Want to see wild snow monkeys up close and personal? Well, a visit to the Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park in Nagano needs to be on your must do list.
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Snow Monkey Park
The Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park is in the Joshinetsu Kogen National Park, about 30 minutes outside of Nagano in Japan. On arrival, you’ll need to walk 1.6 kilometres (20 minutes on foot) each way to get to the inner sanctum of the pack.
And what a treat you have waiting for you. At the park, you’ll see large groups of Japanese Macaques, also known as snow monkeys, roaming and doing what they normally do. On the day of my visit, there were over 300 monkeys in the park.
Photo opportunities are everywhere. The monkeys are eating, grooming each other, sitting by the river relaxing or in the hot spring having a bath.
The monkeys come quite close but usually pass by quickly. Get your camera or mobile phone ready to capture these once in a lifetime memories. Immerse yourself in the moment. Watch, listen and enjoy!
You can’t bring food into the park and they forbid you to touch the monkeys. It can be quite tempting to reach out and touch them, as they look so fluffy and cuddly.
Visit the many viewing spots and a must is the favourite hangout for monkeys and humans – the hot spring.
Welcome to Snow Monkey world! Hope you enjoy your visit.
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Linda is an Amazon author, writer and travel blogger. Her website The Smart Travelista offers travel resources and tips via her blog, books, videos and more.
