Golden Monkey Trekking in Volcanoes National Park (2025 updated!)

The Golden Monkeys are like tree cats: curious but jumpy. While Golden Monkey Trekking in Volcanoes National Park, they actually get pretty close to people. It’s a special experience that is perfect for those who don’t want to shell out USD 1,500 on the gorillas but also want to see primates at Volcanoes National Park. Golden Monkeys are in the bamboo forest and if you’re lucky, they may move out to the nearby potato fields as well.

I visited once in 2022 and then again in 2025 when we moved to Kigali!

Read about other things to do in Musanze, the gateway town for Volcanoes National Park.

The Basics

• Price: USD 100/pp
• Morning activity from 7am-11am (ish).
• There is only one trek a day.
• Book in advance online.
• Masks required when you reach the monkeys (provided by the guides)

Golden Monkey Trekking Preparation

Book well in advance at the Visit Rwanda official site. This is the only authorized site! It’s not as intense to book the Golden Monkey trekking as the gorillas but you don’t wanna miss out, so check availability before booking your accommodations/transport.

You don’t need to book with an official tour guide. There is a group for people who booked without a “driver-guide,” you just need to ask an official when the intro talk starts.

If you don’t have a “driver-guide,” ask your accommodation to hire a driver (around USD 60) for your transport from Musanze. You’ll need a driver not only from town to the park entrance (20 min) but then again from the entrance to the trailhead (15 min), and then back to town. There are no motos waiting around. You may get lucky and someone from your group will let you ride in their car with you from the reception area to the trail start.

The hike is very easy, and the group will go as fast as the slowest person (of which there are usually several).

If you need to use the bathroom, triple-check the main entrance as there is no other bathroom option once at the trailhead. That said, the guides are carrying spades to dig up a little natural toilet for you if very necessary.

What to wear for Golden Monkey Trekking

In the Dry Season

From our experience in the dry month of July, there was no need for intense hiking boots or gators (which are recommended for gorilla trekking). It’s a little chilly in the morning so I was glad I wore 2 layers and a rain jacket. I heard it could get misty/light rain in the morning so you may want to bring a light rain jacket as I did as well.

In the Wet Season

For our second visit in April 2025, it was rainy and misty once we found the Golden Monkeys. A raincoat or poncho is an absolute must! Wilhelm and I both wore our hiking shoes that are water resistant and our feet didn’t get wet, though it was incredibly muddy. Some people were slipping in the mud, and one lady’s shoes fell off!

We had gators provided to us by our lodge (read about where to stay in Musanze), so we wore them. However, we would have been fine without them.

I’ve got the same rain jacket 3 years later…

I recommend you bring an extra outfit (pants, shirts, socks) in the car so that you can change into it if you plan to stay out rather than return immediately to your hotel.

I brought a dry bag for my camera and phones, and I wore my small backpack under my rain jacket to keep other things dry.

Although the views weren’t as good in the rain as in the sunshine, we still had a great experience.

Golden Monkey Trekking Timeline

Check-in is easy with your permit and passport. In 2025, we were told we had to have our permit and passport copies printed. (In 2022, a picture of the permit on our phone and the physical passport was fine enough). Your hotel should be able to print these for you.

Then, you’ll be able to head over for free coffee and tea. Question Coffee is served here!

This timeline is what your Golden Monkey trekking adventure will probably look like:

• 6:30am—  Leave the lodge in Musanze to get to Volcanoes National Park’s main entrance.
• 7am— Arrive at Volcanoes National Park and check in.
• 7:40— Get a briefing about the monkeys.
• 8ish— Transit to the trailhead in the car and then start the hike around 8:20.
• 9:10— First monkey spotted after a lovely hike through potato fields.
• 9:50ish— Leave monkeys and hike back to starting points.
• 10:30— Leave the park and drive back to town.

The Golden Monkeys started off in the bamboo forest. We saw them jumping around.

Then, they moved out into the nearby potato field! This was such a funky experience. Our guide says this usually happens during visits.

About Golden Monkeys

The monkeys were smaller than I expected. Think of a fat house cat with a long tail and you’ll get somewhat close to the size of a Golden Monkey. They weigh just around 15kg.

The female Golden Monkeys are red-ish in color whereas the males are gray and a little larger. The female Golden Monkeys are very protective of their babies and it’ll be quite hard to spot a baby.

Volcanoes National Park has three troops of Golden Monkeys. The troop we visited had around 120 Golden Monkeys in it, 10 of which are large males. Other males return in the rainy season to mate.

Golden Monkeys have some predators like feral dogs from the surrounding villages and even eagles who swoop up the babies!

There is a 45 min limit on your Golden Monkeys trekking time for conservation purposes that starts once the first monkey is spotted.

I had at least 2 monkeys come super close to me!

Tipping your guides and porter

It is expected that you tip the porters and trackers.

Porters: There are helpers to help carry your backpack. This is totally unnecessary in my opinion since the hike is so short (walking and time). However, these helpers rely on tips. The minimum tip is USD 10 for this. Before you reach the monkeys, you must take your bag off anyway. We didn’t use a porter.

Trackers: There are 8 guides that go ahead of the tour group to find the monkeys. We tipped a total of USD 20.

Extras: are some souvenir shops at the trailhead, if you wanna shop.

Got any questions about Golden Monkey Trekking in Volcanoes National Park? Let me know in the comments!