Golden Monkeys at Volcanoes National Park

Heading to Volcanoes National Park

We leave the hotel at 6:45am. It is overcast with a light drizzle. Mist is sitting low in the surrounding mountains. Dressed in our usual trekking gear, we are heading to Volcanoes National Park to see the endangered Golden Monkeys. 

The road is paved and very smooth. Most of the lower landscape is covered with fields of crops.

We make a quick stop at a park which has a huge wooden monument of two gorillas before heading to the park’s main visitors centre. Groups meet here for orientation for their treks. We are meeting for the golden monkey trek but others are meeting for gorilla trekking. 

Preparing to Trek

There are eight in our group, five Americans, a British man and John and I. I am relieved to see that everyone is closer in age to us. I think one couple is even older.

After the orientation we all head to our vehicles, each vehicle with a guide or patroller to show us where to park on the road for our particular trek. We drive about 20 minutes.

As with most treks there are trackers already at the park. Two are  waiting for us on the road and a third is still tracking the monkeys. Once parked we are given the opportunity to get a porter. John and I get one porter between us.

Rangers with guns join us. The guns are to scare any large animals, especially elephants who we may encounter in the jungle.

It is now softly raining so I put on my rain pants and jacket and leave my hat in the van.

We start by  hiking single file through farming fields, sticking to the narrow walkways between different plots, being careful not to fall into any ruts. My porter, Jeannette, holds my hand and I also use my walking stick. In about 25 minutes we enter the dense jungle.

Golden Monkeys

The paths are wet with black mud and thick with foliage. Conveniently, the monkeys are close to where we enter the jungle. 

Francois is our main guide. He stops and briefs us some more on etiquette and monkey facts. Francoise is quite the character even doing monkey and gorilla full body imitations. When explaining how they eat, he pulls a stalk of a certain plant and actually eats it like a monkey and demonstrates how they get their water from it. There is so much water in the stalk that it drips down his chin.

Golden Monkeys are a subspecies of the Blue Monkey. It differs from the Blue Monkey by the golden orange patch on its back and upper flanks. They live in the Virunga Volcanic Mountains in Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda

The Golden Monkey is endangered due to distruction of its natural habitat as well as war in it’s habitat in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Golden Monkeys travel in groups of three to over sixty. They have a twenty year lifespan and mature at six years.  They eat mostly bamboo, leaves, fruit and insects. The males are much larger than the females. They usually sleep in  bamboo.

They are usually found in trees because they are safer from predators there. Golden Monkeys are the only other primate living in the forests other than the Mountain Gorillas.

Fortunately it stops raining but it is quite muddy. At some points my feet sink right into the mud.

We go into the dense forest. Feet can easily get tangled in the undergrowth but it isn’t as challenging as the gorilla trekking forest…maybe because we are so close to the edge.

Face masks are mandatory to wear so that we don’t pass any diseases on the monkeys.

We see lots and lots of monkeys doing their monkey stuff. Some are grooming, a lot of them are eating, some are even mating. It is quite amazing to see them jump between far away branches. Click here for a short video.

We watch a couple youngsters rough housing and playing in the trees. Click here for a short video.

The monkeys are very active but stay still the longest when eating. Click here for a short video.

Too soon our hour with the monkeys is up. They seem to be following us back to the edge of the farmer’s fields to say goodbye.

Return through the Farmer’s Fields

We head back through the fields. Farmers wielding hoes are out working the dark, rich soil in the fields. Usually groups of women in one area and men in the other. The women are chatting and laughing as they work. The men’s group is pretty quiet, just plodding away. The women’s group seems to be much more fun.

We say goodbye to Francoise, the trackers, the rangers and my porter Jeannette and hand out tips.

Bosco and Vincent are waiting for us at our van. Bosco is jokingly wearing my hat.

Dian Fossey Institue

We drive to the Dian Fossey Institute Museum. This museum was largely funded by Ellen DeGeneres. The museum is fabulous and really well done with easy to read displays, interactive exhibits and a 360 degree movie theatre.

The museum goes through the life of Dian Fossey and there is a reproduction of her cabin. Exhibits explain the lives and personalities of some of her gorillas.  I enjoy the learn to speak and understand gorilla exhibit where they actually test how well you immitate their sounds and what the sounds mean. I end at an exhibit where you wear 3D goggles and are taken into the interaction of a gorilla family.

It is now pouring outside. Our next activity is supposed to be a cultural dance activity but John and I forego that and head back to the hotel.

I find that the mornings are so early that we are ready for a break by late afternoon.