On a recent visit to the Monkey Forest in Ubud on a hot and steamy day in January 2022 Sovyan & I did the walking tour around the reserve amidst 340 + long tailed Monkeys of various ages calling it home sweet home & living a Royal and spiritual life.
Visitors are urged to deliberately not engage with the monkeys which is NO easy feat. Monkeys here are notorious for crossing boundaries with the visitors and will rummage through your bags and lift small items should the opportunity arise, especially food and mobile phones eek. I watched with good humour as a lady had a chocolate bar sniffed out in her bag then artfully lifted by a young monkey who thought it must have been Xmas- Yum, although probably not good for the youngster.
Visitors are advised (lots of signage) to NOT engage in play, nor make direct eye contact, especially the older monkeys may see it as an act of aggression.
Luckily this visit, we chose NOT to buy Bananas from sellers thus avoiding too much close contact – it can be a bit overwhelming lol.
An absolute Bali Cultural trip worth taking in 31 acres of tropical jungle amidst Ancient Temples and Statues. A must for any Bali visit. Wear light clothing as it can get quite steamy if you are not used to Wet Tropics.
