AFROTROPICAL
Montane Rainforest

The rainforest of Africa spans from the lowland tropical rainforest on the west coast of the continent, across the swamp rainforest of the Congo in central Africa, to patches of monsoon forest along the east coast, and small areas of more temperate forest in southern coastal Africa. And then there is the rainforest of the mountains. These are mostly centred around the Albertine Rift, where the eastern side of the Democratic Republic of Congo crumples up alongside the western parts of Uganda and Rwanda. While this higher altitude African rainforest is not as diverse as the equivalent 'cloud forest' biomes in the Neotropical or Indo-Malayan or New Guinea regions, there are many interesting (and famous) species to be found here, including a particularly rich range of primates, such as the iconic Mountain Gorilla.

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The centre of bamboo diversity is found in Asia, but there are also many species on the Pacific islands, a small range in the Neotropics and in Africa. They are among the fastest growing plants in the world. In Africa, bamboo is recorded being eaten by Mountain Gorillas, Chimpanzees and Elephants. The hard round stem is light but stiff, and useful for humans in construction.

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Streptocarpus 'African Violets' or 'Cape Primroses' is a large genus of about 155 species. They are not related to either the true Violets or Primrose. The flowers are often colourful, and many have 'runway' patterns and colours on the petals to guide the pollinating animals. They mostly grow in moist and shaded cracks and crevices in mountain habitats in Africa and Madagascar, but have become better known as colourful garden flowers grown all around the world.

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There are several trees that are planted around the world that have their origin in African forests. One of the most distinctive is the Kigelia, 'Sausage Tree'.

While the banana we eat today is of Asia/pacific origin, there are also native related bananas in the African jungle: Ensete ventricosum, 'False (African) Banana'.

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Spathodea campanulata, 'African Tulip Oak'. Neither an oak nor obviously a tulip. Large red flowers. Found in west, central and east Africa. This species had been introduced widely throughout the other tropics of the world, but is often considered a major weed. 

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Even though most people associate chameleons only with Madagascar, but they can be quite common (and are speciose) in the African forest, even on the edge in agricultural land. However, they are hard for a visitor's eye to find, so you may have to ask a local or go with a guide to find them.

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There are lots of smaller songbirds to chase up in the mountain ranforest...

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One of the most spectacular of bird groups in the African forest are the sunbirds, of the family Nectariniidae.

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The upland rainforest of Africa does not include many of the larger mammals you might see in the open forests and savannas. There are smaller mammals here, such as rodents and bats.

The larger mammals that are present include some distinctive primates... 

And of course the mountain rainforest is the best place to see the largest and most famous primate of the African jungle....

Places to enjoy the African mountain rainforest

Being Africa, there are lots of national parks and lodges to enjoy. One of the most famous is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda where you can track gorillas through the rainforest. Isunga Lodge, Kibale, Uganda is a beautiful lodge to stay at right on the edge of the national park, with great views and birding right in the gardens. Rwenzori Mountains National Park in Uganda gives a taste of upland mountain rainforest and a cheap place to stay is Ruboni Camp.