Montagne des Singes

  Alsace maybe famous for its storks, but it is also home to around 300 Barbary apes in a park under the watchful eye of Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle. New visitors are always amazed at how close you can get to the animals. The apes are happy to come up to visitors and furtively take a little popcorn from their outstretched hands. The apes are definitely the kings here - they benefit from a 24-hectare pine forest and conditions in captivity that mirror the life they would lead in the wild. The park is both fun and educational with guides along the way explaining the behaviour of the apes. Since it was opened in 1969, the park has also been an ideal place of study for scientists who wish to understand the social behaviour of our distant cousins.