The Sacred Monkey Forest lies beyond the rice fields, not far from Ubud - the center of Bali's culture and arts. About six hectares of equatorial jungle have become home to a thousand monkeys, which live here in natural conditions and look at tourists as guests. It is a sort of zoo in reverse - here the monkeys will be watching you, not only you watching them.
However, the monkeys of the Sacred Forest have long grown used to visitors - up to 15 thousand tourists come here each month, and local residents revere them as sacred animals and visit the temples on the Forest grounds. One local legend claims that the inhabitants of the Monkey Forest are the reincarnated warriors of the mythical monkey-man deity Hanuman.
In truth, these tailed warriors are now known not so much for their martial exploits as for their ability to snatch valuable things in the blink of an eye or quietly pick tourists' pockets and vanish into the jungle thickets. Before heading to the Monkey Forest, it is better to leave everything valuable at the hotel, and whatever you do take with you - a phone, a camera - hide it more securely or hold on to it more tightly.
Despite the monkeys' criminal tendencies, a walk through their territory will give you plenty of pleasant impressions. Ancient temples lost in the depths of the jungle, вековые деревья, whose crowns are so high and lush that they block out the sky, and magnificent old stone statues and bas-reliefs wherever you look - a true monkey kingdom!
