GOLDEN MONKEY

This is the next best activity to do in Volcanoes after mountain gorilla tracking. This activity is found at the base of Volcanoes National Park in the bamboo forests. Rwanda and Uganda birthed an idea to raise funds for golden monkey conservation and introduced the golden monkey trekking experience where tourists pay a fee to spend an hour with the primates. Tourists that come to Volcanoes national park combine gorilla trekking with tracking the golden monkeys. Tracking rules and regulations as well as the terrain are similar for both Uganda and Rwanda. Travellers gather at the park headquarters for a briefing session where important information about the primates is shared and how to behave around them.

Volcanoes national park currently has two habituated groups that are open for visiting with a total number of 80 individuals. Mt. Sabinyo slopes have the highest concentration of golden monkeys in Rwanda where they can be spotted swinging on top of bamboo forests. Rangers lead the visitors into the forest to search for the golden monkeys. It takes about an hour to locate the primates. The interaction with the golden monkeys takes only one hour to see them interact, groom, feed and mate.

The experience is not as intimate as gorilla trekking since the golden monkeys have a trend of spending a lot of their time on the top of trees, wavering from one branch to another. Even while on the ground, they are constantly on the move thus making photography trickier. Golden monkeys have a glitzy and distinctive gold color hence they stand out from other species of monkeys. Golden monkey tracking rewards you with bravura views of the Volcanoes within the Virunga ranges. Birds will also be seen on your track.

Golden monkeys are listed by the International Union for Conservation for Nature (IUCN) as in danger of extinction. Around 5000 of them are thought to be still living on earth and because of that are actively supporting government programs to protect them. Golden Monkey trekking permits cost $100.