Updated 15 October 2026

bamboo zone Virunga is a subject we explore in depth in this guide, drawing on direct experience and expertise from Uganda’s wildlife and safari industry. On the Virunga volcanoes, a belt of mountain bamboo grows between the montane forest below and the Hagenia woodland above. It is home to the endangered golden monkey and a seasonal feast for mountain gorillas when new shoots push up in the rains. In Uganda, you walk into this bamboo in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park on the golden monkey trek, the gorilla trek and the volcano hikes, and in Rwanda on most treks in Volcanoes National Park. This guide explains what the bamboo is, why it matters to gorillas and golden monkeys, and how to experience it on a trip.

Bamboo zones of the Virungas: ecology of the golden monkey’s highland habitat

The plant: African mountain bamboo

The Virunga bamboo is African mountain bamboo, Oldeania alpina, still often listed under its older names Arundinaria alpina or Yushania alpina. It grows across the high mountains of East and Central Africa. Like all bamboos it is a grass, but a giant one, with hollow, jointed stems (culms) often 10 m or more tall that grow in dense stands from spreading underground rhizomes. On a breezy day you can hear the culms knocking and creaking against each other long before you reach them.

New shoots appear after rain and grow remarkably fast, reaching full height within a few months. Young shoots are soft, juicy and nutritious, which is what makes them so valuable to animals. Bamboo flowers only rarely, at intervals of decades. When a stand flowers, the plants often set seed and die back together, and the area takes years to recover.

Where the bamboo zone fits

Vegetation on the Virunga volcanoes changes with height in recognisable bands. Above the farmland comes mixed montane forest, much of which was cleared on the Ugandan side before Mgahinga became a national park in 1991, and some of which is regenerating. The bamboo belt follows, roughly between 2,400 and 3,000 m depending on the slope. Above it are the open Hagenia–Hypericum woodland, giant heather and, near the summits, the afro-alpine zone of giant lobelias and groundsels.

Bwindi is quite different. It is a lower, broad-leaved rainforest with only small, scattered patches of bamboo, many of them reduced by harvesting before the park was created. If you want to walk through real bamboo forest in Uganda, Mgahinga is the place. Our guide to gorilla trekking in Mgahinga covers the park, its gorilla family and how to get there.

Golden monkeys

The golden monkey (Cercopithecus kandti) lives only in the Virunga volcanoes and the nearby Gishwati forest in Rwanda, and it is listed as Endangered. It has a bright orange-gold back and flanks, a black body and limbs, and a lively, restless way of moving. Bamboo leaves and shoots make up a large share of its diet, alongside fruit, flowers and insects when available, so the monkeys rarely stray far from the bamboo.

In Mgahinga, a habituated group of golden monkeys can be tracked from Ntebeko gate, usually within a short walk of the trailhead. As with gorillas, visitors get an hour with the monkeys. Unlike gorillas, they move fast, leaping between culms and chattering among the stems, so you will spend the hour turning your head and refocusing your camera. The permit costs about US$60. See our full guide to golden monkey tracking in Mgahinga.

Mountain gorillas and bamboo shoots

Virunga gorillas are mainly leaf-eaters, and for most of the year they feed on herbs, vines, nettles and wild celery in the forest and woodland zones. When the rains bring a flush of new bamboo shoots, many groups move down into the bamboo belt and feed heavily on them, peeling the tough outer sheath to reach the tender core. Shoots are rich in water and nutrients, so a group may stay in the bamboo for weeks while the shoots last.

That seasonal movement affects trekking. In Mgahinga and on some Rwandan treks, a family feeding in bamboo is often closer to the park edge and quicker to reach. Trekking through dense bamboo can still be awkward, however. Culms block the view, the ground is covered in slippery fallen leaves, and the light is dim, which makes photography harder. Our guide to Volcanoes National Park covers the Rwandan side of the Virungas.

Bamboo, people and conservation

Bamboo has long been a valuable resource for communities around the Virungas, used for building, baskets, fences, furniture and water pipes. Cutting bamboo inside the park is now illegal, and illegal harvesting remains one of the main pressures rangers deal with, along with snares set for small antelopes. Conservation projects have encouraged farmers to grow bamboo on their own land so that they do not need to cut it in the park. Healthy bamboo also protects the steep volcanic slopes from erosion and helps hold water that feeds the springs and streams below.

Experiencing the bamboo zone

The simplest way is a golden monkey trek in Mgahinga, which can be combined with gorilla trekking in the same park or in Bwindi’s southern sectors of Rushaga and Nkuringo, both a short drive from Kisoro. The climbs of Mount Gahinga (3,474 m), Mount Sabyinyo (3,669 m) and Mount Muhabura (4,127 m) cross the bamboo belt early on the way up. The Batwa Trail also explores the lower slopes and the bamboo, with Batwa guides explaining how their ancestors used it.

Bring waterproofs and warm layers, as the bamboo zone is often cold and wet in the early morning, and wear boots with good grip for the leaf-covered ground. Walk quietly, and you may hear golden monkeys before you see them, along with the sharp calls of forest birds hidden in the stems.

Frequently asked questions