Golden Monkey Trekking

Golden Monkey Trekking

We strongly recommend doing the Golden Monkey trekking if you have time. There are two groups of golden monkeys in the Volcanoes National Park, each of about 50 to 60 in size. The overall experience from start to finish takes approximately 3½ to 4 hours.

I really enjoyed seeing the Golden Monkeys interacting with each other. They are very active, peeling the bamboo like a banana to eat its insides, grooming each other and swinging from tree to tree. They’re also very pretty!

Golden monkeys are also territorial and enjoy a different terrain than the mountain gorilla. The bamboo forest here is quite different to the terrain of the gorillas, and I loved its moody brooding atmosphere. All in all, it will give a more complete experience of the National Park. (As would one of the hikes on offer as well.)

Practical Considerations

The trek starts in exactly the same way as the gorilla trekking, meeting at the Park headquarters, usually at 7am (at time of this article) when pre-booked permits are collected. Then you have a short briefing of about 15-20 minutes. However, the hiking group is larger. It is often 10-12 people but can be up to 16 people in peak season. You all then drive in convoy to the start of the walk. Here you can ask for a porter to carry your back-pack and you are given a walking stick. Typically, you then walk through farmland for 30-40 minutes and then 20-30 minutes in the bamboo forest. When you get close, you leave your daypack and walking stick and just take your camera with you for photos. (Food is not allowed near any of the forest animals.)

Since Golden Monkeys are territorial, they tend to stick to the same area of the park. However, the trackers still need to locate their exact position each day. The group that we saw was about 50 strong, so there was no shortage of monkeys to see.

There is no real need for a porter, as even in the rainy season, it is not nearly as muddy or steep. As with the gorilla trekking, they carry a backpack and can help you over any tricky bits. But a couple may wish to take one porter between them, to give something back to the community. There is a set charge for a porter and then a small tip is usually given as well. If you don’t have hiking boots and only lighter track shoes, you may appreciate a helping hand, especially in the rainy season. However, it is not a taxing walk.

Very, very occasionally they do see Mountain Gorillas whilst on the Golden Monkey trek. But this is very rare and not to be expected.

You don’t really need binoculars as the monkeys are very close. And it is one more thing to take care of when you leave your daypack behind. But you may like to take one pair between a couple.

Timing of your visit to the Golden Monkeys?

Ideally we recommend that you visit the Golden Monkeys before the Gorillas as it gives you a chance to acclimatize to the altitude a little more. Plus, it acts as a sort of prelude to the awe-inspiring experience of seeing the mountain gorillas. Some people may find it slightly anticlimactic if they have done the Gorilla trekking first.

However, there is a practical consideration. As the tracking length is more predictable and nearly always shorter, it could be a great option if you were traveling back to Kigali or over to Lake Kivu, say to Kibule. It means that if you stay two nights, you can have the afternoon to relax after your gorilla trekking, when you may be more tired. Then you can do the Golden Monkeys on the morning of departure, as you are not going to be very tired afterwards. So, it is easier to enjoy the travelling.

Please Note – We don’t arrange any standalone activities in Rwanda. We only book tours and trekking experiences as part of a tailor-made tour including accommodation and transport.