Let’s Talk About Lemurs
Visit the Duke Lemur Center for an unforgettable experience learning all about aye-ayes, blue-eyed black lemurs, grey mouse lemurs and Coquerel’s sifakas.
Perhaps you know that Durham is the City of Medicine with over 300 medical and health-related companies. Or maybe you’ve heard that it’s the Tastiest Town in the South many award-winning chefs, restaurants and bars. By now, you’re probably aware that it’s home to numerous Grammy-nominated artists like musician Rissi Palmer and acclaimed saxophonist Branford Marsalis. But did you know it's also home to the largest group of lemurs outside their native Madagascar?
Deep in the heart of the Duke Forest, lies the Duke Lemur Center (DLC), a sprawling 100-acre complex that houses nearly 250 lemurs across 12 different species. Founded in 1966, the DLC is open to the public and educates more than 35,000 visitors annually. Its highly successful conservation breeding program seeks to preserve vanishing species, and its Madagascar Conservation Programs study and protect lemurs, the world’s most endangered group of mammals.
The Duke Lemur Center offers a variety of unique tours, including a VIP behind-the-scenes look. We’ve put together a guide to help you plan your visit to observe the world’s second largest population of lemurs.
General Information
Location: 3705 Erwin Rd.
Tour Season: May - September
Off-Season: October - April
Off-Season Tour Info: Depending on staffing and resources for the year, certain tours are offered in the off-season. Some tours are weather dependent. The Wild Workshops are only available in the off-season.
Phone: 919-401-7240
Admission: The Duke Lemur Center does not accommodate walk-in visitors. All guests must have a prepaid tour reservation to visit the Lemur Center.
What to Wear: Wear close-toed shoes and comfortable clothing. Consider bringing sunscreen or a rain jacket depending on weather. Masks are optional when entering buildings.
Photography: Lemurs are extremely photogenic, and flash-free photography is allowed.
Accommodations: Accommodations are available for guests who need wheelchairs, canes or other mobility assistance.
Bathrooms: Bathrooms are located by the gift shop.
Gift Shop: The Lemur Landing Gift Shop is open for in-person shopping daily, excluding Tuesdays, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Please note that you still have to book a tour to see lemurs when you visit the gift shop.) They will close on select holidays, so make sure to check their schedule before you go.
What to expect: The DLC isn’t a zoo with numerous back-to-back exhibits curated for entertainment. It’s more like an outdoor museum where you quietly step back and observe the lemurs in their home. Guests should respect the lemurs and give them space to move freely. For the safety of the lemurs and guests, visitors are not allowed any physical contact with the animals.
General Tour
Tour Season Cost: Adults (ages 18-64) $17 + tax; Children (ages 3-12) $12, Seniors (65+), Military, Duke Employee or Alumni, College Students and Teens (ages 13-17) $15 + tax; Children (ages 2 and under) are free
Off-Season Cost: Adults (ages 18 and up) $15 + Tax; Children (ages 3-17) $12 + tax; Infants & Toddlers (ages 2 and under) are free
Available: Thursdays and Fridays 5 - 7 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. & 1:30 - 3:00 p.m., May through September. Select dates during off season depending on staff availability, announced on Fridays.
Make memories that will last long after you return home as you wander through the DLC at your own pace. The general tour is the best option for families with children because it operates similarly to an open house. Visit approximately 17 lemurs representing eight different species, including lemurs that look like King Julien, the most famous ring-tailed lemur from the movie “Madagascar”. Enjoy watching lemurs playing in their outdoor enclosures with toys, puzzles and other enrichment activities, while a staff member shares lemur facts and answers questions. Little ones can rest on a bench under the shaded pergola or eat a snack on a nearby picnic table. While you have a maximum of two hours to explore, most people, especially families with kids, head out after about 45 minutes.
Private Group General Tour
Tour Season Cost: Flat fee of $180 + tax per group; maximum group size of 15 individuals.
Available: Mondays and Fridays with other openings depending on staff availability, starting times range between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. (not available during the off season, October - April)
Looking for a creative birthday party venue or a fun, memorable family outing idea excursion? You can book a 90-minute private tour where you follow a designated guide from station to station to learn about the history and mission of Duke Lemur Center and its residents. Walk by lemurs and observe them in their leafy enclosures, playing with natural objects that challenge them and stimulate their curiosity. The tour includes a special Q&A time with trained educators.
Walking With Lemurs Tour
Tour Season Cost: $85 + tax per person, with a maximum group size of 6 individuals, and no minimum fee
Off-Season Cost: $85 + tax per person, with a maximum group size of 6 individuals, and no minimum fee
Available: Friday through Monday at 8:45 and 10:45 a.m. and Wednesday and Thursday at 10:45 a.m. Select dates during off season depending on weather, announced week-of.
You might have seen lemurs that like to “move it, move it” in an animated movie or maybe at the zoo, but the DLC’s Walking with Lemurs tour is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience lemurs leaping through the trees around you. Here’s your chance to do something cool for your staff retreat or plan unique entertainment for your family reunion. Guests are guided in small groups through the forest to find the lemurs wherever they happen to be that day to observe their daily life. While this tour allows you to come close to lemurs and observe them, the lemurs will not directly interact with guests. Typically, groups see two to three different species of lemur. So if you want to see all the different lemurs at the center, pair this tour with a General Tour. Because visitors must quietly observe the lemurs in their natural habitat enclosures, you must be at least ten years old to participate.
Behind the Scenes Tour
Tour Season Cost: $400 + tax per group, up to four people
Off-Season Cost: $400 + tax per group, up to four people
Available: Every day of the week, with select exclusions, from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Select Morning Tours available during off-season.
Curious to know what goes on “behind the curtain” of a world-renowned primate research, education, and conservation center? The Behind the Scenes tour shows how the Lemur Center staff cares for over 200 lemurs around the clock. Get a seldom-seen glimpse of off-limits areas and hear first-hand information you can’t find online. Learn how the DLC gets sumac, the lemurs' favorite leafy greens, as you observe an afternoon feeding. Also, this one-of-a-kind experience is the only tour where you can glimpse the amazing aye-ayes, lemurs with large radar-like ears and large incisor teeth that never stop growing.
Fossil Tours
Cost: FREE
Location: 1013 Broad St.
Available: The last Saturday of each month, with some exceptions or by appointment.
Head to the DLC's off-site Museum of Natural History to check out their fossil collection. This collection features over 35,000 fossils from ancient ancestors of both lemurs and humans. You can also meet the scientists who study these ancient creatures and learn from them. You can even book a private tour of the museum with its curator, Dr. Matt Borths. While this museum is located on Broad Street, it is still officially part of the Duke Lemur Center.
Wild Workshops
Cost: $75
Availability: Off-Season only, various dates, primarily Thursdays and weekends
Wild workshops were designed as an educational off-season offering to keep the lemur learning going year round. Open to kids 10 and up, these workshops are full of fun, learning and adventure. Each month will have it's own theme like Extreme Evolution, Enrichment, Love and Lemurs or Creatures of the Night. While most workshops are on-site at the main location, some themes, like the Night at the Museum, will be at the DLC's off-site Museum of Natural History. Find out what happens behind the scenes at the Duke Lemur Center at these engaging workshops.
Whether you’re a returning lemur fan or a brand-new visitor, your experience at the Duke Lemur Center will be educational and unforgettable. Want to know even more before you go? Listen to Sara Clark, the Director of Communications, share an insider's perspective on the DLC.
If you're looking to stay in Durham overnight as you plan your trip to the DLC, the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club, JB Duke Hotel and the AC Hotel by Marriott Durham are some of the closest hotels to Duke University’s campus. Check out our Hotels & Inns page for more options for you and your crew.
