This is the surreal moment hundreds of wild monkeys walked single-file along a narrow wall as they looked for food in southern Thailand.

The troop of primates appeared to be on a joint foraging missing when they were seen in Prachuap Khiri Khan on August 1.

Residents believe they had travelled together down from the nearby Hin Lek Fai mountain where they roam freely and wanted to find snacks from the nearby homes and restaurants.

Onlooker Apichart Hongsakul estimated there were more than 2,000 of the hungry monkeys.

He said: ‘We would never see this many monkeys together in the town before the pandemic started. Now they come down from the mountain together to look for food. There were more than 2,000 that day.’

The coastal province is normally a popular destination for tourists who would hike in the mountain and feed the wild monkeys. However, restrictions imposed to stop the seasonal respiratory virus Covid-19 have prevented tourists from entering the country since March 22 last year.

Ministers have also rolled out curfews and mass closures of businesses to try and reduce another wave of the illness, which has further impacted domestic tourism.

Thailand has recorded 693,305 Covid-19 cases and 5,663 deaths as of August 5.

Analysts said that between now and 2026, around seven million workers in Thailand will continue to be affected by the economic harm from the Covid-19 pandemic.