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This district has remained well off the radar among tourists visiting Amsterdam, so amenities are not well-developed. |
It looks strikingly different from the city center, so get in with an open mind. |
Yet, there is more to see than you might think. |
The ferry to it in itself is a breeze, crossing the river IJ and showing the urban landscape of the North. |
Get off at the NDSM shipyard, that functioned as a shipyard as recently as the 1980s, but now boasts a lively art scene. |
Urban culture comes alive in its large skate park. |
Then patch up your bicycle, and ride it through the rural farmland in the east. |
The picturesque villages Ransdorp and Zunderdorp are favorites among the locals for their traditional Dutch farmhouses. |
The north lies fairly isolated from the rest of Amsterdam, but luckily, there are three free GVB ferrys from Central Station in the Old Center, one of them 24h a day. |
Instead of just being a way to get in, the ferry ride is an attraction in itself. |
It gives a great view over the urban harbor-front, and shows the diversity of the north's residents. |
Large signs show when the next boat is departing, and when it does, expect masses of locals getting on with their bicycles. |
Getting on just before the boat leaves seems to have turned into a sport here. |
You can take off at different piers, the NDSM shipyard being the most notable. |
If you want to do some further exploring, be sure to bring a bicycle and a decent map. |
Cars and motorbikes can also use two tunnels and on the east side of the city North is connected by a bridge for cars, bikes and pedestrians. |
Bike around the Waterland area. |
This is the beautiful polder landscape just north from the city. |
It includes nice small villages like Holysloot, Durgerdam and Ransdorp. |
The former Zuiderzee, which is nowadays a lake called Markermeer, is at the eastside of this area. |
You've got a gorgeous sight from the dyke that protects the land from flooding. |
The 'TOP of Amsterdam' foundation maintains a website with all the travel providers, funded by the council and maintained by the companies themselves. |
They can help you with advice via their contact page. |
Northern Rwanda is most famous for being the home to Rwanda's mountain gorillas. |
Most sites in the region are within a few hours drive of Kigali, and can be visited on day trips if time is limited. |
Nyungwe National Park is in Western Rwanda. |
Nyungwe rainforest is in southwestern Rwanda bordering Burundi along the south with Lake Kivu and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. |
It is probably the best preserved rainforest in the mountains throughout Central Africa. |
It is located in the watershed between the basin of the river Congo to the west and the basin of the river Nile to the east. |
From the east side of the Nyungwe forest is one of the sources of the Nile. |
The National Park was established in 2004 and covers an area of approximately 970 km² of rainforest, bamboo, grassland, swamps, and bogs. |
The nearest town is Cyangugu, 54 km to the west. |
Mount Bigugu is located within the park boundaries. |
Important to Rwanda and the world for its biodiversity, beauty, and natural resources, today Nyungwe is officially recognized as a protected area. |
Nyungwe forest is hundreds of thousands of years old. |
People’s presence in Nyungwe dates back at least 50,000 years. |
1903 Colonial Crown Land |
Nyungwe is declared a forest reserve, first by the German colonial government then by the Belgians, with restrictions on clearing. |
Protection is not consistently enforced. |
1958-1973 Forest Lost |
Nyungwe is reduced by over 150 km2 due to fires, woodcutting, hunting of animals, and small-scale agriculture. |
Nearby Gishwati and Virunga forests are cut in half at this time. |
1969 |
Elephants still number in the hundreds in Nyungwe. |
1974 |
The last buffalo is killed in Nyungwe by hunters. |
1984 |
Nyungwe is divided into areas that allow for sustainable use and harvesting of timber. |
The Government of Rwanda develops a plan for a buffer zone that can still be seen today. |
1984 Wildlife Revealed |
Biodiversity surveys conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) with RDB document colobus in groups of up to 400 members—an unheard of phenomenon. |
1987 |
Trail system begins to be formed at Uwinka. |
1994 War and Genocide |
War and genocide devastate the country and destroy many of the research and tourist facilities in Uwinka. |
Most senior staff are forced to flee, but many junior staff members at Nyungwe stay on to protect the park. |
1995 |
The park begins to rebuild, but security and stability are still uncertain. |
1999 |
The last elephant in Nyungwe is killed in the swamp by poachers. |
2005 Officially ProtectedThe Rwandan Government makes Nyungwe an official National Park, giving it protected status, the highest level of protection in the country. |
Revenue Sharing and Outreach projects |
Bee-Keeping Associations |
Handicraft Associations |
Rural Electrification Project |
Community Tourism Project |
Community Tourist Lodge Project |
Energy Efficient Stoves |
Benefits from TourismHandicrafts and beverages purchased by tourists create local income and the Rwanda Development Board gives a portion of park revenue to surrounding communities, who help protect the forest. |
Community Tourism at Banda Village“When tourists come to Banda, they pay to watch dancers and purchase handicrafts. |
Tourists buy food, water, and soda. |
This began as a nature conservation club. |
The objective was to transmit messages, and people used dancing. |
In 2003, the community got a permit to be a cooperative with the general aim of ecotourism development of Nyungwe National Park using Banda culture and handicrafts. |
The objective is to reduce poverty in the cooperative and in the general population while promoting nature conservation. |
” (Nyanwi Fidele, VP Banda cooperative). |
Teaching kids about the forest through nature clubs will protect the park for generations to come. |
Nyungwe Communities Depend on the Forest |
Rwandans depend on Nyungwe as a source of natural resources and water, and protection from erosion. |
A Source of Income |
People depend on Nyungwe to make a living—it provides jobs for guides and trackers, and opportunities for the local economy, like the selling of handicrafts. |
Environmental ServicesNyungwe forest provides estimated hundreds of millions of US dollars (billions of RFW) worth of “ecological services” to surrounding communities, Rwanda and the entire planet every year—such as slowing global warming and watershed protection. |
Natural Resources |
Rope, bamboo, and other traditionally used forest plants are still important to people for weaving, medicines, building and more. |
They must be harvested sustainably to protect the forest’s integrity. |
Local LoreThe bark of the umugote tree makes a good cough medicine. |
Medicinal plants in Nyungwe National Park: Several plants found in Nyungwe have important medicinal value. |
A list of these can be see by clicking here. |
Some medicines have yet to be discovered!Animal life |
Nyungwe forest has a wide diversity of animal species, making it a priority for conservation in Africa. |
The forest is situated in a region where several large-scale biogeographical zones meet and the variety of terrestrial biomes provide a great span of microhabitats for many different species of plants and animals. |
The park contains 13 different primate species (25% of Africa's total), 275 bird species, 1068 plant species, 85 mammal species, 32 amphibian and 38 reptile species. |
Many of these animals are restricted-range species that are only found in the Albertine Rift montane forests ecoregion in Africa. |
In fact, the number of endemic species found here is greater than in any other forest in the Albertine Rift Mountains that has been surveyed. |
The forest, which reaches its maximum altitude of 3000 meters above sea level, is of particular interest for the presence of colonies of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes - Blumenbach, 1775) and Angola colobus (Colobus angolensis - Sclater 1860), the latter now extinct in Angola for the intense hunt for which they were subjected. |
Primate species |
Nyungwe is home to 13 species of primates. |
Nyungwe Forest |
Common Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) |
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