KIGALI, RWANDA – Rwanda Development Board (RDB) lifts Covid-19 testing, announcing that from May 26th 2023, all tourists (including children above 5 years old where applicable) will not be required to have negative PCR test results taken within 72 hours before visiting any of the national parks in Rwanda.
This great news of lifting the requirement of presenting negative COVID-19 PCR test results before exploring the beautiful national parks was announced on the RDB’s official Twitter handle @RDBrwanda.
“RDB would like to inform the public that all travelers, including children over 5 years, where applicable, with plans of visiting Rwanda’s National Parks are no longer required to present a negative COVID-19 rest”, the statement of the tweet read.
This move comes as a sign of relief since visitors do not have to run around or be pressurized to test for COVID-19, or even be worried about being denied the opportunity to meet face-to-face with the different primates in these national parks. The only thing that will still be required of travelers is wearing of face masks, especially when planning to undertake primate tracking safaris. These include gorilla trekking, chimpanzee tracking, golden monkey tracking, or even the colobus monkey tracking adventures.
A guest enjoying a moment in company of mountain gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, before Rwanda lifts Covid-19 testing requirements.
Aside from lifting the requirement of having a negative COVID-19 PCR test, Rwanda had already removed a number of domestic and international COVID-19-related restrictions. Travelers were no longer required to present negative COVID-19 tests when entering or exiting the country. Wearing face masks is no longer mandatory in the country, although it is recommended when in public indoor places. The reason why Rwanda lifts Covid-19 testing and Coronavirus-related restrictions for tourists could be due to the low infection rates as well as the country’s overall vaccination rate.
With this announcement, visitors can now plan gorilla trekking adventures in Volcanoes National Park and be among the lucky few to meet face-to-face with the Giant Apes. You can also undertake chimpanzee trekking within Nyungwe Forest National Park for a chance to learn about our closest relatives in the animal Kingdom. All these you can do without worrying about being denied the opportunity for not having the COVID-19 PCR result taken within 72 hours of visiting.