Golden monkeys, villages and our travels in Rwanda

As part of an 11-week journey around eastern Africa, our travels took us to Uganda where we had a fantastic trek to see endangered chimpanzees and mountain gorillas. After that we continued south, and crossed the border into Rwanda. We were going there to see more primates; this time it was endangered golden monkeys.

Golden monkeys, Volcanoes National Park, Virunga Mountains, Rwanda

These unique and pretty monkeys can only be found in Africa. Because they need to be near bamboo, they are limited to two small areas of Africa’s Virunga Mountains. These mountains straddle Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, so we would access them from Rwanda. But first, we had to cross the border into Rwanda from Uganda. The crossing was easy, and the drive took us through several colourful Rwandan villages.

Village in north-western Rwanda

All were busy with people, market activity, and traffic of both the motorised and 4-legged sort. It was a vibrant scene. The Republic of Rwanda is a geographically small landlocked country with a population of around 14.4 million (2023), making it the most densely populated country in mainland Africa. It sits at a high elevation which has earned it the nickname of “land of a thousand hills”.

Mts Karisimbi (front) and Bisoke (behind), Volcanoes National Park, Virunga Mountains, Rwanda

Some of the main “hills” are volcanoes; there are eight of them clustered together in a protected but unfenced area of the Virunga Mountains known as the Volcanoes National Park. On our drive to the mountains, we could see two of the eight volcanoes, including the extinct Mt Karisimbi, the highest at 4,507 metres (14,787 ft), and Mt Bisoke to its east.

Footpaths, smart clothes, and street lights in European-styled Ruhengeri, Rwanda

To access the mountains, we stayed in the large Rwandan town of Ruhengeri. This town and our hotel seemed very European in look, layout, and cleanliness. Our driver even had to drive on the right as they do in Europe, instead of the left as in Uganda where we’d just been. After a little research, we learned that Rwanda was colonized by the Germans in 1897, then Belgium took over in 1916, and France was Rwanda’s closest ally at one time – hence the European influence.

Troop of golden monkeys in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

After a night in Ruhengeri, we dressed as for our recent gorilla trek in Uganda and drove into the Volcanoes National Park for our golden monkey trek. After an early start and a briefing from the Park Rangers, a group of us were led through a large market-garden area and into the jungle. Very soon we glimpsed some monkeys playing in the treetops, but they were very quick, and hard to photograph. Then we trekked further into the jungle and came across a whole troop of monkeys sitting on the ground.

Golden monkeys in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

We were able to get really close to these small (46 to 66 cm), and sociable little characters. They live in troops of up to 60 members, and feed on bamboo shoots and branches. Apparently it’s rare to see them on the ground, so we were very lucky. They are quite pretty with bright orange-golden colour fur on their back and stomach, a fluffy face, and quick bright eyes. There were dozens of them sitting around eating, and many with babies.

Golden monkeys in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda 

They were hilarious to watch as they searched for and selected bamboo shoots in the grass, tugged them from the ground with their teeth, then stripped the outside to eat the tender inner shoot. Some fell backwards with the effort of pulling up the shoot and their antics made them very entertaining. Unfortunately, bamboo is being illegally harvested from this area so their main food source and habitat are disappearing, and they are often killed for stealing the vegetables of local farmers so their numbers are declining. After 1-hour with the monkeys, we had to leave them to it.

(Top) Village water supply and local woman; (Below) Village architecture and scenery, on the way to Kigali, Rwanda

The next morning, we drove to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. The drive took a couple of hours and we passed through numerous villages, and saw some of Rwanda’s many hills. Reaching Kigali, meant the end of our safari. It began in Uganda and ended in Rwanda, but after 7 days of waterfalls, hill towns and villages, rhinos, elephants, hippos, gorillas, chimps, golden monkeys (and other animals), we were going to miss being on the road. 

Beehive convention centre, and European boulevards in Kigali, Rwanda

However, we were ready for a rest, and had booked ourselves into a hotel located on one of Kigali’s hills. It was a nice area with lots of restaurants nearby, and plenty of walking opportunities. We went in search of an ATM on one day and found a beehive-shaped building that is the Kigali Convention Centre, and we noticed that the streets were wide boulevards, clean, well laid out and with plenty of shade trees. Kigali has a definite European feel to it, and we were looking forward to seeing more.

Some of the modern architecture in Kigali, Rwanda

As the sights that we wanted to see are spread out over a large area, we hired a taxi to drive us around. The city was built by the Germans as an administrative post in 1907, then became the capital of Rwanda in 1962 at the time of Rwandan independence. It is now Rwanda’s largest city with a population of around 1.7 million and a big, sprawling, modern and safe city. However, it was not always safe, as Rwanda has been through an horrific period of genocide.

Wall of Names at the Genocide Memorial, Kigali, Rwanda

The first place we visited on our driving tour, was the Genocide Memorial where we learned about the German and Belgian colonisers promoting racism between Rwanda’s Hutu and Tutsi peoples. This led to civil unrest and by 1990 the unrest had become a civil war. Then, over a period of 100 days in 1994, between 500,000 and 800,000 Tutsi people were brutally massacred by armed Hutu militia. Stories told by families affected by this genocide really touched us, and we found it very distressing.

Skyline view of Kigali, Rwanda

After a break, we visited the Kigali city centre or CBD as its known. We saw many modern buildings there, visited the rooftop of a hotel to get great 360-degree views of the city, and got a sense of the commercial activity in Kigali. This city is considered the safest and cleanest city in Africa, with a well-maintained infrastructure. This was evident in the CBD, where it was bustling but clean. We then drove past the heavily guarded Prime Minister’s office (no photos allowed), St Famille Church Genocide Memorial, and a number of other places.

Slum area in Kigali, Rwanda

Our taxi driver Joseph, also took us to one of Kigali’s slums. He had lived there and he told us that his home, that had been handed to him through several generations, was now about to disappear. The Kigali council has strict building regulations, and the slum areas don’t comply with them as they have no running or clean water, sewage disposal, reliable electricity, waste collection or other basic services.

Slum area in Kigali, Rwanda

So, many houses are being bought by the council and families are being housed elsewhere. Joseph told us that people are proud of the place and don’t want to move. Getting the balance between respecting the past and present connections, and public health is not easy.

Leigh at the Kimironko Market, Kigali, Rwanda

Our next stop was the Kimironko market where you can buy anything and everything if you are willing to push through the extremely narrow but sociable and colourful aisles. Whole families might be hanging out around their stall, willing to sell you anything as you wave and smile and work your way through the throng. Our driver has a friend with a stall who showed us around. It was fantastic with lots of vibrancy and colour.

Some of the hundreds of red motorbike helmets we saw in Kigali, Rwanda

One of the things that gave us a giggle in Kigali, was the huge number of moto-moto (motorcycle) taxis with red helmets. They reminded us of snooker balls at the first break. Apparently, they were donated to the government who gave them to the moto-moto riders as part of a safety drive. Overall, we really liked Kigali and Rwanda, but it was time to move on. Our travels take us next to Tanzania but you can read about that in the next blog.

This blog is part of a series on our travels in eastern Africa. The first in this series is called Johannesburg, South Africa.