How many people are allowed to track gorillas and golden monkeys in Volcanoes national park Rwanda? Yes, a maximum of 8 people is allowed to trek a gorilla group / family per day and the maximum number of people allowed too trek golden monkeys is 16 per golden monkey trek per day.

The number of people allowed to track mountain gorillas are in principles of conservation in regulation of carrying capacity concept and sustainability of tourism resources without compromising the future generation. For this is to ensure the safety and health of both animals and tourists during gorilla trekking and golden monkey trekking in Rwanda.

Gorilla trekking and golden monkey trekking are both done in volcanoes national park Rwanda. In volcanoes national park, the golden monkeys stay in the same area with mountain gorillas so with this you can trek both animals on your visit to the park. Gishwati Mukura is also another national park where you can trek golden monkeys and chimpanzees in Rwanda. Both national parks can be accessed from Kigali city.

Just like gorilla tracking, golden monkey tracking need a golden monkey trekking permit. You are advised to book these permits in advance most especially if you are planning to travel in the high season in order to avoid disappointments. A golden monkey trekking permit is $100 per person per trek while a gorilla trekking permit is $1500 per person per trek in Rwanda. These permits can be got from Rwanda development board or any other trusted tour operator like Africa Adventure Vacations. These trekking permits sell out quickly and tourists are advised to book their permits at least 3 months before the actual trekking date. Securing a gorilla permit gives you a chance to spend one hour with golden monkeys or mountain gorillas once you locate them. The permit fees include park entry fees, ranger fees, government taxes and ranger fees.

Golden monkey trekking and mountain gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park starts with briefing early in the morning at Kinigi where the park headquarters are located. During the briefing you are told about the dos and don’ts when doing the trekking after which you are grouped into 8 for the case of mountain gorilla trekking and 16 for golden monkey trekking. You will then be given a park ranger guide to lead you to the forest in search for these giant apes. When you located these animals, you are given one hour with them as you learn about their behaviors while taking photos and recording videos of memories. There are 12 habituated gorilla families meaning there are 96 gorilla permits per day and 2 golden monkey habituated families accounting for 32 golden monkey permits per day in volcanoes national park Rwanda.

The best time to trek mountain gorillas and golden monkeys.

It’s good to know that trekking mountain gorillas and golden monkeys can be done any time of the year. But the best time to trek mountain gorillas and golden monkeys is during the dry season and this starts from June to September and again from December to February. During this season, the trails are dry because or little or no rain fall compared to other months of March to May and October to November.

The same principles apply to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and Mgahinga national park where only 8 people are allowed to trek mountain gorillas per group per day and 16 people can trek golden monkeys in Mgahinga national park.