Rwanda is renowned for its gorillas in Volcanoes National Park, but the country is also home to chimpanzees as well as a host of monkeys—colobus, golden, L’Hoest’s, owl-faced, Dent’s, blue, and vervet—alongside olive baboons as well as the nocturnal potto and bushbabies.

Chimpanzees are found in Nyungwe National Park as well as in smaller numbers in the Gishwati Forest. Sociable creatures, chimpanzees live in extended communities and move around every day, foraging for food or occasionally hunting smaller mammals. They build fresh nests in the trees each night.

It is common to hear the chimpanzees before seeing them, with their vocalizations reverberating through the forest as they call to each other in a sort of bonding ritual.

Tracking starts early, at 5.30 am, and can last anything from an hour to several hours depending on where the chimps are; visitors spend a maximum of one hour with them once they are found.

The terrain can be steep, slippery, and muddy, passing through thick vegetation. Suitable footwear is essential, as is a certain level of fitness. Permits can be booked online, at an RDB office, or with Devine African Safaris.

Golden monkeys are found in Volcanoes National Park as well as Gishwati Forest. In the former, there are two groups that can be tracked, one on the slopes of Mount Karisimbi and the other in the bamboo forest on Mount Sabyinyo. This is also a standalone excursion, departing from the Kinigi headquarters once each day.

Other primates are usually seen on more general nature trails.

Colobus monkeys form a distinct supergroup in Nyungwe and are easily identified by their black and white coloring and long hair—a wildlife photographer's dream. Also found in Nyungwe are owl-faced monkeys with beak-like noses, Dent’s monkeys, blue monkeys, and vervet monkeys.

L'Hoest's monkeys are found in the Nyungwe and Gishwati Forests and are endemic to the Albertine Rift. They have a dark coat with a white beard and live in small groups dominated by females, with a single male.

Akagera National Park is home to olive baboons and vervet monkeys, which can be spotted on safari drives. Other species can only be seen at night: the small potto, closely related to the lemurs of Madagascar, and bushbabies, with their distinctively large eyes for superior night vision and bat-like ears to track insects in the dark.