In addition to our famous gorilla treks, Rwanda offers the opportunity to track more primate species:  golden monkeys in volcano national park. This experience is exciting and worthwhile adventure for those who want to experience Rwanda’s vibrant mammal life!
It is possible to track habituated golden monkeys in Volcano national park, a totally different experience to gorilla tracking. Golden monkeys tend to inhabit the bamboo forests on the lower slopes, so the walk to reach them is relatively easy. Again, once you find them, you’ll have just an hour in their presence. They’re fast-moving little creatures, and very entertaining as they constantly swing through the bamboo or chase each other in circles all around you. They’re also very pretty, with shiny reddish-gold backs that blend in perfectly with the golden bamboo.
People are as much a part of Volcanoes National Park as its primates and a visit to one of the cultural centers in the area to gain an insight into local life and traditions is not only very interesting but also benefits the local communities and deters them from engaging in negative activities like poaching.
Perhaps not as high-profile but also worth the time is a trip to see Rwanda's golden monkeys, and the price of the permit is less expensive than for gorillas: $100 per person.
The monkeys are also located in Volcanoes National Park. This tour is a good way to get adjusted to the altitude, which when tracking the gorillas can be at elevations from 7,000 to 9,000 feet, and it offers a taste of what to expect on the mountain gorilla trek if visitors do this first.
Once spotted you may be following the monkeys as they swing from the treetops overhead. Watching them you will realize how aptly named playground equipment such as monkey bars and jungle gyms are; only here the equipment is bamboo.
Seeing these endangered animals in their natural habitat is worth an extra day in the area. There's only one tour per day for the monkeys and one overlapping tour for gorillas, so you can't visit both the big and small primates in the same day.Book a Car in Rwanda for Golden Monkey Tracking safari