracking, bird watching and a visit to the waterfalls.

Gishwati Forest is a forest in the north-western part of Rwanda, not far from Lake Kivu.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

When gishwati Mukura National Park was established?

In 2015 the Rwandan government passed a law to create a new national park combining the Mukura and Gishwati forests, establishing the Gishwati-Mukura National Park – a forested area which will spread from up in the north of the country near the Volcanoes National Park, all the way down, incorporating the Gishwati

In which district is Gishwati forest?

The Gishwati Natural Forest is found in four Sectors of Rutsiro District, which are Kigeyo, Ruhango, Nyabirasi and Mushonyi. The total number of human population of these 4 Sectors is 85, 428 inhabitants with the density of around 430 people per km2 (National Institute of Statistics Rwanda, 2007).

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