Volcanoes National Park is located in the northwestern part of Rwanda and is situated on an area of approximately 160 square kilometers that is covered by dense tropical rainforest cover. It is important to note that Volcanoes National Park is also home to volcanoes that is to say Karisimbi, Gahinga, Muhabura, Bisoke and Sabyinyo.
These volcanoes are inhabited by golden monkeys in their lower slopes and that’s where tracking takes place. Since Volcanoes National Park enables golden monkey tracking, it is flocked by visitors from all over the globe who come to have a deeper insight into the golden monkeys, take pictures of them and learn more about the social interactions in the jungles.
The captivating Volcanoes National Park is just two hours and 32 minutes’ drive away from Kigali city center which is approximately 104.5 kilometers.
Visitors to this area can take either a safari car or chartered flight to the nearby airstrip in the Musanze area from where they can be picked up by professional guides with cars and embark on the journey to the National Park for the exciting golden monkey trekking adventure.
Volcanoes National Park, just like other national parks can be accessed by all ranges of visitors that is to say the luxury, middle range and budget. A private vehicle pass to the National Park is $30 valid for seven days, the motorcycle pass is $25 valid for seven days and the pedestrian/cyclist pass is discounted at $15 valid for seven days.
Visitors going to the park should endeavor to reach the park before 10am for extraordinary adventures and enough time to enjoy the wilderness.
Volcanoes National Park is well known as a cheerful and radiant spot for tourists due to the exciting activities it offers with golden monkey tracking as one of the popular activities.
Golden monkeys:
The attractive golden monkeys are a subspecies of the blue monkey and they are an old-world monkey that inhabits the Virunga massif in eastern and central parts of Africa including the one and only Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. The scientific name for this captivating animal is Cercopithecus kandti. These beautiful creatures inhabit the thick bamboo forests in the Virunga ranges and they are known as lazy animals because they sleep for 17 hours a day in groups of four.
Golden monkeys are known as romantic animals due to their character and they normally hug each other to avoid tension and anger especially when they feel troubled. Golden monkeys have interesting facts, especially about their sleeping time. The males usually sleep separated from other family members in a group in the nearby tree branches. Golden monkeys are also known as highly social animals as they normally interact with each other in the jungle and their behavior has since been known as fission and fusion.
Golden monkey tracking in Volcanoes National Park.
The golden monkey tracking adventure starts with a briefing at the park headquarters from where visitors are told about the dos and don’ts while in the jungle to avoid causing chaos and charges from the monkeys. After the briefing, visitors embark on the journey into the forest to track the golden monkeys, an activity that can go for two to four hours but with habituated monkeys it may take fewer hours.
When a habituated family is encountered, visitors are allowed to spend an uninterrupted hour with them taking pictures and observing them more as they get deeper insights of their day-to-day life.
Visitors are accompanied by professional tourist guides and game Rangers who have vast knowledge about the forest and the golden monkeys. Tourist guides selflessly share information about the golden monkeys and pass it on to researchers and tourists who subsequently find the adventures so rewarding in the end.
What is the best time to track golden monkeys in Volcanoes National Park?
The dry season commonly known as the peak season accounts for the months of; June, July August and September also known as the long dry season and on the other hand the shorter dry seasons of December, January and February are the best seasons visitors can go for golden monkey tracking in volcanoes National Park.
Cost of golden monkey tracking permits Volcanoes National Park.
Golden monkey tracking permits are priced at $100 per person per trek and they can be booked in advance through registered travel agents or tour operators and directly through the Rwanda Development Board.
