Rusizi
RUSIZI IS ONE OF THE 7 DISTRICTS FOUND IN THE WESTERN REGION OF RWANDA
Rusizi Overview
Located in the Western Province of Rwanda, Rusizi is a small town lying on the far border of Rwanda with the D.R. Congo to the West and Burundi to the South. At Rusizi, you can enjoy clear views of Bukavu City. Rusizi is one of the 7 districts found in the Western Region of Rwanda. It comprises 18 sectors 9including Nkombo, Gasonga, Nyakarenzo, Mururu, Gitambi, Butare, Bugarama, Nkanka, Kamembe, Rwimbogo, Nzahaha, Muganza and more), 595 villages and 89 cells.
The capital of Rusizi is Cyangugu, the main city of the Rwandan South-west and Rusizi District occupies the bigger portion of the former Cyangugu Province. While at Rusizi, the main areas of interest include Nyungwe Forest National Park, Butare catholic cathedral and others.
Nyungwe Forest National Park is about 1-hour drive from Rusizi. Nyungwe houses one of the ancient tropical forests in Africa and contains biodiversity of floral and faunal species. Lying in the mountainous area, a region where you can find abundant wildlife, especially interesting primates and birds.
Nyungwe Forest National Park was created as a park in Rwanda in 2004 and spans up to 970sq.km making it the country’s 2nd largest park. All 13 species of primates live in Nyungwe Forest National Park and include a total of 500 chimpanzees, endemic l’hoest monkeys, olive baboons, red-tailed monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys, vervet monkeys, Dent’s Mona monkeys, silver monkeys, Rwenzori colobus monkeys, golden monkeys, and Angola colobus monkeys.
Flora –There are over 1068 species of plants and 140 orchids in this park alone, making it a preferred destination for botanists to explore. The park’s trees comprise entandrophragma excelsum of the Mahogany family, herbaceous ferns and tree ferns.
Nyungwe Forest National Park contains a total of 310 species of birds and includes 29 Albertine rift endemic species. The birds that have been confirmed in Nyungwe National Park include Doherty bush shrikes, Congo bay owlet, Regal sunbird, Rwenzori nightjars, Kivu ground thrush, Grauer’s swamp warblers, red-collared mountain babblers, red-faced woodland warblers,
Neumann’s warblers, Dwarf honey guide, Dusky crimson wing, bar-tailed trogon, African hill babblers, handsome francolins, purple breasted sunbird, red-collared babblers, blue-headed sunbirds, Albertine owlet, archer’s robins, mountain masked apalis, great blue turacos, stripe-breasted tit, yellow-eyed black flycatchers, red-throated alethe, Rockefeller’s sunbirds, and strange weavers.
From Rusizi, you can connect to Nyungwe and embark on a number of memorable activities including;
ACTIVITIES TO DO
Nyungwe Forest National Park holds a significant chimpanzee population, accounting for about 500 chimpanzees. A chimpanzee tracking tour in this park is a great opportunity to look for chimpanzees, explore in depth about their daily behaviours and taking photos. Chimpanzee permits for Nyungwe are issued at USD 90 per person and they can be obtained through WanderLux Safaris (info@wanderluxsafaris.com).
There is also a chance to search for other diverse primate species in Nyungwe Forest National Park and the focus is to look for the Angolan colobus monkeys. Over 400 colobus monkeys survive within this protected area and trekking permits are available at USD 60 per person.
The canopy walk is East Africa’s unique experience, currently done in Nyungwe Forest National Park. The canopy walk takes visitors on a suspended walkway, 60m from the ground and a complete walk takes 2 hours. This special experience was officially launched in 2010 in Nyungwe Forest National Park.
Birding tours in Nyungwe Forest National Park get birders exposed to some of the interesting birds, especially forest and Albertine rift endemic species. The list of birds to expect to identify during the birding excursions in Nyungwe Forest National Park include the great blue turacos, Rockefeller’s sunbirds, purple-breasted sunbirds, handsome francolins, Grauer’s swamp warblers, Dwarf honey guide, Rwenzori turacos, Rwenzori Apalis, Shelley’s crimson wing, red-faced woodland warblers, strange weavers, mountain masked apalis, Kivu ground thrush, regal sunbird and more.
The popular hotels in and around Rusizi Region/District
- Munini Hill Hotel
- Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge
- Nyungwe Forest Lodge
- Rwiza Village
- Peace Guesthouse and others.
