Combining Golden monkey trekking in Volcanoes NP with gorilla trekking in Kahuzi Biega National Park

During the Golden Monkey trekking safari in Volcanoes National Park Rwanda, you need to book a Golden Monkey trekking permit first as this is the only entry ticket into this adventure. Gorilla Trekking in Kahuzi Biega National Park is an opportunity to spend time with the eastern lowland gorillas in Kahuzi Biega National Park.

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Golden monkeys are a special primate species scientifically called Cercopithecus mitis kandti. They have golden brown hairs at the lower bottom. Golden monkeys are charming in nature and as you follow these primates, they are charming and keep you on your toes. In the entire world, the golden monkeys are between 4000 to 2000 making them some of the endangered primates in the world. Rwanda is one of the few countries that host the golden monkeys.

Kahuzi Biega National Park is home to eastern lowland gorillas one of the special primate species with a bigger body compared to other gorillas. The eastern lowland gorillas live in the Eastern part of D.R.Congo but because of the unstable political environment in this area tourism growth is still challenging.

It is best to secure in advance accommodation to use during gorilla and chimpanzee safari especially during the dry season because demand for this primate adventure increases yet the number of permits is restricted for conservation reasons.

How to Plan Golden Monkey Trekking in Volcanoes National Park and Gorilla Trekking in Kahuzi Biega National Park

Day 1 Depart for Volcanoes National Park

Get up early for breakfast and drive to Volcanoes National Park in Northwestern Rwanda. The drive from Kigali to Volcanoes National Park is about 3 hours but very scenic as you traverse several highlands the land of a thousand hills.

Volcanoes National Park is a pristine forest and home to the mountain gorillas. It is a biosphere reserve hosting several other primate species too. The mountain gorillas are the foremost attraction in Volcanoes National Park but golden monkeys are also worth adding to what you may see.

Arrive at your lodge

Accommodation: Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Kinigi Guest House

Day2: Golden Monkey Trekking in Volcanoes National Park

Rise up for breakfast and head to the ranger guide station for briefing. Carry your golden monkey trekking gear like cameras, rainproof gear, safari hat, garden gloves, and others. You need to carry packed lunch because return time is quite hard to determine.

Look out for other primates in the jungle like black and white colobus, grey-cheeked mangabey, olive baboons, red-tailed monkeys, and several bird species that linger in the forest including Albertine rift endemics.

When you locate the golden monkeys, be ready to follow their moves because although they are habituated, they still possess their natural traits. These monkeys are exciting to watch as they hop from tree to tree.

Take as many photos as you can as memories to get back to later.

Return to the lodge to relax.

Day 3: Depart for Kahuzi Biega National Park

Wake up early morning for breakfast and start your journey to Kahuzi Biega National Park passing via Musaze, Nyungwe National Park to Rusizi town. The drive time may be long but stunning as you bypass lush evergreen vegetation shaded along the slopes of several highlands.

Kahuzi Biega National Park is a vast tropical rainforest situated in eastern D.R.Congo. It is home to several primates including lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, Bongo, Black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, olive baboons, several birds and others.

Check into your lodge

Day 4: Gorilla Trekking in Kahuzi Biega National Park

After breakfast, the driver guide will pick you up from your lodge and head to the ranger guide station for briefing. You are allocated to different gorilla families in after briefing and then guided by ranger guides. The trails leading to the gorillas are often slippery and soggy from the rains that fall endlessly.

Finding the gorillas is quite challenging because the gorillas live freely in the wilderness. You may take on the challenge to locate other interesting features in the wilderness like the primate species, birds, sparkling waterfalls, dense network of rivers and others.

Some level of fitness is required before the gorilla trek because walking through the jungle requires maneuvering the thick vegetation.  You need to follow the rules of gorilla trekking because gorillas are very sensitive primates to the environment around them.

Finally, when you locate the eastern lowland gorillas, you have an hour with them. Take as many photos as you can to keep as memories of this experience.

Day 5: Depart for Kigali Airport

Wake up early morning for breakfast and drive to Kigali Airport to catch up with your flight back home.

When Is The Best Time For Booking Golden Monkey Safaris in Volcanoes National Park and Gorilla Trekking In Kahuzi Biega National Park?

The dry season is most preferred for golden monkey safaris in Volcanoes National Park and gorilla trekking in Kahuzi Biega National Park. The dry season of the year is normally June, July, August, September, December and January. Gorilla trekking and golden monkey trekking include walking in the jungle where the tropical rainforest normally receives irregular rains that fall for almost the entire day.  The dense forest top doesn’t allow much sunlight to penetrate through to the ground and walking requires some safari boots to navigate the forest. The dense network of rivers in the forest makes it quite challenging to walk through the forest's soggy jungle.

The gorillas and golden monkeys are quicker to spot in the dry season because they feed closer to the ground. There is less precipitation in the forest because more sunlight is let in through the dense canopy to the ground. Even the vegetation along the trails is lower permitting faster movement while in search of the golden monkeys and eastern lowland gorillas.

The dry season also attracts more people wishing to do golden monkeys in Volcanoes National Park and gorilla safaris in Kahuzi Biega National Park yet supply is restricted for conservation reasons. This creates scarcity for those looking to do gorilla trekking and golden monkey safari at the last minute.

The wet season that is March, April, May, and November is also a juicy opportunity for those interested in having less company during the gorilla safari adventure. There are fewer safari bookings for gorilla safaris in Kahuzi Biega and golden monkey trekking in Volcanoes National Park. Even those with a limited budget may use the opportunity to do gorilla trekking and golden monkey safaris.

Is Golden Monkey Trekking In Volcanoes National Park Or Gorilla Trekking In Kahuzi Biega National Park Difficult?

The trek to see the golden monkeys in Volcanoes National Park and gorilla trekking in Kahuzi Biega National Park includes walking in the jungle which is rough sometimes. The trails in the jungle are slippery and soggy because of the regular rains that fall yet less sunlight penetrates through the dense canopy to the ground. Even this area receives more rains that may fall and last the entire day.

The walk in the jungle may include creeping beneath thick vines that may drape down the trees and other physical features in the forest. The ranger guide with a machete leads the way and trims the draping vegetation along the way.

In the jungle there are plants with some rough surfaces like the biting nettles that may cause some skin irritation.

How Long Is Golden Trekking In Volcanoes National Park And Gorilla Trekking In Kahuzi Biega National Park

After briefing, when you start the golden monkey trek and gorilla trekking time of finishing these primates is hard to determine because they are free wild animals that traverse the forest. The forest may have some challenges like dumpy and slippery trails, it may rain heavily, the primates may move into the deeper forest and much more.

Instead of focusing on just searching for the golden monkeys or eastern lowland gorillas, it is best to also look out for other interesting features in the forest like waterfalls, different landforms, dense networks of rivers, different tree species and much more. 

Finally, when you locate the golden monkeys or gorillas, an hour is allowed with them for conservation reasons. The more time humans spend with the gorillas or golden monkeys in the jungle, the more chances of agitating them.

How Safe Is Gorilla Trekking In Kahuzi Biega National Park And Golden Monkey Trekking In Volcanoes National Park?

Volcanoes National Park is sure for golden monkeys trekking but gorilla trekking in Kahuzi Biega National Park is sometimes disrupted by political unrest in eastern D.R.Congo. while on ground to do gorilla trekking or golden monkey safaris, all tourists must attend briefing where they are given guidelines of their primate safaris. These rules were set to create harmony between the primates and humans who visit.

Each gorilla trek in Kahuzi Biega National Park and golden monkey safari in Volcanoes National Park is led by a professional ranger guide with protective gear just in case of an emergency. The rangers also routines do park patrols where they monitor forest intruders in case any, each day there are early risers that wake up earlier to monitor where these primates may have nested and much more.

Even when taking forest walks, you must be guided by a ranger guide during the nature walk as there are unhabituated forest dwellers that may attack you.

Are Golden monkeys or eastern lowland gorillas dangerous?

The fact that gorillas and golden monkeys live in the jungle makes many wonder how they survive without being aggressive. Golden monkeys and eastern lowland gorillas are first habituated before allowing public visits. The habituation process allows the gorillas or golden monkeys to get used to humans' presence without altering their nature.

While with the gorillas or golden monkeys, they look intimidating because of their furred bodies and deep stares that pierce deep into your heart. You realize how gentle and vulnerable these primates as they are more afraid of strangers in their vicinity than you can imagine.

Despite the calm nature of the golden monkeys and gorillas, they can also charge when provoked by hooting, throwing fruits, thumping their chest, and much more. Not all the time that you see these animals react like that they are about to attack. Sometimes they trying to tease you, trying to communicate with each other, fighting back the enemy and much more. Wait for the ranger guide to establish the root cause of the matter.

What are the guidelines of Gorilla and Golden monkey trekking?

• Provoking the gorillas is forbidden and may cause them to rage in case you act in a way that may be unbearable to the gorilla family.
• Eating or smoking before the lowland gorillas or golden monkeys is forbidden. Do this at least 200 meters away from them so that they are not enticed to pull what you are eating from you. They are wild animals that must search for their food.
• Only children 15 and above are allowed to do gorilla trekking or golden monkey trekking because of the nature of the gorilla or golden monkey trekking environment.
• Spitting on the soil or vegetation may spread germs to the lowland gorillas so it is forbidden. Lowland gorillas can easily catch human infectious diseases like COVID-19, cough, flu, cholera.
• In case you have a communicable infection volunteer to stay behind and protect the lowland gorillas from such infectious diseases. The extent to which this disease may spread and kill the lowland gorillas is unknown.
• Wearing a clean mask before the lowland gorillas or golden monkeys as is one of the preventive measures adopted to prevent spreading covid-19 virus to the lowland gorillas or golden monkeys and other germs.
• Keep a gap of at least 8 meters from the lowland gorillas when you locate them to prevent the spreading of any infection.
• Only one hour is allowed with the gorillas when you locate them during gorilla trekking.
• Loud noise is forbidden in the forest because this may scare the lowland gorillas or golden monkey trekking. They are very sensitive to unfamiliar noise in their presence.
• Even using flash photography is prohibited because the lowland gorillas or golden trekking may go into hiding because of unfamiliar light.

Spending time with the golden monkeys and lowland gorillas is an adventure you wouldn't want to miss. Contact us to help plan your safari today.