My favourite bit of Ubud: The Monkey Forest
This post is part of the Slow Bali article series.
While I did not fall in love with Ubud as a whole, I am completely in love with the sacred monkey forest. Everyday, I walked through it in order to reach Ubud, as my hotel was situated in the South, right by the forest.
I must admit that before arriving in Bali, I had been pretty much terrified of the cheeky little things. I had read numerous cases where tourists were attacked, scratched and bitten, and while it was highly unlikely that monkeys carried rabies, travel and health websites still recommended getting vaccinated for rabies if one got bitten. Since I didn’t want to have to spend days at hospitals waiting to get vaccinated, or even leave the country if the vaccine was not available, I decided I’d simply avoid the animals, not visit the forest and take a longer route while walking from my hotel to Ubud. Turns out, there is no way you can get away from the monkeys if you’re anywhere near the forest. It also turns out I had no reason to be paranoid.
The tourists who get bitten by monkeys are idiots. If you leave the monkeys alone, avoid eye contact and make sure you have no food in your bag, or worse, in your hands, they will leave you alone. If they still manage to land on your shoulder or head, you simply wait until they move on. But travellers are sometimes complete idiots, as we all know. Balinese women sell bunches of small bananas at the entrance of the monkey forest. A lot of travellers think purchasing them so they can feed them to the monkeys is a good idea. Wrong. Those who hold the bunch in full view quickly get surrounded by greedy monkeys, which snatch the whole bunch. When this happens, the very clever travellers try to get the bunch back, angering the monkeys so much that they flash their large fangs, or even worse, bite. Those who have food in their bags get monkeys jumping onto their shoulders, trying to open or take them. I’ve seen parents not noticing their children trying to step on the monkeys’ tail, thinking it funny.
Taking care not to do any of these things, Boyfriend and I could walk through the forest every day and observe the monkeys going about their daily business: Mothers with tiny babies, large males walking around intimidating everyone else, youngsters playing and tugging at each other.
The sacred monkey forest is not just a tourist attraction. As the name implies, it plays an important role in the spiritual lives of locals, and is the site of several temples. If you visit, it’s simply culturally insensitive to treat the monkeys as some sort of circus act, and very unwise not to respect the fact that these are wild animals.
Entrance to the monkey forest was 20,000 rupiah at the time of writing, but there is a small paved road running to the side of it which is used by pedestrians and motorbikes wishing to pass through for non-touristic purposes (in our case we had to pass this way to reach our hotel). From here, it’s pretty easy to hop over a very low wall and find yourself in the ‘proper forest’. While doing this makes sense if you need to walk by the monkey forest regularly (it’s not so nice to share a narrow street with motorbikes), I still suggest you pay the entrance fee at least once.
While there, I overheard a Spanish woman asking her friend whether he thought she could touch the monkeys as she crouched in front of a particularly cute one. I felt like hitting her with something very very heavy. The sacred monkey forest is not a petting zoo, and these are wild, potentially dangerous animals. Respect them, and the fact that you’re in their home, and you’ll have a wonderful experience.
-Text and Photography by Denise Pulis @ www.theartofslowtravel.com
31 Comments → “My favourite bit of Ubud: The Monkey Forest”
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I also loved the forest, but I am terrified by monkeys! Somehow I simply do not like them very much!!
And yes, you will LOVE melbourne – get over here already
Sounds like a great place to visit and I think people like the spanish lady should be banned of visiting such places. They are the people who don’t value these places!
Haha, I did actually get my rabies vaccine already, just in case. But I do not plan on treating any animals anywhere like they are my pets! Bali is moving higher and higher on my destination wishlist though, after this post and your accomodation review. It sounds like the perfect place to get away from everything. Thanks for sharing!
aaahh, wait until you read my upcoming posts…plenty of eye candy left (though I was really disappointed by food in Bali)
Ah good, looking forward to it!
A very engaging post and very engaging monkeys, especially the one holding his arse out!
As much as I intellectually understand that interacting with wild animals can be detrimental to both parties, there is always a part of me that wants the animal to approach me first. Even knowing that some monkeys bathe in their own urine doesn’t stop me from wanting to hold and pet a monkey. I mean, OMG! MONKEYS! How cool is that?
I know and I do understand the feeling. Every time I see a cute animal I need to practically eat my fingers to stop myself from trying to cuddle it!!!! Bit it would be VERY unwise to try to do that in the Monkey Forest
Mummy monkey is always watching….
My first trip to Bali was in 1976 (when I was in my early teens), and then again in 1994. Both trips my favorite place was Ubud and the Monkey Forest. The change in and around Kuta Beach was incredible. The differences in 20 years in that area was amazing.
However, Ubud and the Monkey Forest has remained relatively the same. A friend took a three week trip just this last summer, and the photos look as if Ubud has not changed much, which is wonderful!
I can say with very little doubt that the monkeys (actally macaques) will approach you. They may also attempt to take items from you. There are locals there that will “negotiate” with the macaque (for a small fee) for the return of your item. So I would recommend not bringing a camera without a strap, or other items that are not needed, just to be safe. Not to worry, I have not heard of anyone losing anything permanently.
I could sit and watch them for hours, probably even days, but do not miss out on the many temples, beaches, etc. If you have booked a hotel in Kuta, Denpasar, or any where in that area, talk to the concierge and find a good driver or tour to take you around the island. I wouldn’t recommend driving (which I did one day, and it was quite frightening).If you do decide to dare to drive, when in the outer villages, do be cautious of monkey crossings..they are small and do get hit.
As for food, there is good food there. I had the best apple pie (and I’m an American) I’ve ever eaten at a restaurant in Kuta. I also highly recommend Poppy’s Restaurant in Kuta. Just ask anyone at your hotel and they will be able give you directions (if staying in Kuta) or any cab driver will take you there. Poppy’s has the most incredible assortment of seafood you can imagine-all local and fresh, many alive in tanks that you can choose from. I had the most amazing prawns/shrimp that were at least 7 inches long and a beautiful turquoise color (I’ve never seen anything like it before or since.)
Just remember, you’re in a different country the culture may be a bit different than your’s at home. If you try to experience your time there you will likely fall in love with it as I have.
Last thought, as for the macaques bathing in their own urine, I never saw it. I saw them bathing in streams or the typical “picking” each other.
I can’t wait for my next trip. It’s been almost 20 years, so I think it’s time for another trip.
Hi JD,
20 years is a long time! From your description, I should warn you to brace yourself for the inevitable changes you will come across in Bali once you visit again. Thanks for commenting! (I’m not in Bali anymore. I mostly write posts after the trips I take).
A monkey forest. How lovely! Would love to see this.
Sounds and looks like a blast ! Thanks for sharing.
Bob would LOVE this place. And that photo of the monkey looking at the other ones butt is adorable!
Interesting article, thanks (^_^)
I’ll pass on this one. I prefer watching monkeys on the other side of a protective wall. I’ve nothing against them but I’d probably act like one of the idiots .
These guys are cute, so very like the baboons in Namibia we looked after at the sanctuary. They were used to humans, sitting on your shoulder etc, but you still had to be very careful with them. No loose items, no jewellery, you could lose your camera if you weren’t careful.
And I forgot I was wearing a $150US ear stud…and one bright little chap ate it! Just picked it out of my ear like a tick and swallowed it! Bummer.
It’s been almost 20 years since I’ve been, but Ubud was my favourite part of Bali. They sold bananas at the entrance gto the Monkey Forest then. Do they still?
My then 4-year-old still remembers the monkeys pulling out the waistband of her shorts to check for bananas. She loved them! And they weren’t aggressive… well, just in a charming and non-dangerous way, anyway. Too many idiots have passed through in the meantime, I suppose.
Hi Denise,
We really enjoyed the monkey forest while we were in Ubud also. Like you we had to walk through the forest to get to town, and like you we did not feed the monkeys and thought it unwise for people to buy the bananas to feed them. But we enjoyed watching and photographing the monkeys and wandering around the monkey forest and down to the river.
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
Thanks for stopping by. Yes, those monkeys are certainly photogenic!
Love the photos with the monkey statues too.
It’s amazing what idiots tourists can be – not to say that most of us haven’t done something stupid at one time or another. In Stanley Park, Vancouver you’ll see tourists trying to get up-close to raccoons – which like monkeys have sharp teeth that can do serious damage.
Would you go back to Bali?
Hi Leigh,
Yep, I have done stupid things while travelling, though I usually immediately realise what I’m doing, like accidentally standing in the middle of a bike lane in Amsterdam on my first day there (boy, do the Dutch take their bike lanes seriously).
Yes, I would go back to Bali, but only because now I’m itching to discover the ‘real’ Bali, which I really didn’t see much of during my two weeks there. I’d go up North as I’ve heard excellent things about it, and that it’s not so touristy. Mind you, I love being surrounded by other travellers, but for Balinese people, the advent of tourism apparently means transforming everything a disney land surrounded by souvenir shops (rather than preservation), and I didn’t fly for 20 hours to see that!
I like the Monkey Forest. At the right time of day, even with the monkeys, it can be a very peaceful place. I’ve seen tourists do some crazy things to the monkeys. I don’t blame them for fighting back. Enjoyed your photos; brought back memories for me
My husband and I were in Bali a couple years ago. We were passing through the forest and didn’t realize that we had a granola bar WRAPPER wedged in the bottom of a backpack. Like a flash, a “teenager” monkey climbed up my husband’s leg, clung to his shoulder, and tried to get into the bag. My husband felt quite threatened by the suddeness of the “assault,” and the monkey wouldn’t get off and couldn’t be shaken. Finally my husband got angry and tried to push the monkey away and got bitten. Thankfully this was before the rabies outbreak, or that would have been the end of our vacation and the start of something much more unpleasant. Anyhow, the monkeys CAN be very aggressive, even if you are not seeking contact with them. Under no circumstances should anyone be feeding them (in the Forest or anywhere in the wild), and you should do a thorough bag and pocket check before entering the Forest. I would also recommend not taking young children into the Forest at all, as macaques are surprisingly strong and could really injure a child if circumstances played out wrong. Long ago, I myself was unexpectedly attacked by a (bar’s tethered “pet”) macaque in Malaysia (when passing by, I accidentally stepped into its tethered “territory”),and although in the end you may suffer no harm, it can be a frightening or at least startling experience.
Hi Jess,
Yes, they can be aggressive, and I saw many people being ‘attacked’ because they were carrying food. Otherwise, if you are respectful and you avoid eye contact, the monkeys shouldn’t feel threatened. As you said though, they’re wild animals and should be treated as such.
By the way, all of your “Slow Bali” posts are excellent; I really enjoyed reading them!
Thank you!
Ok monkeys can be extremely dangerous, i was once attacked, by possibly a rabid one, for no reason at all. I think it is foolish to say only stupid tourists can get hurt. Realistically anyone can have a bad monkey experience they are great creatures but also wild animals and should be approached with caution….extreme caution.
Hi Chris,
I know what you mean and I agree, but you must admit that careless tourists are much more likely to be attacked by healthy monkeys. Regarding being attacked by a rabid monkey, in that case anyone can be attacked because the monkey’s behaviour is being influenced by the virus.
Otherwise, you’ll be generally safe if you don’t offer the monkey any food or if you don’t carry food on you or in your bag, if you avoid direct eye contact, and if you don’t do stupid things like trying to step on a monkey’s tail, as I have seen people doing.
Hi,
What was the name of the hotel you stayed in that was south of the monkey forest? I am traveling to Bali soon and would love to stay in this hotel!
Hi Tali,
The hotel was called Saren Indah.
I hope you have a great time in Bali!