Two primates, one beautiful park: track golden monkeys in the bamboo on day two and a mountain gorilla family on day three, in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park.
Volcanoes National Park is home to two of Africa’s most charismatic primates: the mountain gorilla and the golden monkey, which is found only in the Virunga volcanoes. This three-day safari from Kigali gives you a full morning with each, two relaxed nights near the park and a visit to the Gorilla Guardians community.
Golden monkey tracking is lively and fun: troops of dozens of monkeys leap through the bamboo, chattering and feeding, and you spend an hour among them. Gorilla trekking the next day is quieter and more intense, as you sit with a family of gorillas in the forest. Together they give a rounded picture of the Virunga ecosystem.
The lodges near Kinigi are close to the park headquarters, which keeps early mornings short. Nights are cool at over 2,000 metres, so expect fireplaces and hot-water bottles.
Your driver-guide meets you at Kigali International Airport or your hotel. Drive north-west through Rwanda’s famously green, terraced hills, about 2–2.5 hours on a good winding road, with viewpoints over the valleys and, as you approach Musanze, the line of Virunga volcanoes on the horizon. After lunch at your lodge, relax with views of the volcanoes or visit the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund’s campus in Musanze to learn about the research that saved the mountain gorillas.
After the 7:00am briefing at Kinigi, set out to track golden monkeys in the bamboo zone at the foot of the volcanoes. These endangered monkeys, with their bright orange-gold backs, live only in the Virunga region. Troops are lively and noisy, leaping between bamboo stems and feeding on shoots, and the habituated group is usually found within an hour. You spend one hour with them; photography is a challenge as they move quickly, which makes it all the more fun.
In the afternoon, visit the Gorilla Guardians Village near Kinigi, where former poachers and their families share Rwandan dance, crafts, traditional medicine and farming, and income supports the community around the park.
Leave your lodge early for the 7:00am briefing at the Kinigi park headquarters, where traditional dancers often perform while guides assign visitors to the habituated gorilla families according to fitness. Each family is visited by a maximum of eight people a day.
Drive to the trailhead at the edge of the park and walk through farmland to the stone wall that marks the forest boundary, then into bamboo and hagenia woodland on the slopes of the volcanoes. Some families are reached in under an hour, others take three or four. When you find them, you spend one hour watching the gorillas feed, rest and play, keeping a respectful distance, before walking back down to receive your certificate.
After lunch, drive back to Kigali, arriving in the late afternoon or early evening.
Lodges shown match the quoted price. Ask us about mid-range and luxury upgrades.
It is a gentler introduction to the trails and the park, and leaves the gorilla trek as the grand finale. The order can be swapped depending on permits.
Easier than gorilla trekking: usually 1–2 hours of walking through farmland and bamboo, on gentler slopes.
15 years in Rwanda, the same as for gorillas.
Yes. The Dian Fossey tomb hike (US$75) can replace the golden monkeys or be added on an extra day.
From November to May, the gorilla permit discount applies when combined with stays in Nyungwe or Akagera; it does not apply to this Volcanoes-only trip.
Signature 18 daysThe ultimate East African journey across four countries: chimps and gorillas in Uganda, golden monkeys in Rwanda, the Masai Mara in Kenya and the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania.
Signature 14 daysThree countries, three great experiences: chimps and gorillas in Uganda, golden monkeys and Kigali in Rwanda, then the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania.
Signature 14 daysTwo countries in depth: the Nile at Murchison Falls, chimps, savannah and gorillas in Uganda, then golden monkeys, a second gorilla option and the shores of Lake Kivu in Rwanda.
Change the dates, add a night, upgrade a lodge or combine it with Rwanda or Kenya. Tell us what you have in mind and we’ll send a revised plan and price.
