Rwanda and its neighbor Uganda, share the unique responsibility of conserving a population of the critically endangered mountain gorillas and chimpanzees.
Trekking through the forests of Rwanda and Uganda in search of our closest genetic relatives is an unforgettable adventure of a lifetime. Few experiences in the natural world can prepare you for the moment that you come face to face with these unique primates. It’s an exhilarating, exciting and incredibly moving experience as you observe these beautiful animals in their natural habitat close-up.
Other primates to be found are the striking golden monkeys, Rwenzori colobus monkeys, black-faced vervet monkeys, l’hoest’s monkeys and the grey-cheeked mangabey which visitors can often catch sights of on their treks.
A wildlife experience everyone must experience (at least once!)
An early start to the day, at the headquarters by 7am to be assigned to your gorilla family. Drive to the starting point of your trek where you will find the porters waiting for you. Hiring a porter to assist you and carry your backpack, camera bag is highly recommended. Accompanied by the rangers and your porters, trek through the farmlands and up into the bamboo forest (the trek can take anywhere from 2 hours to 6 hours, depending on the location of your family). Suddenly you’ll come across the smiling faces of the rangers who have been tracking the gorillas since dawn, and with final instructions from your ranger, leaving behind your backpack and your porters, camera in hand, you go on and suddenly you can’t believe what you see!! The majestic family is there right in front of you – the sleeping silverback, the watchful black-back, the females relaxing and the playful youngsters, seemingly indifferent to the visitors arrival. You catch your breath, wondering if this is real, these magnificent creatures who share 98% of our DNA are extraordinarily, unbelievably human-like. For exactly one hour, enjoy their company and all too quickly the experience comes to an end.
To be in the presence of the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, is truly a rare, incredible encounter few people have had the privilege to experience.
Where: Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda & Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Uganda
Chimpanzee Trekking
Chimpanzee trekking is a similar experience to the mountain gorilla trek. The intelligence and social structure of chimps makes for a fascinating experience.
The protected Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda offers an unforgettable opportunity to see these incredible animals up close.
Kibale Forest in Uganda is home to 1,500 chimpanzees, so visitors can be sure of having some very good experiences with our distant cousins! Kibale also offers the unique Chimpanzee Habituation Experience (CHEX), an adventure which takes place from the break of dawn until 7:00pm – or until your feet say so. It’s an all-day trek and there’s no telling where the chimpanzees will lead you, their movements are unpredictable – whether it’s uphill, downhill or on even ground, you follow the agile group, sometimes at challenging speeds through dense vegetation, for rare, up-close encounters.
Where: Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda & Kibale Forest National Park, Uganda
Golden Monkey Trekking
These gorgeous primates get overlooked by visitors, who have the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees on top of their primates list, but rest assured, when you catch sight of the golden monkey, it is an incredible experience.
You will be amazed at their multi-coloured coat of rusty red, fiery oranges, shadowy blacks, tints of blue and, even some gold. They are beautiful!
Though the endangered golden monkeys find home throughout the Virungas and surrounding areas, there are currently only two parks with troops habituated for tourist visits.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, in Uganda offers the ‘Golden Monkey Habituation Experience’ where visitors get to spend four hours in the presence of the monkeys and follow the scientists around as they study them. This gives you the chance to learn about golden monkey behavior, as well as offering a rare ‘behind the scenes’ insight into primate science.
In Volcanoes National Park there are 2 habituated golden monkey groups, the most frequently visited troop, is Sabyinyo which consists of about 80 to a 100 monkeys.
The golden monkey trek experience is similar to the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees trek.
Where: Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Uganda & Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
About Rwanda
The mountains and forests of Rwanda offers an outstanding combination of primate encounters. The Volcanoes National Park, part of the Virunga mountain range straddling Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, is the home to over half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas. Currently Rwanda has 10 habituated gorilla families which 80 visitors can visit daily.
The ancient Nyungwe rainforest is the ideal place to track chimpanzees and other primate species, as well as spot 300 bird species and 7 mammal species. Visitors can enjoy the breathtaking picturesque views of the Virungas and the Congo on the 90 metres long canopy walk, 50 metres above the forest – a dizzying height for some!
The forest is the most preserved forest in Africa and is the most important site for biodiversity in Rwanda.
About Uganda
Uganda is considered to be the best country in the world to track and view wild Chimpanzee’s in their natural habitat. Chimps are among our closes living relatives, sharing over 98% of our DNA. The most popular area for chimp trekking in Uganda is in the Kibale Forest National Park in Western Uganda, but it is also possible to see chimps in Murchison Falls National Park and in Kyambura Gorge of Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Gorilla trekking in Uganda can be done in two national parks – Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Of the two, Bwindi is the most popular park for gorilla trekking with 17 habituated gorilla families, while Mgahinga has 1 habituated family. Bwindi also has 90 mammal species, including 11 primates