Best Golden Monkey Trekking Destinations in East Africa

Best Golden Monkey Trekking Destinations in East Africa: After a couple of hours of continuous marching up and down slippery, muddy jungle hills during your golden monkey tracking adventure, you will get your first glimpse of the species we’d been zig-zagging through the bush looking for. Although most people travel to Uganda to track gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, tracking golden monkeys in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park can be quite fascinating and fulfilling.

Best Golden Monkey Trekking Destinations in East Africa.

Golden Monkey Trekking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

Despite its name, many people believe Uganda’s smallest national park is better for observing golden monkeys than gorillas. There are two sorts of monkey viewing options here. The usual visit lasts an hour and is comparable to the golden monkey trips available in Rwanda. The ‘Golden Monkey Habituation Experience’ is significantly more exciting and unique to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

The monkeys here have been the focus of a long-term investigation of their behavior. Signing up for the habituation experience allows you to spend four hours in the presence of the monkeys and observe the scientists as they research them. This not only allows you to learn a great deal about golden monkey behavior, but it also provides a unique ‘behind the scenes’ look into primate science.

Golden Monkey Trekking in Volcanoes National Park.

Although most tourists to Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park leave immediately after seeing the mountain gorillas, the more rational chose to stay for another day and see the golden monkeys. The experience here is identical to the regular viewing given at Mgahinga, but because it is in Rwanda, it may be a touch more polished, and the walking is easier and shorter than in Uganda. There are two habituated soldiers. Sabyinyo is the largest and most often visited regiment. This group comprises of around 80 to 100 monkeys.

Why You Should book a Golden Monkey Trekking Safari?

It must be difficult being an attention-seeking golden monkey. Regardless of how much they try, they don’t appear to have a large fan following. To capture our attention, the monkeys have dressed themselves in an extraordinary multi-colored coat of rusty red, blazing oranges, dark blacks, blue tints, and, yes, even gold. In certain regions, they have become used to people and would gladly leap and prance around Homo Sapiens without a care in the world. Despite their best attempts, the golden monkeys are often ignored.

In reality, this beautiful primate has been so ignored that it was formerly thought to be a novelty subspecies of the more common blue monkey. Regrettably for the golden monkey, it decided to live in the high, gloomy volcanic forests of the Virunga highlands in Rwanda, Uganda, and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

These rainforests are also home to the mountain gorilla, the most enigmatic of all primates. So, while the whole monkey industry concentrates on mountain gorilla tourism and conservation, golden monkeys exist in the shadows, with only a few human tourists making the effort to view them.

Although endangered golden monkeys may be found across the Virungas and nearby areas, only two parks now have troops habituated for visitor visitation. We’ve included further information about them below.

What you should know before you go Golden Monkey Trekking in Uganda and Rwanda?

• Golden monkeys are significantly more energetic than gorillas, so you’ll need to walk rapidly through the thick jungle to keep up with them. In many ways, it’s similar to seeing chimps rather than gorillas.
• Standard golden monkey trekking excursions are restricted to one hour.
• There is no limit to how many individuals may participate in a golden monkey trekking expedition. Having said that, it is unusual to have more than a few persons in a group.
• There is no minimum age to visit. So, if you’re traveling with children, this is one primate experience they can have with you. However, tiny children may find the walking difficult.
• Standard golden monkey trekking permits costs $100 in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park and $100 in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in southwestern Uganda, inclusive of park entry fees. The habituation experience in Uganda costs $140.