Colobus Monkey tracking in Nyungwe Forest National Park
Colobus monkey trekking is another common activity carried out in Nyungwe Forest National Park. Colobus monkeys are beautiful primates with black and white fur, fluffy tails, admirable faces, with projected noses that make them appear amazed or sad. They have very short thumbs that appear to be underdeveloped, and this makes them unique from other primates and is from this feature that they were named ‘colobus’.
When you try to observe these agile creatures, you may think that their hands are unusual. They spend most of their time high in the tree branches and rarely come down unless there’s a very difficult condition that cannot let them go through the tree branches. They mainly feed on plant leaves, fruits, and flowers and use their limbs to obtain the food.
Colobus monkeys are grouped into three genera, the black and white colobus (genus colobus), the red colobus (genus piliocolobus), and the olive colobus (genus procolobus). This means not all colobus monkeys are black and white. Some reddish-brown fur and olive-green shades. Colobus is a general name for many types of monkeys. Several countries in Africa have habitats for these monkeys, say Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Congo, Zambia, Malawi, Ethiopia, and most countries in West Africa.
Colobus monkeys are commonly found in Tropical rain forests and in Rwanda, they are found in the Nyungwe Forest National Park. Since these amazing creatures are not found in many parts of the world, many adventure lovers come to Africa for deeper ventures.
Nyungwe forest is a tropical rainforest that has existed for over 2500 years and is a habitat to several wildlife species of which the colobus monkeys are inclusive. The most common colobus monkey species in Nyungwe Forest are the Angolan colobus monkey (Rwenzori Colobus monkeys) which live in massive groups of more than 500 individuals. So when you visit this park, expect to watch the black and white monkey species in their natural habitat together with other primates like chimpanzees.
As you approach these lovely primates, you will notice that they live socially, feed, play, and groom together. When they come down, they look so beautiful as they cover the lush green forest vegetation ground cover with black and white. They are so magnificent.
As you watch the black-white colobus monkeys, there are chances of spotting more monkey species such as the blue monkeys, Mona monkeys, and mangabeys in the same habitat.
Black and white colobus trekking in Nyungwe
On the tracking date, you will travel to the park headquarters where you will meet your park rangers and guides. You should be there by 8:00 am. You’ll be taken through a short briefing on how to behave while in the park’s jungles, then grouped into groups of ten people and accompanied by an armed game ranger and guide. You will have to walk through the rolling hills of the park and tea plantations until you reach the isolated forest patch in which these monkeys find safety. As you travel, your guide will give you more information about the park and the different plant or animal species you come across.
The duration of the walk depends on the location of these monkeys, but they are easy to find. On encounter, you are allowed to spend one hour watching them before returning to the park headquarters. If you find them in one place, maintain voices lower than a whisper for the best expedition. If you find them moving, be ready to follow them without making scaring noise until you track them.
Groups of black and white colobus monkeys in Nyungwe Forest Park.
There are two habituated groups of black and white colobus monkeys in Nyungwe Forest National Park. One group is commonly found close to Uwinka Park headquarters and comprises over 500 monkeys. Though this group is superb and close to the park center, tracking it is somewhat difficult as the members are always on the move as they search for food. They are also occasionally confronted by chimpanzees, which always search for them for meals.
Tracking the Uwinka colobus group always begins at 9:00 am as it is likely to be a full-day activity. You will have to move all day following the monkeys as they also search for food.
The second group comprises approximately 60 monkeys and is found in Gisakura sector of the park. This group has been discovered as easiest to track as accessing it doesn’t require much hiking, and the monkeys always hang out at the edges of the forest. The Gisakura Colobus group trekking can be done as an extra activity with other activities in Nyungwe Park as the monkeys are easily spotted.
Cost of tracking Colobus monkeys in Nyungwe Forest Park.
Tracking colobus monkeys in Nyungwe Forest National Park costs $60 for foreign non-residents, $40 for foreign residents, and RWF 5000 for Rwandan citizens. For those who wish to have full-day photography of the colobus monkeys, the cost is $600 per day and any additional days are charged 50%.
Age limit for tracking colobus monkeys
Only individuals 12 years and above are allowed to track colobus monkeys in this park.
Best time to visit Nyungwe National Park for colobus monkey tracking.
Tracking colobus monkeys can be done at any time of the year. However, the dry season in December to February and June to September is most favourable because there’s little or no rainfall and the tracking trails are dry and passable.