Holiday expert and specialist tour operator The Gambia Experience has donated £500 to help support a monkey park located by Bijilo beach in The Gambia.

The Bijilo Forest Park & Nature Trail, or Monkey Park as it's commonly called, is well known to visitors to The Gambia but is currently under threat. Established in 1951 at the southern end of Senegambia Beach, it has remained to be a popular tourist attraction and educational aid. There are two species of monkeys who live there, the ever curious and friendly Green Vervet Monkeys, and the shyer Western Red Colobus Monkey, an endangered species.

Last year a portion of the park was destroyed to construct a conference centre while earlier this year the whole park came under threat when it lost its status as a reserve. However due to the protest of many dedicated people, including the environmentalists Green Up Gambia, and the thousands of people who signed a petition, this decision was overturned and the park's reserve status reinstated. A small pool that the park's monkeys relied on for water, as well as fruit trees that provided an important food source, were destroyed when the conference centre site was cleared. A temporary solution has since been found and donations will contribute to the funds needed to build a permanent watering hole with a handpump along with a second watering hole which is needed in the forthcoming dry season, to help the forest thrive once again.

The Gambia Experience has long been supporting good causes in The Gambia, assisting both UK and Gambian based charities and community initiatives which include bringing solar lighting to Gambian villages. The operator has helped build, renovate and equip schools and, together with the help of its customers as well as matching their donations and donating £10 for every 100 completed holiday questionnaires, the company has assisted more than 120 projects to date.

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PRESS INFORMATION:For information on this press release please contact Louise Thomas or Stacey Parsons on 01489 866 963 or email
press-office@serenityholidays.co.uk. For more information on Green Up Gambia visit http://www.greenupgambia.org/project/monkey-park-restoration. 

The Gambia Experience is a trade name of Serenity Holidays, a fully bonded and independent tour operator under ATOL 1866 and member of ABTA, ABTOT, AITO and IATA. The company has been providing holidays and flights to The Gambia for 30 years and has received many travel industry awards, including “Best Holiday Company to Africa” at the British Travel Awards in November 2017, for which it is a finalist in the 2018 awards – winners to be announced on 28th November. For information on holidays and experiences visit Gambia.co.uk