Common questions about Golden Monkey trekking in Mgahinga National Park

Golden monkeys Trekking involves moving across the jungle with groups of habituated golden monkey families. They are among the monkey species that are in risk of extinction and need to be conserved. Golden monkeys only have their own special brown golden hair.Common questions about Golden Monkey

Golden monkey trekking is possible all year long, although the dry months are more exciting since visibility is ideal, particularly for photography. For trekking with golden monkeys, the months of June through September and December are the most exciting. Mgahinga National Park is always cold, but the dry months feature less humidity and more manageable hills.

All golden monkey licenses are sold by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. To ensure that a ranger is assigned to you, you must make a permit reservation in advance. Find out if permits for golden monkeys are available, then purchase your permit in advance. A permit for a journey with a golden monkey costs $50 per person in Uganda.

It could take up to two hours to find the golden monkeys in Mgahinga National Park. The proximity of food for golden monkeys, whether or not monkey troupes are fighting, whether or not they travel further, and whether or not family members’ deaths cause them to hide all depend on several variables.

The cost of entering the park, protecting the golden monkeys, hiring a ranger guide, security, maintaining the park, and spending an hour with a family of habituated golden monkeys.

You should include seeing golden monkeys, which are such endearing and charming primates, on your list of things to do in Mgahinga National Park. Since they are in risk of extinction, helping to protect them elevates the conservation effort.

If you want to undertake golden monkey trekking, you must spend the night close to Mgahinga National Park. A briefing is held first thing in the morning, and because the golden monkeys are so nimble, you must find them before they move on to other areas of the park. A few lodging options can be found in Kisoro town or adjacent to the park. They span the price spectrum, from luxury hotels to moderately priced ones. I.e. Camping, Kisoro Tourist Hotel, Volcanoes Gahinga Lodge, Traveler’s Inn

By Vehicle

Kampala-Kabale Kisoro

By car, it takes between 8 and 9 hours to travel the 540 kilometres to Mgahinga National Park from Kampala, excluding pauses. The meandering, 80-kilometer drive from Kabale to the park’s administrative hub, the Ntebeko Visitor Center, takes around two hours on a rough road.

By Charter flights

Kajjansi Air Strip / Entebbe Airport to Kisoro

Every day, domestic flights go from Entebbe Airport or Kajjansi Airstrip to Kisoro Airstrip. To go to Mgahinga National Park, you need a transfer vehicle. Upon request, charter flights can be scheduled from Kajjansi or Entebbe Airport.

A troop of between 100 and 200 golden monkeys is led by an alpha male and consists of these animals.

Since Mgahinga National Park is mostly in a mountainous area, finding the mountain gorillas will likely need some hiking. Given the similar geography and soft volcanic soil, using the gorilla trekking equipment would be a huge benefit. Be prepared to traverse a vast network of waterways and soggy terrain.

Golden monkeys prefer to eat fruit and leaves from trees. Like other monkeys, they include these ants in their diet when they come upon them.

In contrast to golden monkey trekking, which seeks out rare golden monkeys, gorilla trekking involves looking for habituated mountain gorillas in the wild.

While gorilla trekking has a 15-year-old minimum age requirement, golden monkey trekking has a 12-year-old minimum.

In Uganda, you need to get a $50 golden monkey permit, whereas a $700 per person, per journey gorilla trekking permits are required.

Golden monkeys are somewhat smaller than gorillas and have golden-brown fur on their lower bodies, whereas gorillas are enormous and the mature silverback male has a white saddle of fur on the back.

•  A camera to capture the breathtaking views and sensations you have in the Mgahinga forest.
• Rainproof clothing since it can rain at any time without notice.
• A water bottle to bring drinking water to replenish your fluids while hiking to find the gorillas and birds.
• The volcanic and softer soils of Mgahinga National Park. You need to use trekking boots that can handle the wet, muddy conditions that they frequently include.
• Snacks to replenish your energy during the hike and any forest walks.
• A cape or hat with a wide brim to shield your hair from leaves that are dripping water.
• A little hard currency to exchange into local money in case you need to make a transaction.
• A lightweight, waterproof bag to carry your goods in the wild.
• Masks to put on before going on a golden monkey expedition and switch into after you find the golden monkeys.
• To protect your body from forest stingers like biting nettles, wear warm clothing, such as long sleeves and pants.
• A pair of binoculars to get an accurate view of far-reaching sights including birds, mountain peaks, monkeys, gorillas, and much more.
• Before engaging in any forest activity, cover your body in insect repellant.

Yes, if you reserve a permit for a golden monkey habituation experience, Mgahinga National Park gives you the chance to spend more time with these primates.

• When you find the golden monkeys, do not feed them. Since they are wild creatures, humans should not rely on them for food.
• Never throw trash into the forest since doing so changes the ecosystem of Mgahinga forest, which is also home to other primates like mountain gorillas.
• Use a flash-free camera to capture pictures because this is safe for mountain gorillas and other primates as well.
• Ask the ranger guide to dig a hole that is over 30meters deep and completely conceal everything if you feel the need to relieve yourself while looking for golden monkeys.
• When you find the golden monkeys, put some space between you and them and stay away from offering them food like bananas to entice them to you. Being wild creatures, they should rely on the forest.
• Never chew or smoke in front of the golden monkeys since they might be enticed to take it.
• Don’t spit on the foliage because most forest residents, not just golden monkeys, eat it. Additionally, it is unsanitary if everyone spits.
• Spend just an hour with the golden monkeys, watching and admiring their acrobatic feats. This will give them enough time to look for food to last them all day and night.
• If you feel sick, offer to stay behind since if the golden monkeys catch it, they might spread it to other primates, which would cause widespread primate mortality.
• In Mgahinga National Park, children 12 and older are permitted to go golden monkey trekking.
• When you find the golden monkeys, avoid using loud voices as this may frighten them even though they are known to be highly active primates.

The itinerary for the golden monkeys can be expanded to include gorilla trekking in Mgahinga National Park. A permission is required to trek with gorillas, but whether one is available depends on whether gorillas are present
in Rwanda at the time.

The Mgahinga National Park is a great place to go birding because it is home to many birds, including endemics to Albertine. There are numerous birds can be seen along the drystone’s northern age of the trail. Ibis, Speckled Mouse Bird, Fire Finch, and many other species are just a few of the ones you might get to view.

In addition to the golden monkey trekking , you can get a different perspective of the park by climbing Mgahinga Mountain. Three mountains, namely Mountain Gahinga, Mountain Muhavura, and Mountain Sabyinyo, guard the Mgahinga National Park. On either of these mountains, a day’s hike is feasible.

The Garama caverns excursion, which reminds the Batwa of their earlier days of raiding, is one example of how a community visit to the Batwa takes you through parts of their past lives. This cave was coiled in a plateau that stretched for 342 km towards the park’s edge.