Best Places For Golden Monkey Trekking And Habituation Experience In Africa

Golden monkey trekking in Africa gets you closer to one of the endangered special monkey species in the world, living in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Mgahinga National Park in Uganda. Scientifically, the golden monkeys are referred to as Cercopithecus mitis kandti. 

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You must have a Golden Monkey permit before gaining access to attend this safari. You can do golden monkey trekking in Rwanda or Uganda and golden monkey habituation experience in Uganda.

At the moment, the population of golden monkeys is about 3000 to 4000 golden monkeys worldwide.

Before the golden monkey troop is opened to the community they are first habituated for sometime before they are opened to the public. Golden monkey habituation is a process by which a wild community of golden monkeys is helped by researchers to get accustomed to human presence without altering their nature.

Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda hosts a portion of this endangered golden monkey that co-exists with mountain gorillas and other primates. You need to secure the Golden Monkey trekking permit from the Rwanda Development Board. During golden monkey trekking in Rwanda, you have one hour allowed with these primates. This is to reduce the effects of staying long with the golden monkeys, which may lead to trampling on vegetation fed on by these primates.

Mgahinga National Park in Uganda may be the smallest Uganda National Park occupying about 33.7 square kilometers but hosts the golden monkeys too other than the mountain gorillas. You have an opportunity to do golden monkey trekking and golden monkey habituation experience in Mgahinga National Park Uganda. 

During golden monkey habituation experience, you accompany a team of researchers in the wild to spend four hours with semi-habituated golden monkey community. You may get to help with recording down some of their traits, feeding habits, may participate in naming them and others.

How to Book Golden Monkey permits in Africa?

Have a date when you wish to do golden monkey safari and the number of permits you are interested in booking. Select either to do golden monkey trekking or golden monkey habituation experience. Choose to do a golden monkey safari in Volcanoes National Park Rwanda or Mgahinga National Park in Uganda.

When you enquire from us at Encounter Africa Safaris about wishing to spend time with the golden monkeys, our safari consultant checks permit availability from the list of Uganda Wildlife Authority or Rwanda Development Board per your selected dates and destination.

Our tour consultant gets back to you as soon as they find positive golden monkey permit availability. We advise you to purchase your golden monkey permit as soon as possible to avoid losing them because they sellout too especially during the peak season. The peak tourism season is normally June, July, August, September, December and January.

Note the Golden Monkey permits do not include park entrance fees, so you need to pay them to the Uganda Wildlife Authority or Rwanda Development Board. Park entrance fees are paid before visiting any national Park in Uganda or Rwanda, and this is one of the ways to support the conservation of the animals and flora in these parks.

What is the cost of golden monkey permits in Africa

Uganda ( Mgahinga National Park)

Golden Monkey trekking Permit cost for Uganda

$60 for foreign nonresidents

$50 for foreign residents

40000shs for East Africans.

Golden Monkey habituation Permit cost for Uganda

$100 for foreign nonresidents 

$80 for foreign residents

100000shs for East Africans.

Rwanda (Volcanoes National Park)

Golden Monkey trekking Permit cost for Rwanda

$100 for foreign nonresidents

$80 for foreign East African residents

$65 for East Africans.

When Is The Best Time To Book A Golden Monkey Trekking And Habituation Experience In Africa

The Golden Monkey Safari in Africa, which is in Mgahinga National Park and Volcanoes National Park, is open all year; however, the dry season provides a more comfortable environment for golden monkey safaris. The Virunga area has thick forests and heavy precipitation received from the regular rains that often fall without warning.

While in the forest, the golden monkeys are exciting to watch and full of life although they are habituated to be infront of humans they still possess there natural traits. It is easier to trace the golden monkeys during the dry season because they are full of life. The dry season is normally June, July, August, September, December and January.

Even other forest dwellers may be traced in the search for the golden monkeys which spices up your primates experience. You may spot black and white colobus, blue monkeys, grey cheeked mangabey, red tailed monkeys, olive baboons, red-tailed mangabey and others. Keen birders have a chance to also spot a number of birds in these forests, including Albertine rift endemics.

The dry season, being the peak tourism season, requires you to book the Golden Monkey permit in advance because they also sell out.

When you choose the wet season for doing golden monkey safaris, get ready for some heavy showers. There are normally fewer people booking the Golden Monkey safari adventure, so if you want to avoid struggling for space and better viewing positions, you can try the wet season. Opportunities of going for an unprepared solo golden monkey tour in Mgahinga or Volcanoes National Park are more open.

How dangerous Are Golden Monkeys during the golden monkey trek?

Golden monkeys are not dangerous as long as you abide by the guidelines of the golden monkey safari given during the briefing. Before opening a community of golden monkeys to the public, they are first habituated to get used to the presence of humans without altering their nature.

Golden monkey habituation is a process where a wild golden monkey community is followed and documented by researchers to get them used to human presence without altering their nature. This process takes unknown time as it is dependent on how fast these primates adopt.

Before going on the golden monkey search, tourists are briefed about the dos and don’ts of this adventure. Some rules of the golden monkey safari include:

• Not provoking the golden monkeys.
• Shouting in the forest is not acceptable.
• Feeding the golden monkeys is not allowed.
• Not using flash photography while on the golden monkey safari.
• Others.

Each group of tourists destined to do the golden monkey safari is escorted by at least two ranger guides, one holding a machete, and another carrying a rifle in case an emergency arises.

Although the golden monkeys are habituated to bear human presence for a particular time, do not test their patience by provoking them. Golden monkeys can also charge and may do this by hooting, throwing fruits at you, chanting, hopping restlessly from various tree branches and others.

Upon noticing such odd behavior, do not panic but wait for the ranger guide to find the root cause of the situation and follow what they are doing to as to show that you are harmless to these primates.

Is Golden Monkey Safari in Africa difficult?

Whether doing golden monkey trekking or habituation, the adventure is quite straining. The nature of the topography of Virunga area is mountainous with rugged terrain and thick vegetation that drapes down the ridges and plateaus. 

To find the golden monkeys, you may be required to hike the slopes and walk through tangled creepers and huge natural tree species that have survived over the years. Because of the regular rains that fall and cause the ground to get slippery and soggy as less sunlight is let into the ground, expect to walk through this mess. 

You need to have some fitness level and be zealous to complete the golden monkey safari because golden monkey safaris are heart-melting. You have to get ready to stay at your toes all the time as the golden monkeys are restless in nature but exciting to watch because of there unique outlook.

As you walk through the tangled vines and overgrown vegetation along the trails, a ranger guide with a machete may try to trim some to create a way where necessary.

How Long Is A Golden Monkey Safari In Africa?

The golden monkeys safari may take 2 to 3 hours of searching for these primates but when you locate them during golden monkey trekking only one hour is allowed with them, For golden monkey habituation experience, four hours are allowed with these primates.

Golden monkeys are free wild animals not restricted by anything, so expect them to keep moving whenever they please. You need to have some patience and abide by the rules of golden monkey trekking too. Finding the golden monkeys depends on factors like the proximity of their food, family issues, the death of a high-profile community member like the alpha male, weather conditions of the day, and others.

Return to your lodge after the golden monkey safari, taking nothing from the forest apart from memories and leaving only footprints.

How sure can I Be To See the golden monkeys in Africa?

The first confirmation to doing the golden monkey safari in Uganda or Rwanda is possessing a golden monkey permit from the Uganda Wildlife Authority or Rwanda Development Board. The golden monkey permit is a document that is issued to allow you to have one hour of golden monkey trekking or four hours of golden monkey habituation experience.

On Golden Monkey Safari Day, whether in Uganda or Rwanda, be sure to see the golden monkeys because they are first habituated to human presence. These monkeys live in a community that occupies a particular area for some time and can only relocate when provoked by factors prevailing in the forest, like less food supply or having a fight with another troop or others.

Ranger guides also escort the tourist groups during the golden monkey search and use their experience to trace them like sounds, fresh dung, freshly eaten fruits, and other foliage and others. Tourists are asked to also assist in tracing these golden monkeys and ways to spice up the adventure and not leave it to the rangers only.

Tourists have to keep their voices low when searching for the golden monkeys in order not to scare them or other forest dwellers that are sensitive to intruders in their vicinity.

What are the rules of Golden Monkey safari in Africa?

• Avoid provoking the golden monkeys because you may stimulate them to charge at you.
• Spitting on vegetation is forbidden as you may pass germs to the golden monkeys and other vegetarian primates in the forest. Golden monkeys are highly susceptible to human communicable infections like COVID-19, cough, flu, and several others. 
• Keep a distance of about 8 meters from the mountain gorillas to avoid passing germs to them. 
• Littering in the forest is forbidden as it alters the nature of the forest where golden monkeys thrive.
• Only 1 hour of golden monkey trekking and four hours of golden monkey habituation experience are allowed with these primates when you locate them during a golden monkey safari adventure.
• The age limit for golden monkey safari is 15 years and above in Uganda and Rwanda, as the wilderness may be rough for a child below this age. Sometimes mountain gorillas feed from deep in the forest which may not be easy to withstand.
• Stand in a tight group when you locate the golden monkeys. They are highly sensitive to visitors around them as they may look suspicious. In case they come closer, stealthily retreat.
• Talk at a low tone or keep quiet during golden monkey safari so that you do not cause a stampede in the forest.
• Use a flash-less camera to take photos, and it should be soundproof.
• Wear a clean mask during golden monkeys and when you locate the golden monkeys.
• Do not surround the golden monkeys when you locate them, as you may cause them to get agitated. 
• In case you catch a communicable infection, volunteer to stay behind because when golden monkeys catch these infections, they may massively die, yet conserving them has taken a long time.

Contact us to plan your safari to visit the golden monkeys today.