Golden monkey tracking is one of the captivating primate adventures tourists enjoy on Rwanda safari in Volcanoes National Park besides mountain gorilla trekking. This is a special wildlife experience offering you a great chance to get up-close with the beautiful golden monkeys while in their natural habitat. Golden monkeys are exceptionally stunning creatures on planet earth and a trek to see them is such a thrilling experience not to be missed on Rwanda safari tour in Volcanoes National Park.
Golden monkey trekking in Volcanoes National Park is entirely an on-foot-walk adventure involving tourists navigating through the beautiful rain-forest to see golden monkeys. The entire experience includes getting an in-depth learning on how golden monkeys feed, their mating habits, social life and most importantly, taking photos for your own memories.
Brief about golden monkeys
Golden monkeys (Cercopithecus Kandti) are part of the sub-species of the blue monkeys. They are distinct creatures comprising of a rare yellow patch around their bodies. Unlike mountain gorillas, golden monkeys are known for their jumpy behaviors and to take photos, you must be very keen.
Golden monkeys are endangered species thriving only within the Virunga Conservation Area. The VCA is comprised of only Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Southwestern Uganda, Volcanoes National Park in Northwestern Rwanda and Virunga National Park in Eastern DR Congo.
Golden Monkey Tracking
With an estimated population of only 5000 golden monkeys still thriving, a section of these exist in the Volcanoes National Park. They share the same habitat with the endangered mountain gorillas making Rwanda a rewarding primate safari destination.
These creatures live in groups of 80-100 individuals mostly along Sabinyo area and this is the huge population of golden monkeys.
In the Volcanoes National Park there are now two fully habituated troops of golden monkeys and they are accessible to tourists. After them you can enjoy your day evening visiting the Dian Fossey graves to experience the effort this primatologist emphasized conserving the mountain gorillas in their mist where the Rwanda gorilla trekking unforgettable experience is stunning!
What you need to know about golden monkey trek in Volcanoes N. Park?
All golden monkey treks begin with briefing on golden monkey etiquette from Volcanoes National Park offices (at Kinigi). This is always conducted by park official who also allocates visitors to an experienced and armed park ranger guide to lead them on a trek to see golden monkeys. This is a short primate adventure and takes about 2-4 hours less or more although the length of the trek may vary depending on visitors’ speed and nature of the habitat.
Golden monkey permit in Volcanoes National Park
Participating in golden monkey trekking in Volcanoes National Park Rwanda requires all interested trekkers to have valid golden monkey permits. Authorities in Rwanda issue out golden monkey tracking permits at US Dollars 100 per person for foreign non-residents, foreign residents at US Dollars 65 and East Africa community citizens at RWF 400. These can be booked with a reputable ground tour operator or directly via Rwanda Development Board provided you are above 15 years.