Sacred Monkey Forest

By the time I had arrived in Ubud and checked in to the hotel on my first day in Bali, it was already late afternoon. Not wanting to waste a minute, I took a walk through the town to Mandala Wisata WenaraWana - the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. 

In accordance with the Hindu Tri Hata Karana (harmonious relationships between humans, between humans and nature, and between humans and God), the Monkey Forest is both a nature reserve for Balinese Long-tail Macaques as well as an active temple complex made up of three temples.

Deep in the jungle (or so it feels), visitors walk around in close proximity to the mischievous monkeys. (The monkeys here seemed less aggressive than those at Hua Hin).

deep in the jungle at the Monkey Forest

The first temple I came to was Pura Beji, a holy spring temple used for ritual purification. This one was my favorite of the three.

Pura Beji

Other temples included Pura Dalem Agung Padantegal, the Great Temple of Death, dedicated to Shiva, the goddess of destruction and transformation. This temple serves as the main temple for the complex. I thought that the third one was quite interesting. Pura Prajipati is a funerary temple that contains a temporary cemetery where the deceased are buried until the village mass-cremation ceremony held every five years.

Balinese Macaques

Of course, the monkeys were the stars of the show! There are something like six-hundred monkeys protected at the Monkey Forest. They tend to pretty much ignore people unless they have some food!

As it approached dusk, the forest took on a really amazing light. It was a quiet and peaceful place. After being in Bangkok for so long, spending time in nature felt good.