The Ultimate Guide To The Ubud Monkey Forest In Bali

Last Updated: December 10 2020

If your staying around Ubud in Bali, the monkey forest is a must! Although a very different experience compared to forests in the UK haha, it is the place to go if your looking for wildlife. It is home to over 600 Balinese long-tailed monkeys. They are also known as long tailed macaques and they can swim apparently! We didn’t even know monkeys could swim until we saw them swimming in the fountain! Here is some information you should know about the Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud!

How to get there:

We were staying on the monkey forest road in Ubud so it was only a few minutes walk from our accommodation. Upon arrival just go to the ticket counter and purchase a ticket, and you can walk straight in. There are multiple tour companies that offer a day tour around Ubud. These include the monkey forest however we found the cost to be very pricey.

There is a public bus in Bali called the Kura Kura that is reasonably priced. It does stop in Ubud and goes to other destinations but other than that we don’t know much about it. We found that getting a taxi to Ubud was the most efficient way of getting there. Just make sure the taxi has a meter or you have agreed a negotiated price.

There is quite a lot to see around Ubud including the rice terraces and Tegenungan waterfall so our advice would be to hire a private driver for a day. Our driver gave us a booklet and asked what we’d like to see around the area. We decided not to go to the monkey forest this way as it was so close to our accommodation and we wanted to fit in seeing other things. Click here for more information on hiring a private driver in Bali.

How much is it?

The entrance ticket to the Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud is 50,000IDR (around £2.50) for an adult and 40,000 IDR (around £2) for a child.

Safety Precautions:

Although cute the monkeys can be quite boisterous and naughty! I had one steal a map out of my pocket and practically sit on my lap. He then decided to shove his hands into my pocket to see if i had any food. Jack had one run up his leg to try and get in his pocket and it even put Jacks arm in his mouth but luckily he didn’t bite!

Although we didn’t see any monkeys be violent, we have read reviews on mothers being very protective over their babies. If a baby monkey does jump on you just get up and slowly walk off, it will usually jump off. They may be super cute but it just isn’t worth being bitten for.

In the UK the only wildlife you have to get used too are deer, foxes and badgers and even these can be quite uncommon. It was definitely an experience, and we were very nervous at first. Some of the monkeys definitely look a lot bigger in person than when you see pictures on the internet haha!

There are also safety precautions in the Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud that you should adhere to. These include not staring at monkeys directly in the eyes or grinning at them as they can see this as a threat. Be careful with all phones, sunglasses and jewellery. Better yet just don’t take sunglasses or jewellery with you! We got to the monkey forest and there was a sign warning to be careful with earrings. I still had mine in so I was slightly nervous at that point haha!

Also be mindful of food and water. Keep everything in your bag because if the monkeys see your food, they will take it no doubt about it! If they do try and take it don’t resist and just give it to them because it will be safer. If it is an important item such as a phone apparently the best thing to do is go and find a ranger.

As enjoyable as it is walking around the monkey forest it is quite sad to see how much the monkeys have become accustomed to eating human food. There are rangers feeding them fresh vegetables in the sanctuary. However they still opt for taking processed food of humans rather then their natural diet, which isn’t a good thing.

What is the most important thing?

HAVE FUN! It can be nerve wracking but it is one hell of an experience. Yes there are precautions to take and it is good to be aware, but don’t ruin the experience by worrying the whole time you are walking around! The Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud, is definitely a place to visit!

Thanks so much for reading this post! We hope this helps if you are planning a trip to Ubud and has encouraged you to visit the Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud!

P.S. We’ve now started our YouTube channel and would love it if you could take a look at our first video here.