The Barbados Wildlife Reserve

The site began in 1982 as a primate research centre studying the Barbados green monkey, a population descended from animals brought from West Africa around 1650 that has diverged enough to be of scientific interest, and in 1985 it grew into a walk-through reserve where most of the animals are not enclosed. Green monkeys, Brocket deer, Patagonian maras, red-footed tortoises, Cuban rock iguanas and a great many parrots move through mahogany trees on paths visitors walk. Feeding time in the mid-afternoon is when the monkeys arrive in numbers. A few species, including caimans and snakes, are behind glass.

Highlights

• Green monkeys - free-ranging through the wood, densest at feeding time.
• Red-footed tortoises - underfoot on the paths.
• The walk-through design - most animals unenclosed.
• The mahogany wood - mature trees the reserve is laid out in.

When to go

December to April is the dry season. Feeding time in the mid-afternoon, generally around two, is when the monkeys come in and is the point of timing a visit. Mornings are quiet and see fewer animals.

Before you go

Outside feeding time there can be very little to see, and visitors who arrive in the morning often leave disappointed. The monkeys are wild and free to leave, so nothing is guaranteed. Some enclosures for the caged species are dated. Feeding by visitors is prohibited.

Nearby

Farley Hill is next door; Speightstown is fifteen minutes west.

Key facts