Mount Bigugu is the highest point in Nyungwe at 2,950 metres, and the trail to the summit is the park's most demanding walk — about 13 kilometres round trip, with a stiff ascent through bamboo and montane forest. Allow six to eight hours including stops, and start early.
The trail passes through several distinct forest zones as it climbs — closed canopy hardwoods, then bamboo, then heath and afro-alpine vegetation near the top. Birding is excellent throughout: the Rwenzori turaco, the Rwenzori batis, and several other Albertine Rift endemics are regular sightings. The summit itself is often clouded in but on a clear day the view extends west across the Congo escarpment and east into central Rwanda.