EAR Ken Barham Guest House | Best Budget Hotel Around Nyungwe National Park
Situated on the edge of one of Gisakura’s tea plantations, EAR guest house is a beautiful budget accommodation facility that offers comfort at a reasonably affordable price. The budget guest house is a Christian run guest house located in Rwumba with rooms available for guests visiting Rwanda for chimpanzee trekking, Nyungwe forest canopy walk or in the area for other excursions in Nyungwe Forest National Park. The guest house is strategically located as it is a 5-10 minutes’ drive from the property to the park headquarters where most of the activities begin.
The guest house is the perfect lodging choice for guests looking for a fairly priced place to stay while exploring Nyungwe Forest National Park. EAR Guest house features lush and quiet gardens with lovely staff present at the property known for their excellent service. It is the perfect blend of a quiet and relaxed guest house with comfortable lodging.
Accommodation at EAR Ken Barhan Guest House
The guest house features 15 comfortable and clean rooms. The rooming options available include double rooms, twin rooms and single rooms, this means that the choice on rooming depends on guest’s preferences and availability at the time of booking. Some of the rooms at EAR Guest house have a balcony, others have a garden view while others are just normal rooms without a view. Please note that this is a budget guest house so the standard to expect is that of a reasonably and fairly priced accommodation facility.
Each room at EAR Guest House consists of;
Comfortable wooden bed with clean bed sheets and a warm duvet.
En-suite bathroom with clean towels, a sink, mirror, bathroom slippers and bathing soap.
Hot showers that are available throughout the day.
A mosquito net.
A bedside table and a chair in some rooms.
A wooden closet in double and twin rooms.
Facilities and Services at the Guest house
Parking area – EAR Guest house has an ample car parking area for guests staying at the property that is wide enough to accommodate cars. This makes it easy for self-driving clients as they are assured of a safe place to park their cars.
Restaurant – The guest house has a restaurant at the property that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The breakfast options includes full English breakfast and American options. Lunch and dinner features African cuisine options and other options for guests who would like something different.
Reception – EAR guest house has a reception area at the property. Here you will find one of the guest house staff that welcomes you to the property, takes you through a briefing session and will then take you to your respective room. The reception area is also where you go to in case you have any questions or need anything throughout your stay.
Traditional dance performances – EAR Guest house is known for offering its guests a traditional dance performance that usually happens after dinner. This is a nice touch as it introduces you to the beautiful Rwandan culture and is usually loved by many visitors.
Wi-Fi – The guest house has Wi-Fi available at the property in case one wants to browse the internet or check in with their social media.
Top things to do while staying at EAR Guest House in Rwanda
Rwanda also known as the land of a thousand hills has so much to offer a visitor on safari in the country. This means that if you book your stay at EAR Guest house there are a number of activities that you can do that will make your stay even more memorable which include;
Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe national park
Nyungwe Forest National Park is one of Rwanda’s most popular national park and is home to the amazing chimpanzees in Rwanda. A chimpanzee trek in Nyungwe Forest which is one of Africa’s oldest rain forest takes you on an adventure that involves trekking to see these active primates that spend most of their time in the dense thick Nyungwe forest. The chimpanzee trek can be done in the morning so that would typically mean that your driver guide picks you up from the guest house early enough and then transfers you to the starting point of the chimp trek. You leave the guest house with packed lunch and then head out to the starting point of the chimpanzee trek located at the park. The park has two habituated chimpanzee communities that are available for visitors to see, only 8 visitors are allowed to track each group per day.
Canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest
The Nyungwe Forest canopy walk takes you along the Igishigishigi Trail and it involves walking to the starting point of the canopy walk, birding along the way and spotting small animals like squirrels in the forest. The canopy walk in Nyungwe is a 200 km walkway atop a suspended bridge with stunning views of the thick dense rain forest from the top, flowering plants below the walkway and incredible views of the undulating hills covered by thick forest, a picturesque moment! The canopy walk begins at Uwinka Visitor’s center where you are assigned a site guide and receive briefing from said guide.
Bird watching in Nyungwe Forest National Park
The park offers excellent bird watching opportunities with over 300 species of birds to look out for while on your Rwanda Birding safari. Nyungwe was designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA) and therefore offers the keen birdwatcher a great birding experience. Birding in Nyungwe is done by expert birding guides from Rwanda knowledgeable about birding Nyungwe and site birding guides who are equally experienced. For the keen birdwatcher even before you head out into Nyungwe national park for birding, you will spot some birds at the guest house especially in the lush gardens.
Colobus Monkey Trekking
Nyungwe offers an opportunity to trek the colobus monkeys, another great way to spend visiting the primates in Nyungwe Forest. The park is home to about 400 individuals and the trek usually starts with briefing from your ranger guide after which you begin the journey into the forest in search of these wonderful primates. The trek is much easier than the chimpanzee trek and the colobus monkeys are easily sighted since the habituated group is situated just at the edge of the park.
Cultural and Community Visit
For a glimpse into the culture of the Rwandan people, one can go on a community visit that involves visiting and interacting with the locals. You can visit the Kitabi cultural village, Banda community village and then for cultural dance performances you visit the Cyamudongo cultural group. Dance is an integral part of the Rwandan culture and its always beautiful getting a glimpse into the beauty and diversity of their cultural dances.
Visit the Gisakura Tea Plantation
On the edge of Nyungwe national park you find tea plantations and these plantations can be visited in the afternoon. The visit to the Gisakura tea plantations is a great way to interact with the locals and spend time after doing other activities in the park. The visit take about 1-2 hours and you can take a walk to the plantations from the lodge with your guide. There are opportunities available for one to participate in the tea plantation activities like picking tea and placing it in the basket.
Guided Nature Walks
Nyungwe forest has the best forest trails and guided nature walks in the rainforest are very rewarding for the visitor and a great way to explore the forest aside from the primate trekking. Nyungwe Forest has a number of nature trails offering the visitor a number of options depending on their interests. The forest nature trails include Umuyove trail, Buhoro trail, Irebero trail, Imbaraga trail, Igishigishigi Trail and Umugote Trail. This is a great activity to do in the afternoon after your morning activities in the park.
Our Tours to Nyungwe Forest National Park – Tailored Itineraries
