Nyungwe forest
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Nyungwe Forest
- Nyungwe Forest National Park - |
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 Agricultural terraces extend right up to the Nyungwe forest |
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| location | Nyamasheke / Western Province / Rwanda | |
| surface | 970 km² | |
| WDPA ID | 9148 | |
| Geographical location | 2 ° 29 ′ S , 29 ° 18 ′ E | |
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| Setup date | 1930 (national park since 2005) | |
The Nyungwe Forest ( Forêt naturelle de Nyungwe ) is an evergreen mountain rainforest in south-west Rwanda and is considered the largest contiguous mountain forest in East and Central Africa. The forest area was declared a national park in 2012 .
location
The Nyungwe Forest National Park extends over an area of 970 km² on the western foothills of the East African Rift System ( Great Rift Valley ), to which the Huye belongs. This rift system , also known as the Albertines Rift , is lined with rift flanks that rise up to 3000 m and crosses western Rwanda from north to south and forms the watershed between the river systems of the Nile and the Congo . Close to this watershed is the source of the Rukarara-Nyabarongo , discovered by Richard Kandt in 1898 , which is considered to be one of the source rivers of the Nile ("Source du Nil"). In the opposite direction, the Kalundura flows from the Nyungwe Forest to the west into Lake Kiwu. Mount Bigugu is 2950 m high in the park .
Vegetation and wildlife
The evergreen forest of the Nyungwe differs in its floristic composition, as well as in the external appearance, from the lowland rainforest in the DR Congo . Forests like these in Nyungwe are known as mountain rainforests . From around 1500 to 1700 m the first powerful condensation level occurs, below which the maximum rain level is formed (precipitation of more than 2000 mm / year). The forests above it up to the summit region are cloud and cloud forests .
The biodiversity in the Nyungwe forest is considerable. 75 mammals , 310 bird species , 120 butterflies and more than 100 orchids live there . Many of them are endemic. Among the mammals there are 13 primates, including chimpanzees , golden monkeys and Ruwenzori colobus monkeys .
natural reserve
The entire ridge of the Central African rift system along Lake Kivu was once overgrown with mountain rainforests. As a result of anthropogenic use since the Iron Age , these forests have gradually been reduced in size and thus mostly destroyed. The Nyungwe Forest has been under protection since 1933, but has since shrunk by 20%. The fate of the Gishwati forest , which today only exists on maps , shows how weak the protection as a nature reserve is against destruction ; In 1960 it was still a few kilometers north, in the direction of Goma on the north bank of Lake Kiwu . The Nyungwe Forest has had national park status since 2005, making it one of three national parks in Rwanda. The others are the Virunga National Park ( Parc National de Virunga ), famous for the mountain gorillas and the Akagera National Park ( Parc National de l'Akagera ). There are partnerships with the National University of Rwanda in Butare and the WCS , as well as a ranger- based monitoring program for the park management. Game movements, illegal activities, fauna and flora status are also registered with the help of GIS technology (Monitoring Information System) according to the state Rwanda Development Board.
tourism
The ORTPN ( Office Rwandais du Tourisme et des Parcs Nationaux ) offers guided hiking tours through the Nyungwe forest and the observation of chimpanzees and other primates . The starting point is the station in Uwinka, which is directly on the road. In Gisakura, near a tea plantation at the western exit of the forest, there is another ORTPN station with tours to a waterfall. A comfortable guesthouse also offers overnight accommodation there. There is a treetop path in the park, the canopy walkway .
traffic
The Nyungwe forest is relatively well developed. The paved highway from Butare to Cyangugu on the western border of Rwanda leads right through the forest . It is part of the trunk road from Mombasa via Nairobi , Kampala and Kigali to Bukavu / Cyangugu and is of central importance for connecting the eastern part of the DR Congo .
Web links
- Website of the tourism authority ("Destinations")
Individual evidence
- ^ Nyungwe National Park , Rwanda Development Board, accessed January 22, 2014.