Travel

Day 12: Monkeys, Hiking, and Defying Gravity

By Michael Eisinger • June 9, 2014 • 3 min read

Legs hating me by the end of the day, brain still buzzing. Morning tracking Colobus monkeys in Nyungwe Forest. Afternoon hiking to a suspension bridge canopy walk that had me seriously reconsidering my relationship with heights.

Tracking Colobus Monkeys

Set out early with our guide to find the Colobus troop that lives in this part of the forest. When I say troop, I mean something closer to a small army. The group is estimated at 400 to 500 individuals, and our guide said it's thought to be the largest remaining Colobus troop anywhere. That number is hard to fully register until you actually see them moving through the trees. They were everywhere — swinging between branches, sitting in clusters, a few of them staring back at us like we were the attraction. Which, from their perspective, we probably were.

Colobus monkeys in Nyungwe Forest, part of a group estimated at 400 to 500 individuals — Colobus monkeys in Nyungwe Forest -- the largest remaining group, estimated at 400 to 500 individuals

Nyungwe Forest is dense and layered in a way that photographs don't quite convey. Everything is alive and constantly moving. You could hear the monkeys before you could see them, branches cracking and leaves rustling high above. Our guide was good at spotting individuals and pointing them out. The black and white coloring makes them visible even deep in the canopy when you know what to look for.

Colobus monkey sitting on a moss-covered branch in Nyungwe Forest — A Colobus monkey perched on a moss-covered branch, watching us from the canopy

Colobus monkey moving along a moss-covered branch in Nyungwe Forest — A Colobus monkey on the move through the treetops

The Canopy Walk

After the monkey tracking, we hiked to the suspension bridge canopy walk. Steep hike to get there — the kind where you spend a lot of it leaning forward and grabbing at whatever's in reach. Worth it.

Colobus monkey sitting in a tree surrounded by dense foliage in Nyungwe Forest — A Colobus monkey sitting among the dense foliage of Nyungwe Forest

Walking across a suspension bridge strung between the treetops of a rainforest is not something I had ever pictured myself doing. The bridge sways with each step and you can see straight down through the gaps in the planks to the forest floor far below. The view from the top of the canopy stretches out in every direction — treetops as far as you can see, sky above, the forest floor somewhere distant below. My grip on the railing was tighter than it probably needed to be. I'm not ashamed to admit that.

People walking across the suspension bridge canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest — Walking across the suspension bridge canopy walk high above the forest floor

The suspension bridge canopy walk stretching ahead through the Nyungwe Forest treetops — Looking down the length of the suspension bridge as it stretches through the treetops

Mountain Monkeys at the Visitor Center

On the way back, the visitor center had a group of mountain monkeys hanging around the area. Clearly habituated to people — completely unbothered by us walking through. One sat on a railing about five feet from me and just watched us pass. Nice way to end a day that was already full of wildlife encounters.

Group of Colobus monkeys sitting together on branches in Nyungwe Forest — A group of Colobus monkeys sitting together on the branches

Colobus monkey sitting on a branch looking directly at the camera — A Colobus monkey staring right back at us from its perch

The Nyungwe Forest canopy walk suspension bridge seen from a distance, spanning across the valley above the treetops — The canopy walk suspension bridge seen from a distance, spanning the valley above the treetops

Legs sore. Camera roll full. Good day in Nyungwe.

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Michael Eisinger

Program manager, nonprofit founder, and LGBTQ+ travel writer based in Silver Spring, MD. I’ve spent over a decade managing programs across nonprofit, healthcare, and medical education — and another decade finding out where the bears go. I write about travel that’s real, destinations that are genuinely queer-friendly, and the places that changed how I see things.

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Tracking Colobus Monkeys

The Canopy Walk

Mountain Monkeys at the Visitor Center

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