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General Tour

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a black nad brown lemur with blue eyes look at the camera from a nestbox

Tour Overview

The General Tour introduces you to the Duke Lemur Center, its three-fold mission, and its residents—including approximately 17 of the amazing lemurs that call the DLC home, representing at least eight different species!

This tour option operates similarly to an open house, so instead of following a designated guide from station to station at a set pace (as you would during the Private Tour), you are welcome to wander the path at your own pace and according to your own interests. This means that if a lemur is being especially cute you can linger by its enclosure and watch for as long as you’d like; or, if a lemur is sleeping, you’ll have the freedom to pass by it and return later! This also means that you do not have to arrive right at the “start” time of the tour; instead, you can arrive as late as one hour before the tour ends and still have enough time to see the lemurs. This tour is scheduled for a two-hour block, and occasionally guests use that full time, but the average guest spends about 45-60 minutes on the tour path.

Please note that the General Tour does not go into the forested Natural Habitat Enclosures—all lemurs viewed will be in silos or indoor habitats. (See more about the housing at the DLC in our Virtual Tour—video #3 is all about lemur housing.) If you are interested in seeing the free-ranging lemurs in their forested habitats, we invite you to learn more about our Walking with Lemurs Premium Tour!

Timing: Most visitors take 45-60 minutes to visit all of the areas of this tour, but guests are welcome to spend the full two hours on the tour path. This tour is regularly available during our tour season (May – September) – see below for details. This tour also may occasionally be available during our off-season – see above for details.

Physical Requirements: This tour is fully accessible. If you or a member of your party will be bringing a service animal, please note that the service animal will not be able to enter the small nocturnal viewing area, since that is inside the housing building for our endangered small primates. The service animal will be able to attend all other portions of the tour, but we do ask for advance notice if your group will include a service animal, so we can notify our animal care staff in advance.

Because lemurs are not adapted to chilly NC weather, we can only offer our full schedule of tours from May through September, but we do offer occasional Off-Season General Tours (see “Off-Season Availability” section below).


Reservations Essential

You must have a prepaid tour reservation to see the lemurs. In order to keep the endangered primates that call the DLC home safe and healthy, we regret that we cannot accommodate any walk-in visitors in any capacity.

All tour reservations can now be made online! Please continue reading below to learn more about our new registration system.


Off-Season Availability (October – April)

We are occasionally able to offer an Off-Season version of our General Tours on Saturdays or Sundays in October – April. Scheduling Off-Season General Tours depends on many factors including weather and staffing, so we will not know until 24-48 hours before the tour if we’re able to offer it.

When: If we are able to offer this tour, it will be on a Saturday or Sunday 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Registration will go live at the link below at 11:00 AM on the Friday before any tours we are able to open up.

What about a specific date? We cannot answer that question in advance, since we will not know if we are able to offer the Off-Season General Tour until the Friday 24-48 hours before the date in question.

What: The Off-Season General Tour sees the same species as the regular General Tour, but the lemurs will be living in their winter housing. Because viewing can sometimes be impacted by the winter housing, we offer a discounted rate for all tickets (see below). For more information about how we house the lemurs, check out Episode 3 of our free Virtual Tour at this link.

Cost (October – April):

Ages 13 & up: $15 + tax

Ages 3-12: $12 + tax

Ages 0-2: free

How to Schedule (October – April): This section will be updated on Friday morning to confirm whether we are able to offer any Off-Season General Tours that weekend. If we are, you can register using the link below.

Off-Season General Tour Registration (currently unavailable)

What about the regular General Tour? We offer General Tours throughout our main tour season (May – September). Registration for May will open in early March, so check back for details about our summer tour registration in the spring.


Cost (May – September)

Adult (ages 18-64): $17 + tax

Senior (65+), Military, Duke Employee or Alumnus/a, College Student: $15 + tax (must present relevant ID at check-in)

Teen (ages 13-17): $15 + tax

Child (ages 3-12): $12 + tax

Young Child (ages 2 and under): free

Due to our limited availability for General Tours, there are no group discount rates.


How to Schedule (May – September)

All tour reservations must be made online and prepaid in advance. General Tours for the regular tour season (May – September) are booked through Duke University Box Office (using the specific link below). If you have issues with their site please contact them by email at tickets@duke.edu or by phone at (919) 684-4444.

For General Tour Registration in May – September – (currently unavailable)

Looking for a date in October – April? Scroll back up to the top of this page for information about Off-Season General Tour availabili


Refunds and Cancellations

All tour registration fees are non-refundable, but you may reschedule to another date if we receive at least 48 hours’ notice.*

If you or any person in your group are experiencing any COVID symptoms, please notify us immediately, and we will work with you to reschedule or cancel your tour. COVID-related symptoms include any of the following: temperature over 100°F, atypical headache, shortness of breath/difficulty breathing, cough, sore throat, muscle or body aches, runny nose (aside from typical seasonal allergies), change in taste or smell, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. This applies to guests who have been vaccinated as well as those who have not.

*If you need to cancel your tour due to illness and are not able to reschedule, we will make an exception to this policy and refund your tour registration fee.


Know before You Go

The tour will take place almost entirely outside, and we will operate rain or shine (within reason). If we encounter severe weather that prevents us from offering the tour safely, we will work with you to reschedule or refund your tour as needed.

Wearing a face mask is now optional for all visitors to the Duke Lemur Center, except those experiencing cold or flu symptoms.

Sections of the tour path are in direct sunlight, so we highly recommend that you bring sun protection (hats, sunscreen, light long sleeves, and/or umbrellas) as well as a water bottle.

Based on the parameters set by our expert animal care and veterinary team to keep the lemurs safe and healthy, we will not be housing any aye-ayes on the tour path. There are still many aye-ayes living happily and quietly at the DLC, but they will not be viewable on any of our General, Private, or Walking with Lemurs tours. We do have a wonderful and informative virtual tour video series featuring footage of the aye-ayes, and you are welcome to share that with your group before or after your tour.


Visitor FAQ

How to See the Lemurs

All visitors must have a reservation in order to visit the DLC—this includes the grounds and the gift shop, as well as any tour. A prepaid tour reservation is required to see the lemurs. To learn more about onsite tour options and how to reserve your space, please visit our tours homepage.

Gift shop: If you would like to make a reservation to shop in our gift shop separately from a scheduled tour, please contact us at primate@duke.edu. Alternatively, you are welcome to order gift shop merchandise for curbside pick-up or shop online.

Directions

The Duke Lemur Center is located in Duke Forest, less than 10 minutes from Duke’s West Campus. For our GPS address and directions to the Duke Lemur Center, please click here.

Can I Touch a Lemur?

Nope! As cuddly as the animals may appear, our lemurs are wild animals. For the safety of the lemurs and our guests, no visitors are allowed any physical contact with the animals. However, we do welcome flash-free photography—the lemurs can be quite photogenic! (See the "Frequently Asked Questions" tab below for the best tours for photos.)

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to schedule ahead to visit the DLC and see the lemurs? Yes, all tours are by appointment only. Please visit our tours homepage to make your reservation.

What is your weather policy? Tours will go on rain or shine with the exception of threats of lighting in the forecast. Please dress accordingly.

Do I get to touch a lemur on the tour? Nope! As cuddly as the animals may appear, our lemurs are wild animals. For the safety of our animals and our guests, no visitors are allowed any physical contact with the animals. However, we do welcome flash-free photography – the lemurs can be quite photogenic!

I have a scheduled tour, but notice restricted access signs on Lemur Lane. If you have a scheduled tour or gift shop visit, please follow Lemur Lane past the restricted access signs until you reach our parking lot.

Can I take pictures during my tour? Yes, of course! Lemurs are extremely photogenic, and we encourage taking photos for personal enjoyment and to share online! Note, though, that photography is permitted only for noncommercial use and that photos should not be sold, reproduced, transferred, distributed, or otherwise commercially exploited in any way UNLESS the photographer has received permission from the Lemur Center and the Duke University Office of News and Communications. We also cannot allow professional photographers (or guests more generally) to set up tripods/monopods or alternate lighting. If you have questions, please reach out to us and we’ll be happy to clarify further.

Which tour is best for photos? Our Walking with Lemurs premium tour provides the best photo opportunities of our lemurs. Photos are still possible on our General Tour, but be advised that the lemurs will be in their indoor/outdoor housing areas (not free-roaming in the forest) and must be photographed through mesh wire. See the "Enclosures" section below to learn more about how the DLC's lemurs are housed.

Do lemurs make good pets? No. The Duke Lemur Center is against all trade in pet primates, and against the holding of any prosimian—lemurs as well as lorises, bush babies, and pottos—as a pet. There are many reasons lemurs should never be kept as pets, and this also is one of many reasons the DLC does NOT allow guests to touch our animals and why our staff do not touch the lemurs and lorises except when necessary for caring for the animal. This helps us avoid interactions and imagery in media that could promote the idea of lemurs as pets. Lemurs may be habituated to us, but in reality they are undomesticated, wild animals.

Weather

Our tours are exclusively outdoors. Please dress accordingly for weather.

Rainy days: Tours will go out rain or shine provided there is no lightning or thunder in the immediate area.  Umbrellas are welcome. If you would like to reschedule your visit due to weather, please call (919) 401-7240.

Hot days: There are shaded areas along path, but some sections are in direct sunlight—so we highly recommend that you bring sun protection (hats, sunscreen, light long sleeves, and/or umbrellas). Water bottles are welcome and encouraged on the General Tour but cannot be brought into the forest on the Walking with Lemurs Premium Tour. In the interest of health and safety, we will not be offering access to any water fountains or selling any bottled water, so please be sure to bring your own.

Cold days: The lemurs are allowed outside access anytime the weather is 45 degrees or above.  This does not guarantee that the lemurs will choose to be outside, however, as they always have access to indoor heated areas of their enclosures as well.

On cold or rainy days, some of our lemurs will choose to stay cozy in their indoor enclosures. While this is healthiest and best for the individual lemur, it does make it more difficult sometimes to see them on general tours!  As we are first and foremost an educational, not entertainment, facility we will never “force” our lemurs to come out into public view. Our guides will do their best to show you as many species as possible and will share information about each lemur even if he or she isn’t visible on the tour path that day. We strive to provide a fabulous and educational experience for all visitors within the constraints of working with live animals.

Gifts

We also stock an array of unique and highly giftable merchandise, perfect for lemur lovers young and old! Products range from cuddly lemur stuffies (including a sifaka and an aye-aye made exclusively for us!) to apparel, paintings by lemurs, and native Malagasy products.

If you would like to make a reservation to shop in our gift shop separately from a scheduled tour, please contact us at primate@duke.edu.

To purchase online or to arrange curbside pick-up, please visit our merchandise homepage. 

Enclosures

The DLC has two types of enclosures: 1. Natural Habitat Enclosures (NHEs) and 2. Indoor Enclosures with Outdoor Yards. On Walking with Lemurs tours, guests will see lemurs in their NHEs. Our General Tours focus exclusively on the indoor/outdoor enclosures.

Our indoor/outdoor housing areas are specially constructed for the physical and mental health of our lemurs. Each family group of lemurs is housed within a large set of interconnected enclosures and has multiple indoor rooms available to them (heated and cooled, depending on season), which are connected to multiple outdoor yards. For example, a family of 4 lemurs has access to at least 4 ‘sets’ of indoor/outdoor areas, totaling 8 individual enclosures. Different doorways lead into and out of these areas, creating ample space for natural movement and play and giving the animals privacy — away from each other, or away from public view — whenever they desire it. These spaces also help facilitate lemur research (all non-invasive) and care by allowing us to temporarily close off individual rooms within each family’s set of enclosures. This flexibility is brilliant for managing breeding groups and especially new moms and infants, as infant survival rates are significantly higher when mother and baby are separated from the group for a few days and gradually reintroduced when the infant is less vulnerable. Wire fencing between enclosures allows these lemurs to be separate and safe, while also maintaining visual and olfactory contact with the rest of their family.

To keep our lemurs physically and mentally engaged, the indoor/outdoor enclosures are re-branched and re-furnished often to give them new layouts to explore, and special and varied enrichment activities are provided daily. These help promote natural behavior like foraging and promote not just physical health but also mental stimulation and all other aspects of the well-being of the lemurs under our care.

What will you see on each type of tour? Guests on our General Tours see only the outdoor areas of these enclosures. In warmer weather, a large number of our lemurs get to free-range in large forested Natural Habitat Enclosures while also retaining access to their indoor/outdoor enclosures. Guests can see lemurs in their NHEs on the Walking with Lemurs tour.

Accessibility

Wheelchairs, Canes, and Walkers

The DLC's paved tour path (used for the General Tour) and gift shop are ADA accessible. You are welcome to bring wheelchairs, canes, and/or walkers for these tours, although the presence of any novel object, especially wheelchairs, may occasionally affect lemur behavior and result in lemurs choosing not to cooperate as nicely on tours.

If you or a member of your group will be using a wheelchair, cane, or walker on your tour, please let the staff at Lemur Landing know when making your tour reservation.

Above, guests wander the summer tour path during an open house. The summer path is gently sloped, with brick pavers.

Service Dogs

We welcome service dogs on our General Tours, which are along the paved tour path described above.

Guests with medical restrictions or special needs, such as the need to be accompanied by a Service Dog on a tour, must let the staff at Lemur Landing know when making the reservation. Please be aware that, like all novel objects, the presence of a Service Dog may affect lemur behavior. If you have questions, please call us at (919) 401-7240 - we'll be happy to help!

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, a Service Animal is “any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.” Therapy dogs, emotional support dogs and companion dogs are not Service Animals as defined by the ADA. Because the DLC houses endangered primates, we cannot allow pets onsite.

Nut allergies

If you have allergies, please be aware that the DLC keeps peanuts, peanut butter, and tree nuts onsite for lemur food and training rewards. If you are allergic to nuts, please tell the staff at Lemur Landing when booking your tour. Some tour types are more conducive to coming into contact with nuts than other tour types are.

No Pets, Please

For the safety of our lemurs and because the Duke Lemur Center has no pet accommodations such as dog-walking areas, we cannot allow pet animals anywhere on the DLC grounds – even inside your vehicle. For our lemurs’ health and safety and for your pet’s, please leave your pup at home. After your visit to the DLC, we recommend picking up your pooch taking him to one of these dog-friendly Durham destinations instead!

Durham Hotels, Restaurants, and Attractions

For a list of hotels and inns, restaurants and coffee shops, and fun things to do in Durham, please visit the Discover Durham website and the Durham Destination Guide.

For more places to visit on Duke's campus, check out these recommendations. The Duke Lemur Center is approximately 2.5 miles from Duke Chapel and Cameron Indoor Stadium, and approximately 3.5 miles from Duke Gardens and the Nasher Museum of Art.


Questions?

Please call the Lemur Landing front desk at (919) 401-7240 or email primate@duke.edu. We’ll be happy to help!