“Don’t look them in the eyes.”
After hearing my scream, a park attendant planted himself just a few feet in front of me, looked me straight in the face, and that is verbatim what he said.
Advice noted.
When we had entered the monkey forest, the first thing we saw was a banana stand. After hearing about how wild the monkeys can get when they see food, I told my husband I didn’t want any. So he bought a bunch for himself and we continued down the path.
The second thing I saw was a couple trying to take a selfie with a monkey perched on a ledge. The monkey smacked their camera, hissed, and ran away.
No selfies. Also noted.
The Ubud Monkey Forest is a sanctuary nestled among the jungles of Ubud, Bali dedicated to the conservation of not only several species of monkeys, but also over a hundred species of trees, plants, and three Hindu temples. It’s a jungle paradise where the monkeys roam free and you can watch them interact in nature as you walk the dirt trails and wooden pathways. But this is definitely no zoo, and there is nothing to keep the monkeys from interacting with the humans as well, which is both the monkey forest’s unique charm as well as it’s weakness.
It wasn’t until we were halfway through the forest that I had my run-in with the park attendant. My husband was trying to snag a photo of the monkeys, so he handed me the bunch of bananas. Distracted, I accepted them, and that was my first mistake. What looked like a large papa monkey immediately tried to climb his way up my body to steal the whole bunch, and when I screamed he became aggravated. That was mistake two. Then I ran. Mistake three. Suddenly I was commanding the attention of not just this hungry monkey, but seemingly the whole park. Which is when the park attendant found me and uttered those ominous words. Now very self-aware, my embarrassment set in and I quickly handed what bananas were left to my husband and hid behind him until we had shuffled far enough down the path away from my spectators.
Whew, this place is not for the weak of heart.
From there the horror story ends. With no bananas and no extra baggage, the monkeys had nothing to target, and I was able to enjoy the beautiful forest and excitable monkeys from a safe distance.
The park is indeed beautiful. Full of lush jungle greenery and vine-covered stone statues, it feels like something from an Indiana Jones movie. I recommend setting aside a good chunk of time to see it because you’ll want to explore every corner. While wandering around, at times I would imagine Tarzan swinging from the hundreds of hanging tree vines, or else I would become riveted by a mama monkey carrying her tiny baby in her bosom. It’s a pretty other-worldly experience and you can set your expectations fairly high.
Being the type of couple that sends each other videos throughout the day of kittens having nightmares, or foxes making friends with dogs, we tend to get pretty heart-eyed at the sight of animals. If you can relate, this is my only advice for you: if you walk in expecting to be Snow White and make besties with all the little monkey friends, unfortunately I can promise you disappointment. But if you can pull away from the hordes of people and the particularly aggressive monkeys that they attract, I can promise you a fairly peaceful walk through a stunning jungle paradise. And maybe skip the bananas.
