Monkey Buffet Festival

What: Hon­our­ing the most famous res­i­dents of the Thai­land town of Lop­buri, the Mon­key Buf­fet fes­ti­val tru­ly lives up to its name – as every Novem­ber amidst the ruins of the icon­ic Phra Prang Sam Yot tem­ple 3,000 long tailed macaque mon­keys feast on a spe­cial­ly pre­pared mas­sive ban­quet in the mid­dle of their own ‘mon­key vil­lage.’

Fol­low­ing the belief that the Mon­keys, who roam freely amongst the town, bring good for­tune to vis­i­tors, the buf­fet is tru­ly a sight to behold – as the day kicks off with a spe­cial open­ing cer­e­mo­ny fea­tur­ing dances and per­for­mances by peo­ple dressed in mon­key cos­tumes, with a car­ni­val, street food and mon­key based con­tests also tak­ing place — before the long table con­tain­ing some two tones of veg­eta­bles, fruits and treats is unveiled – and with thou­sands of cheer­ful atten­dees look­ing on,  the guests of hon­our tuck in.

When: The mon­key buf­fet fes­ti­val takes place on the last Sun­day of Novem­ber ever year, with din­ing tak­ing place at 10am, 12am, 2pm and 4pm.

Where: The mon­key buf­fet fes­ti­val takes place at the ancient tem­ple of Phra Prang Sam Yot, which is the cen­tre of the ‘mon­key vil­lage’ in the town of Lop­buri, Thai­land.

Tick­ets: Atten­dance to the mon­key buf­fet fes­ti­val is free – although atten­dees may be asked to pay a small dona­tion to the tem­ple.

Dura­tion: The mon­key buffest fes­ti­val offi­cial­ly lasts for the whole day, with the open­ing cer­e­mo­ny which takes rough­ly an hour begin­ning at 9:00am – and fea­tur­ing mon­key based events, per­for­mances, music and street food (you’re not allowed to eat any of the monkey’s buf­fet).

For the feasts and sit­ting each one lasts for approx­i­mate­ly 90 min­utes – depend­ing on the mon­keys appetites and the dura­tion of any food fights that break out, with sit­tings tak­ing place at 10am, 12am, 2pm and 4pm.

Need to Know: The mon­keys at the fes­ti­val and in the town of Lop­buri are incred­i­bly used to humans, so don’t be sur­prised to have them approach you, both look­ing for food or try­ing to get their hands on any valu­ables you may have – so keep your eyes on your belong­ings and don’t be sur­prised if a mon­key tries to mount you.

Also be warned that mon­key food fights break out often dur­ing the fes­ti­val – so expect the occa­sion­al ripe toma­to cour­tesy of a mon­key com­ing your way if in atten­dance.