Our World || Bali, Indonesia
Imagine going on a walk through a tropical jungle exploring ancient temples and statues, but as you do it you're accompanied by 12,000 monkeys.
In Bali, Indonesia there is village called Ubud that is home to a popular tourist attraction "The Sacred Monkey Forest".
The Monkey Forest Sanctuary
The sacred monkey forest sanctuary it is about 12.5 hectares in size just outside of the village of Ubud, before you even arrive you'll find monkeys everywhere inside and outside the sanctuary making it clear that you've arrived to the right destination. Once you pay for entry you have can freely roam through the sanctuary, navigating the many paths that weave through the forest taking you past many beautiful shrines, lush jungle and plenty of monkeys.
The mission of the sanctuary is to conserve the area based on a Hindu philosophy "Tri Hita Karana". Which means "Three ways to reach spiritual and physical well-being", that comprises of three relationships. Human with human, human with their environment and human with The Supreme God. The implementation of Tri Hita Karana can be seen in a special ritual performed in the temples that is called Tumpek Kandang and Tumpek Uduh, where the animal and plants are the subject of the rituals.
The Monkeys
The Balinese Long Tail Monkey (Macaca fascicularis is the scientific name) is the monkey that lives in the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. There are about 1260 monkeys living in the area that are divided into 10 groups, these groups generally live together in peace but because of population sometimes there is conflict between them.
The Long-tailed Macaque was assessed in 2022 for threatened species and it is recognised as high risk of extinction in the near future, aka endangered. So this sanctuary is more than just a tourist attraction but a safe space to help protect the future of this species.
Tips when visiting
Here are a few tips if you want to visit The Sacred Monkey Sanctuary.
Download the Following Apps:
NOMAD: Nomad is an esim service that will very easily set you up with data on your phone from pretty much anywhere in the world. Having data on your phone is necessary for maps, booking drivers, communication, translation and planning.
GOJEK: Gojek and Grab are the 2 main apps used in Bali for delivery and drivers, it's a very effective system they have, it's great prices and an abundance of drivers across the island.
Getting there: From pretty much anywhere you can book yourself a driver using Gojek and for a very reasonable price, this is a great option as it is more comfortable and convenient for you. Renting a bike is also another option, just remember to be road safe and prepared for a sudden change in weather and a long ride.
Entry Fee: There is an entry fee and every time I've gone they took cash only, the price currently (2024) is IDR: 100.000 that is approximately $10AUD per person.
Valuables: As always travelling anywhere you want to make sure all your valuables are safely stored in your bag, take extra care around the monkeys as they may take interest in things like your sun glasses, phones, camera, or any other loose items.
Remain calm and respectful: These Monkeys are free roaming and wild, they usually don't cause any harm and if they decide to touch, climb, jump on you don't panic. They usually are just curious, so let them do there thing and they tend to move on.
When to Visit: Universally a generalisation is that tourists visit attractions from midday to afternoon, so mornings are always great. Additionally after bad weather because that tends to scare a lot of people away and outside of school holidays.
The Pathway I like taking: There are many different ways you can navigate the sanctuary depending on what you want to see and how long you want to be there, the path I take I feel gives you a good taste of everything that will take you anywhere from an hour to 2 hours.
Start with walking from the Lobby to the "Holy Spring Templte", it's a beautiful location with shrines, a bridge over a river and massive vines that tower above you.
Walk along the "wooden path" past the "Open stage", if a show is playing you can sit and watch that's included in your entry fee. If it's not on then you can see it on your way back around.
Continue on through the "Forest Conservation" that wraps around the far side of the park, here you'll have a nice stroll amongst the forest and see plenty of monkeys.
Finally come back through past the "Main Temple" towards the "Funeral Places" before heading back to the Lobby.
For more information and a map check out Monkey Forest Ubud.