The Monkey Park Iwatayama is located in the Arashiyama Mountains, the entrance can be found just south of the Togetsukyo Bridge. After hiking uphill for about ten minutes, visitors will find an open area with over a hundred monkeys roaming freely. In the spring, there are beautiful cherry blossoms and green leaves along the trail but you shouldn’t miss the colored leaves in the autumn, either. You might be able to find wild deer and about 100 kinds of birds among trees. At the top there is a hut with wire fence covering the windows and from within, visitors can feed monkeys. There are also nice views down onto the city. The park is inhabited by a troop of over 170 Japanese macaque monkeys. The animals run wild on the mountainside, and while they are usually gentle creatures, they are easily provoked if you don’t observe the rules.
