Golden Monkey Tracking

Golden monkeys are one of Africa's great overlooked wildlife encounters, and a perfect companion experience to gorilla trekking. Found only in the bamboo forests of the Virunga Mountains, this endangered subspecies is unmistakable, with a vivid golden-orange back and flanks set against a black face, limbs and tail.

Where gorillas are contemplative and still, golden monkeys are the opposite: fast, noisy, and endlessly energetic. Troops can number well over a hundred, and tracking them means following the sound of snapping bamboo and rustling canopy until you find yourself surrounded by dozens of them leaping overhead, feeding on bamboo shoots, fruit and leaves, largely unbothered by your presence.

The trek is considerably easier and shorter than gorilla trekking, typically two to four hours in total, on gentler terrain at a lower altitude, making it well suited to families and those with more modest fitness. As with gorillas, visitors spend one hour with the habituated troop once found.

Tracking is available in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda, where permits cost around $100, and in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, where they are also around $100. Both parks maintain habituated troops. In Rwanda, a golden monkey habituation experience is also offered, allowing extended time with researchers.

Photography can be challenging given how quickly the monkeys move and how dim the bamboo forest can be, so a fast lens and patience help. It is a lively, joyful, surprisingly affordable add-on to any Virunga itinerary.