Rwanda is famous for protecting a large number of primates in Nyugwe National Park and Volcanoes National Park. Nyungwe National Park has 13 primate species like Chimpanzees, Vervet monkeys, Colobus monkeys, Blue Monkeys, L’hoest Monkey, owl-faced monkeys, Red tailed monkeys, crowned monkeys, Dent’s Mona Monkeys, olive baboon, Grey-cheked Mangabey, Angolan Colobus Monkeys and so on. On the other hand, Volcanoes National Park protects Mountain Gorillas and Golden Monkeys which are officially trekked every day, all year round (Based on availability).
Many visitors going on safaris to Rwanda aim at trekking any of the listed primate species. Above all mountain gorilla trekking is the top tourist activities in Rwanda and east Africa at large. Volcanoes National Park has two habituated primate species namely; Mountain Gorilla and Golden monkeys while Nyungwe National Park has Chimpanzees and Colobus Monkeys. In this article therefore, let us focus on the four habituated primate species which are officially trekked.
Mountain Gorilla Trekking – with ten habituated Gorilla groups, volcanoes national Part receives at least a visitor on daily basis. The park is situated in northwestern Rwanda sharing Virunga region with Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The desire to conserve gorillas and their natural habitat, Rwanda development board decided to increase the gorilla permit fees from US$750 to US$1500 which caused an alarm from different corners of the word however, due to vigorous marketing, upgraded accommodation, improved transport, security and professionalism of tour operators, the number of visitors meeting Rwanda Gorillas is increasing per annum.
For more information, Gorilla trekking is the top tourist activity in Rwanda and the top foreign exchange. For promotion purposes, Rwanda offers discounted permits to visitors visiting the three Rwanda National Parks ($1050 per permit), African nationals ($500), East African residents ($500) East African citizens UGX250000 and Rwandese francs 30000.
Golden Monkey trekking – A less strenuous trek compared to Gorilla trekking is none other than golden monkey trekking. After Gorilla trekking, Golden monkey trekking is the second sought for many visitors in the park. Golden monkeys spend more time in places with plenty of feeds especially fruits, vegetation shoot, stems and pods among others. The troops of Golden monkeys find it better to colonize the bamboo section of Volcanoes National Park. At the cost of US$100 per person, tourists can encounter Golden monkeys in their natural habitat. There are two habituated troops of golden monkeys in Volcanoes National Park and the larger troop in Sabyinyo volcano with 80 – 100 members is the most visited.
Chimpanzee trekking – Nyungwe national Park is famous for chimpanzee trekking among other primates in the park. Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park starts off from three reception centers, that’s Uwinka, Kitabi and Gisakura where the tourists meet the park rangers and the tourists are also expected to be at the reception as early as early as 4: 30am and by 5 am, you drive to the starting point of the trek into the forest. Since the chimp’s nest each and every night, there are the trackers who go ahead of the trekking group of finding them and communicate with the ranger guides. Nyungwe forest has a big habituated troop of about 80 individual and about 30 individuals in Cyamudongo forest. Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park is hectic because chimps are not well habituated and thus running faster to sabotage proper views and photographing.
A chimpanzee trekking permit costs $90 for foreign non-residents and $60 for foreign residents in Rwanda. The one-day chimp trekking ticket permits you to spend one hour with the chimps in their natural habitat.
Colobus Monkey trekking – it’s the easiest and the shortest hike which takes between 2-3hrs through the tea plantations. Currently, the cost of colobus monkey trekking is US$50 per person. Its amazing to meet a large group of colobus monkeys between 350-400 individuals. Colobus monkeys have an attractive looks of entirely black body with stark white whiskers, shoulders and tip of the tail. Though the demand for colobus monkey trekking is not as high as that of Gorilla trekking, we recommend advance booking to be on safe side. Wear light clothes in neutral colours, with long trousers and long-sleeved tops, and a waterproof jacket to hand. Although the paths are relatively even, they can still be slippery, so strong shoes are advisable. You might also find a walking stick or pole helpful.