Barbary Macaque Etiquette, From Someone Who Watches Them Daily
Around 300 wild monkeys share the Upper Rock with two million visitors a year. Here is how to be the visitor they ignore.
Jaydan · 28 July 2026 · 5 min read
The macaques of Gibraltar are the only wild primate population in Europe, and they have been here longer than the British garrison. They are also completely unimpressed by you, which is exactly how it should stay.
Never feed them — it's illegal, and it's the whole problem
Feeding a macaque in Gibraltar carries a fine of up to £4,000. The reason is not sentiment: fed monkeys learn that humans are vending machines, and a monkey that has learned that will go into a handbag, a car window or a pushchair to check.
Keep food and bags out of sight
Not zipped — out of sight. A visible carrier bag reads as food regardless of what is in it. Put snacks in a rucksack before you leave the vehicle, and keep the rucksack on your front if you are carrying one.
Don't touch, don't stare, don't smile
A wide human smile shows teeth, and showing teeth is a threat display in macaque. If one climbs on you — and it happens — stay still and let it decide it is bored. It always does.
The best macaque encounters look like nothing happening. That is the sign you're doing it right.
Every tour I run starts with this briefing before anyone opens a door at the feeding station. It takes ninety seconds and it is the reason no guest of mine has had a bad experience up there.
Written by Jaydan, who drives this route most days of the week.
Mentioned in this piece
The cave, the Skywalk, the macaques, the WW2 Tunnels and the Pillars of Hercules — the whole Upper Rock in an hour and a half.
See the tour
