The Monkey Forest of Padangtegal is located along Monkey Forest Road in Ubud center and is one of the sights of interest to visit if you are staying in Ubud. When you visit the Monkey Forest in Ubud, you’ll want to not only see and take photos of the cute monkeys but also enjoy the the walk in the forest and visit the temple there.

The monkeys here are long tailed macaques. These are a common species of monkeys found in many parts of South East Asia and live comfortably in areas inhabited by humans. They are so well adapted and sometimes want to share your food and belongings too ! It is nice to have more friends but do be careful not to get too friendly with these cute creatures when you visit the Monkey Forest with your latest SLR camera.

Stone and Living Guardians of the Temple - Monkey Forest Ubud Bali

Monkeys in Bali represent positive and negative forces. Those monkeys found near temples are considered to be the temple guardians and are protected. Unfortunately those that raid rice fields and snatch items from homes are considered thieves !

The Monkey Forest is in fact a sacred Hindu site. Balinese villages usually have 3 main temple sites : Pura Puseh, Pura Desa and Pura Dalem. Each one is associated with one of the Hindu Gods; Wisnu, Brahma and Siwa respectively. The Monkey Forest site is the site of Padangtegal’s Pura Dalem.

The forest itself is cool and peaceful. There have been 115 species of trees identified at the Monkey Forest in Ubud. Some trees are used for building of shrines or cremation ceremonies such as the Majegan. Some other trees you will see are the Kayumanis (Cinnamon), Banyan Tree and Rambutan tree with its delicious succulent fruit.

Monkeys Preening at Monkey Forest in Ubud

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