Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda includes the magical visit to the primates as discussed below.

Primates in Rwanda

In zoology primate is defined as any mammals of a group which includes apes, lemurs, monkeys, tarsiers and humans. Rwanda is a landlocked country situated in the Great Rift Valley where the African great lakes region and east Africa connect. The country is bordered by different countries including Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Republic of Rwanda is renowned for hosting a numerous primate species in different locations. Among the places where the primates can be allocated in Rwanda include Volcanoes National park, Nyungwe National Park and also Gishwati Forest and the primate species in these areas are mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys, baboons, bush babies, L’hoest’s, blue and vervet, dent’s and others.

Primates in Volcanoes National Park

When one visits Volcanoes National park, primate safaris are one of the best experiences to engage in during the Rwanda safari. The park is well known for compassing the Virunga Mountains which hosts a variety of species including the primate, animal and also bird species.

During the safari to the park, one can carry out a number of activities like birding, hiking to the top of the Virunga Mountains, and also game viewing.  Among the animals in Volcanoes National Park are bushbucks, elephants, warthogs and others.

Volcanoes National Park is a home to different endangered primate species including the mountain gorillas, golden monkeys and others.

Mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park

Volcanoes National Park hosts a number of mountain gorillas that are divided into different groups for the purposes of tourism. The park has about 15 habituated gorilla families that are free to the tourists during their safari to the park. Before going for the mountain gorillas, on has to first purchase a gorilla permit at a cost of $1500 and get a great experience of spending time with these apes in there habituated groups.

Among the gorilla families in the park include the Amahoro gorilla group, Susa gorilla family, Kwitonda gorilla family. Other gorilla groups can be found along the slopes of different mountains of Virunga Mountains. Among these groups include Susa group on mount Karisimbi, Hirwa and Ugenda gorilla group on mount Gahinga, Agashya gorilla group on Mount Muhabura and Sabyinyo gorilla group on Mount Sabyinyo. All these gorilla families or groups can be visited during the experience of gorilla trekking.

Gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park starts in the morning by the severe briefings from the professional rangers about the Dos and Don’ts during the activity and when around the mountain gorillas. After the guidelines, the trekkers will follow the game ranger through the forests of the park in search of these apes. While moving to the families of these gorillas, see other species like trees, birds, butterflies and others.

After finding the gentle mountain gorillas, you will be allowed to spend about an hour with them as you are learning about their ways of life like how they mate, they feed, they live and others.

Golden monkeys

Besides the mountain gorillas, golden monkeys are other primate species in volcanoes National park. These primates are endemic to the Albertine rift and are located within the bamboo trees of different mountains in the park.  Trekking the golden monkeys is much cheaper than gorilla trekking due to the fact that the monkeys do not look for places to put their new nests.

Before golden monkey trekking, you will also first attend the briefing where you will be guided about the experience. After the briefing, follow the game ranger and hike through the Virunga mountains in search of these monkeys. After finding them, you will be allowed to spend some time with them as you enjoy and also learn about their ways of life.

Besides the mountain gorillas and golden monkeys, other primate species in the park include Mona monkeys, red tailed monkeys, vervet monkeys and others.

Primates in Nyungwe National Park

Primate trekking is one of the activities that attracts a number of people to Nyungwe National Park during the Rwanda safari. The park is a home to different primate species like chimpanzees, monkeys, grey checked mangabey, red tailed monkeys, L’hoest’s monkeys and others.

Chimpanzees in Nyungwe National park

These are primate species that attract a various travelers to Nyungwe National Park. Chimpanzees are great apes located in the savannah vegetation and rainforests of Africa. These apes have the DNA that is closely related to that of humans thus having a number of similarities with the human beings.

Chimpanzee trekking is done in the rain forests of Nyungwe. The activity involves hiking through the forest in search of the chimpanzees in their habitats. After allocating these apes, the trekkers or travelers are given an hour to spend with them as they understand their ways of living like feeding, mating, communicating, and others. Chimpanzees always live in groups of 15 to 150 members and the experience of trekking them requires a trekking permit which costs $90 each person.

Others primates to be encountered during the hiking through the rain forests of the Nyungwe include the Grey checked Mangabey, L’hoest’s monkeys, red tailed monkeys, vervet monkeys, owl-faced monkeys, white colobus, and others.