Golden Monkeys in Rwanda, Africa

The name alone enticed me to want to venture out to see the golden monkeys. A critically endangered species, golden monkeys are found only around Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, Africa.

golden monkeys

After checking in at the park office and paying for our permits, we piled into SUV’s to drive to a small village that would be our starting point for the hike. Trackers with radios had already been out early that morning to scout out where the monkeys were located.

muddy trail

We walked up a muddy trail past farmers tending their fields of potatoes. Two people who were placed in our group did not wear the appropriate foot wear at all. They were Danish and hemmed and hawed trying to pick their way through the mud until they eventually fell in and became resolved to say, “It’s only mud, it’s only mud. Our travel agent didn’t tell us what to wear.”

c w eye closed

Our guide found this chameleon on a bush near the muddy track.

golden monkeys

After only walking around twenty minutes, still in farmers’ fields, Eugene, our guide tells us, “The monkeys are nearby and they are excited to see you.” Looking at the forest off in the distance while standing in a potato field, we all looked around a bit perplexed that we were about to see the golden monkeys. We were expecting to hike for a least an hour into the jungle before even having a chance to catch a glimpse of the monkeys.

golden monkeys

We left all our things with the guards, because no one was allowed to have anything such as food that might attract negative attention from the monkeys, and followed Eugene around a corner (essentially every trek in and around parks always has a guard with a gun in case they need to scare away cape buffalo.)

golden monkeys

Along a stone wall just at the fringes of the forest we got our first glimpse of a golden monkey. A smaller monkey, with a shimmering red coat in the sun, we watched as a troop of golden monkeys played and ate their way along the wall.

golden monkeys

At first our group was surprised and a bit disappointed to be standing in potato fields viewing the monkeys, but then we realized how lucky we were. When in the forest, golden monkeys usually hang out in the middle of trees and do not come down to the ground as much for risk of being eaten by wild dogs. A group the day before trekked for hours only to barely be able to get any photos of the monkeys swinging around in the trees.

golden monkeys

For us, they were running past our feet – and because we were present the monkeys were even more relaxed because it meant slim chance an eagle would swoop down to try and grab one of them.

golden monkeys

The monkeys made their way through the field eating blades of grass and digging up left over potatoes. From what we could tell Rwanda had it down with how they were handling the park borders. In prior times, locals would kill the golden monkeys because they would come down from the forest and eat their crops.

golden monkeys

As Eugene explained to us, one of the guides kept walking back and forth to keep the monkeys from wandering too far into the farmers’ fields. Nowadays if the monkeys eat a farmers crops, the farmer can submit a form for reimbursement. The population is becoming more stable if not growing, yet overall the numbers are still small and they remain critically endangered.

golden monkeys

A big male can weigh up to 20 kilos.

golden monkeys

Females will have between four to six babies in their life span.

golden monkeys

This mother and baby were so cute to watch. This baby was still very timid. He got off his mom a few times only to almost immediately get scared of the world and clutch right back onto her.

golden monkeys

Average life span is twenty years.

bees

All of these boxes are for bee keeping.

golden monkeys

I feel like this little baby is saying, “Mom’s got me.”

hut

This hut was were one of the local farmers would stay overnight guarding the fields from cape buffalo, which can cause a lot of damage to crops.

children monkies

As we hiked out of the fields and back through the village, we came upon these cute kids playing.

last monkies

These kids were just running around their yard and once I asked if I could take their picture, they all giggled and piled on top of each other, rolled around and kept putting their heads up and down as if playing peek-a-boo.

golden monkeys

Eugene thanked us for coming and paying our park fees. To my eyes, it seemed like the government and Volcanoes National Park were on the ball with conservation. Everyone I talked to in town was on board with seeing the value in protecting the park and the animals for the benefits of tourism it brought to the community. Visiting the Ruhengeri area of Rwanda was a major highlight of our trip. The people were so friendly and welcoming, English was widely spoken and it has one of the world’s most unique parks with gold monkeys glistening in the foreground for hopefully many years to come.

*     *     *

For more information:

Volcanoes National Park

This activity was in the same area as: Wow! Gorillas in Rwanda, Africa!

Much of the gear listed in this post is the same exact gear we used to have a comfortable and safe time.
These same booking resources are the same exact ones we use to find deals and acquire points for more travel.
I will never recommend to get a credit card unless you are 100% solid to pay it off in full every month. If you will and are going to be making some big purchases, this Chase card is the same exact card we use and it offers great travel points and perks.
Finally, if you have not used AirBnB before, use this special link to sign up and get $40 off your first booking.

Advertisements

7 Responses to “Golden Monkeys in Rwanda, Africa

  • Just fantastic photos of such a rare critter! You are able to do what most of us only dream of. Thanks for sharing wonderful pics of a wonderful monkey.

    • tiffany
      9 years ago

      Thanks – we feel very fortunate to be able to do all the things we do. Learning about the golden monkeys is one of the reasons we just love to travel so much. There is just so much to learn about in the world. Glad you can travel with us through this post.

  • live and let live is what this post means to me and how very fragile such a simple
    phrase has become. a delightful surprise and gives one hope for the future
    hope to read more “live and let live” success stories!

    • tiffany
      9 years ago

      Live together – cool and endangered animals. Hopefully many of these countries continue to move forward to allow for many more success stories! 🙂

  • Amazing journey……so glad to view this site….will be back often……keep on trecking!!!

    • tiffany
      9 years ago

      Thank you so much! So glad you found the site and look forward to having you with us!!!! 🙂

  • Hey there, You’ve done a great job. I’ll definitely digg
    it and personally recommend to my friends. I’m confident they will be benefited from this web site.
    weebly lockenstab recently posted…weebly lockenstabMy Profile

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge