Why this ride
It goes by way of Cyamudongo Natural Forest, Nyungwe National Park and back through Cyamudongo Natural Forest. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,200 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Gisakura Natural Forest and Nyungwe National Park
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 207 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 09
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Rwanda Congo Nile Scenic Road
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 39 km this is Rwanda Congo Nile Scenic Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 39 km
- Named road
- Rwanda Congo Nile Scenic Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Gisakura Natural Forest
In the far southwest of Rwanda, a small patch of forest surrounded by tea plantations is home to one of the most charming wildlife encounters in Africa. Gisakura forest lies on the western edge of Nyungwe National Park, near the tea estate that shares its name, and a large troop of Ruwenzori colobus monkeys lives there, black and white with long tails and flowing capes of fur. Watching them leap through the canopy, sometimes in groups of dozens, is a joy. The forest is a remnant of the great montane rainforest that once covered these mountains, isolated now by the tea fields.
Read the complete Gisakura Natural Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gisakura Natural Forest is where the day begins. Next is Cyamudongo Natural Forest.
2. Cyamudongo Natural Forest
In the far southwest corner of Rwanda, the land drops toward Lake Kivu and the Ruzizi river, and the green hills here are mostly tea, banana and small farms. Cyamudongo is the exception: a patch of natural forest, a few hundred hectares at most, standing as an island of tall trees in the middle of cultivation. It is separated from the great Nyungwe forest by a belt of farmland, yet it still shelters a small population of chimpanzees, along with other primates and a remarkable range of birds and butterflies.
Read the complete Cyamudongo Natural Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cyamudongo Natural Forest comes up about 39 km into the recorded legs. Next is Nyungwe National Park.
3. Nyungwe National Park
Nyungwe is one of the oldest rainforests in Africa, a mountain forest spread over the ridges of south-western Rwanda between Lake Kivu and the Burundi border. It is high, wet and green in a way that makes the rest of the world feel dry: tree ferns taller than a house, orchids on the branches, mist pouring through the valleys in the morning, and the sound of water everywhere. The ridges here form part of the great divide between the Congo and Nile basins, and Rwanda proudly claims one of the remotest sources of the Nile in these hills.
Read the complete Nyungwe National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 110 km into the recorded legs you reach Nyungwe National Park. Next is back through Cyamudongo Natural Forest.
4. back through Cyamudongo Natural Forest
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cyamudongo Natural Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cyamudongo Natural Forest, late in the day. Next is Gisakura Natural Forest.
5. Gisakura Natural Forest
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gisakura Natural Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Gisakura Natural Forest. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Gisakura Natural Forest to Cyamudongo Natural Forest
Gisakura Natural Forest → Cyamudongo Natural Forest is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cyamudongo Natural Forest to Nyungwe National Park
Cyamudongo Natural Forest → Nyungwe National Park is 71 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Nyungwe National Park to back through Cyamudongo Natural Forest
Nyungwe National Park → back through Cyamudongo Natural Forest is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cyamudongo Natural Forest to Gisakura Natural Forest
back through Cyamudongo Natural Forest → Gisakura Natural Forest is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.