The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary

The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary is a Balinese Hindu site at the bottom of Monkey Forest Road and populated by cheeky long-tailed macaques. It’s a popular site with visitors to Ubud who come to see the monkeys and the temples within the sanctuary.

There are hundreds of monkeys living in and around the monkey forest. You can purchase food for them at the entrance gate but be warned that the monkeys are aggresive opportunists – particularly in their pursuit of food. They will think nothing of climbing on you or raking through your bag in search of something edible.

There are 3 temples within the forest, Pura Dalem (death temple), the Holy Bathing Temple and Pura Prajapati (funerary or cremation temple). All 3 of these temples are sacred, as is the forest and the monkeys, who are believed to protect the area from evil spirits.