The Monkey Jungle at Longleat Safari Park is tremendous fun – but many of the laughs come from watching other people’s cars being attacked.
The first safari outside Africa
Longleat Safari Park near Warminster in Wiltshire was a genuine pioneer when it opened in 1966. It was the first drive-through safari experience outside of Africa, although it focused almost exclusively on lions at the time.
Monkey Jungle at Longleat
In 2025, the star attractions of Longleat Safari Park are clearly the monkeys. Or, to be more accurate, rhesus macaques.
They are the inhabitants of the Monkey Jungle section that comes about a third of the way through the Longleat Safari Park driving route. They are very cheeky, very funny and absolutely notorious for causing damage to cars.
Warnings about car damage
Longleat doesn’t try to hide this. Before you enter Monkey Jungle, there is a big sign. It reads: “Monkeys will climb on your vehicle and will cause damage.”
For anyone who thought reports of the Longleat monkeys causing damage were overegged, this should be a wake-up call. You should go into Monkey Jungle expecting something to get broken off, and hoping that it doesn’t.
Taking the chance or taking the bypass
It is possible to avoid Monkey Jungle on the driving route around Longleat. A bypass is in place for the cowards unwilling to run the simian gauntlet.
When I visited with my family in August 2025, I decided to take the chance, not least because the car is technically my wife’s.
Where do the Longleat monkeys climb on your car?
This is a chance well worth taking, however, because driving through the troop of mischievous monkey is a joyously hilarious experience.
The rhesus macaques are not shy, and prowl down the road ready to board your vehicle. They’ll jump up the front, saunter along the windscreen and sit on the wing mirrors. The favoured spot seems to be on the boot, just in front of the rear windscreen.
Sometimes, more than one monkey will climb on your car. You may hear them having a fight on top. They may peer through the windows.
Windscreen wipers and aerials
We found the experience absolutely delightful. We were roaring away with laughter. But the funniest part was watching the monkeys on other people’s cars.
Every time a car overtook us with a monkey riding on the back, I got a fit of giggles. There is something inherently funny about monkeys catching a lift on the backs of cars.
Watching the macaques clamber over other vehicles is hilarious. Especially when you see them having a go at the windscreen wipers or tugging away at the aerials.
This is obviously slightly less hilarious when you consider that they might be doing the same thing to your car.
Did our car get damaged at Longleat?
We were lucky. We got out of Monkey Jungle with our car unscathed. We went around twice as well, with the girls raucously begging for a second run from the back seat.
Not everyone got so lucky, however. I saw numbers being pulled off a numberplate, despite not being quite sure how that’s possible. I also saw the rangers going round in their vehicle, removing all manner of plastic detritus from the road.
Basically, if it sticks out, the monkeys are going to have a go at it. Whether they manage to detach it or not is a matter of pure luck.
Longleat ticket prices
However, despite the poor odds of the car surviving intact, it’s tough to think of more memorable family entertainment than driving through the Monkey Jungle at Longleat. You can always buy new windscreen wipers, right?
Day tickets for Longleat, which include the Safari Park, cost £44.95 (off-peak) or £46.95 (peak season) for adults. For children, it’s from £25.58 if booked online.
These prices are correct at the time of writing, but subject to change in the future.
More UK family travel
Other UK family travel stories on Planet Whitley include:
- Is the Black Country Living Museum really England’s best tourist attraction?
- Is the Tower of London ticket price really worth the money?
- What’s so special about The Deep in Hull?
- How to do Alton Towers with an eight-year-old.
- How to get into the Harry Potter Studios Tour when tickets have sold out.
