The Sacred Monkey Forest Ubud is a magical place where conservation and ecotourism mesh in the heart of a beautiful city. The forest is literally in the center of Ubud which is the best reason to visit Bali, Indonesia. Monkeys happen to be one of my favorite animals and I’ve been lucky with other monkey encounters. In the dozen or so times I’ve seen them in Asia this forest had the most peaceful and friendly monkeys.
Often you hear horror stories about how monkeys attacked or stole something from tourists but the conservation led by the park rangers at the Sacred Monkey Forest allows for a safe and enjoyable monkey experience for anyone. I highly recommend visiting in the morning; we went twice and the monkeys were more active before noon and there were less visitors too.
WARNING: FOLLOW THE RULES THEY ARE STILL WILD ANIMALS
How to Get to Ubud’s Sacred Monkey Forest
First you have to get to Ubud. The cheapest and best way is scheduling a shared van (60-70,000IDR)
The monkey forest is in the center of the city. ~5 min walk from most guest houses/hotels.
Admission – 40,000IDR (30,000 for kids)
After the monkey forest be sure to check out Beji Ayu, they are the best spa in Ubud!
The conservation at this forest is truly spectacular. With over 600 monkeys living there as of 2016 you are guaranteed to see monkeys of all ages. I saw dozens of families nursing little babies. They will let you get close enough for a photo and the older ones might climb on you. Everyone can feel the magic of The Sacred Monkey Forest Ubud.
Looking for other great backpacking ideas for Indonesia?
Park rangers sell bananas so that you can feed the monkeys. A large bunch is 50,000IDR or you can buy smaller ones for as low as 10,000IDR. We bought a large bunch and the park ranger helped us feed a group of monkeys. They should tell you to use an open hand and don’t try to keep the food away from the monkeys. This is the only way that we saw them become aggressive towards people but we didn’t see any serious injuries. If you happen to get hurt there is a first aid ranger station nearby. The Sacred Monkey Forest Ubud can bring adventurous experience to you.
What to do on Bali, Indonesia 
The forest is also home to a few temples, a cemetery, an amphitheater and a couple other buildings. The monkeys rule all of these ancient structures and climb throughout freely.
Do you know of another great animal encounter? Share it with me below because I’d love to check it out!
Places to see in Bali Indonesia
Looking gor more to do in Bali? Check out my friend Cynthia ‘s awesome guide to the island!
38 comments
Hi Michael,
Love it!
We’ve been here a few times. Always love buying the bushel of bananas to see the troop male rip them out of your hands LOL.
Ryan
It’s amazing that the monkeys can roam freely throughout the structures! I would definitely like to see this firsthand.
Well worth the trip! The monkeys rule the whole forest and all the buildings. its awesome 🙂
They are so cute. Lucky you, to see this beauty: ))
Aw this is so cute! I would love to go the Sacred Monkey Forest. I’m thinking about Bali in January and will add this experience to my list! 🙂
What an amazing experience. I love monkeys, too. You have some beautiful photos there. I guess my best animal experience was staying at homestead outside Canberra Australia and seeing the wildlife there.
I just love those mischievous little monkeys! I’ve heard how they can steal your wallets, snacks and whatever else you may be carrying, but they are so cute! Also those are awesome photo’s!
So want to go to this place and see the monkeys road freely. LOoks like there is an amazing experience to be had.
So precious…I love that they can roam freely and not confined. Would love to visit and watch them in a more natural habitat.
Its a truly magical experience watching them in the forest.
Adding this one to my ever growing list! Love seeing animals throughout our travels and these little guys are too adorable not visit. We saw many different kinds of wildlife on our recent road trip through 13 different national parks and it was amazing! Thanks for sharing.
Wow 13 National Parks? And a road trip? That had to be in America! Which was your favorite park?
They are so gorgeous, and great that you can get close enough to feed them. Stunning photos, especially of the babies. This is now on my bucket list!
I absolutely loved watching the babies. SOOOO adorable. One of them was trying to crawl away and its mom grabbed it by the tail. I couldn’t help but laugh
Oh my god, these guys are so cute. We should be going to Bali this year so we will have to go and see them, thank you for sharing such an amazing place.
[…] 1. Sacred Monkey Forest […]
Ohhh I’ve been here- the monkeys are super cheeky! Great photos!
Cheeky monkeys indeed! These were friendlier than many others I’ve encountered though.
Nice clicks. This is something you get to see in India as well.
I am visiting India in March-April next year. Any advice for a monkey forest like Ubud’s there?
Hey!
You have no idea what I would do to roam around these precious monkies. Especially since I would have the opportunity to feed them. Amazing pictures btw!
I hope you get to roam with these creatures soon!
Those baby monkeys are so cute. The monkeys in Bali are pretty brazen though. You have to look out for your camera and other belongings or you’re likely to lose them!
Absolutely! I only brought things that were attached to me when I visited.
AW! Those baby monkeys are too cute! I saw a few in Malaysia and I just love them. This is the place for me!
The babies are the cutest!
Lovely monkeys! You’ll find much the same in Sri Lanka – there are temples where the monkeys seem to have taken up residence.
It sounds like I need to add Sri Lanka to my bucketlist!
My trip into the Monkey Forest was a little different. We foolishly purchased the bananas from the stand right outside the forest. The monkeys came from every direction and stole them right our hands and then fought each other. It was crazy and pretty frightening.
oh my! That sounds pretty intense. There are warning signs about bringing food in and I guess that’s why
We have something similar in India too. These monkeys are around sacred shrines and they accept devotees offerings. Unless you play goofy with them, they are really friendly. We just buy 100’s of banana’s and they accept them very happily and just leave. Happy to read about similarities between Ubud & some of the places in India.
Vishal, where in India? I’m on my way there next March/April and would love to stop by.
My favorite part of travel is getting up close and personal with the locals (animals) They are too adorable I’d have trouble not getting too close!
Shane, you and I are one in the same when it comes to animals!
Would love to try this! I am planning to visit Bali in December and this post’s timing is perfect. Thanks for sharing this.
Have fun in Bali! Be sure to check out this post on 10 ways to get the most out of Ubud
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