Sacred Monkey Forest, Ubud Bali
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One of my reasons for choosing Ubud was to visit the Sacred Monkey Forest. I had no idea what I would find, but it sounded promising.
I arrived early in the morning, paid my $1.50 entrance fee, bought some bananas, and headed into the forest. |
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I was greeted immediately by a few monkeys who must have the routine down, close to the entrance they will find people passing out bananas. They come up to you and take the banana from your hand, then sit back and enjoy their treat.
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The forest itself is beautiful, the path clearly defined, and monkeys are everywhere! Around 340 long tailed Macaque monkeys live in the forest. There are 4 different troupes, and while they appear to live in harmony, there can be outbursts of disagreement between them.
They ask you not to touch the monkeys, but what they didn’t say is what to do if a monkey touches you!
I was walking along, and a monkey jumped on me and sat perched on my shoulder. I continued walking a short distance, and when I came to an area where the wall by the road was a little higher, I leaned slightly to the right, and he jumped off onto the wall.
It was such an incredible feeling having that monkey sitting on my shoulder!
Right after he jumped off, two baby monkeys were sitting on the road, and one of them came up to me and started climbing up my leg, wrapping his little arms and legs around my calf, peering up at me.
He felt so warm and soft, I stood still and talked to him, then he jumped off. The other baby monkey looked like he was going to try the same thing, then changed his mind and the two of them scurried off together.
That was the only physical contact I had with the monkeys, and I don’t think they do that too often, so I wouldn’t worry about it if you are thinking about visiting the Sacred Monkey Forest. For me it was certainly a thrill, but I know not everybody would be as happy as I was to have that happen, lol.
It was such a pleasure to see the monkeys playing together.
They ask you not to touch the monkeys, but what they didn’t say is what to do if a monkey touches you!
I was walking along, and a monkey jumped on me and sat perched on my shoulder. I continued walking a short distance, and when I came to an area where the wall by the road was a little higher, I leaned slightly to the right, and he jumped off onto the wall.
It was such an incredible feeling having that monkey sitting on my shoulder!
Right after he jumped off, two baby monkeys were sitting on the road, and one of them came up to me and started climbing up my leg, wrapping his little arms and legs around my calf, peering up at me.
He felt so warm and soft, I stood still and talked to him, then he jumped off. The other baby monkey looked like he was going to try the same thing, then changed his mind and the two of them scurried off together.
That was the only physical contact I had with the monkeys, and I don’t think they do that too often, so I wouldn’t worry about it if you are thinking about visiting the Sacred Monkey Forest. For me it was certainly a thrill, but I know not everybody would be as happy as I was to have that happen, lol.
It was such a pleasure to see the monkeys playing together.
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They displayed a lot of affection towards each other
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And of course the baby monkeys are always so cute
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In the center of the forest is a Sacred Hindu temple. When I was there it was closed, work was being done on it. Balinese Hinduism is slightly different than India’s Hinduism. Balinese Hinduism combines aspects of Animism, Ancestor Worship, Buddhism, and Hinduism.
The Hindus believe that the monkeys protect the temple, and keep evil spirits away. |
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I had a wonderful time visiting the Sacred Monkey Forest. It would be worth a trip back to Bali just to go again, and of course catch the Griya Faria performance again too.