Monkeys in Bali: My Wild Story & How to Visit the Ubud Monkey Sanctuary

You know those travel moments that stay with you forever? This is the story of one of those moments for me… I was so excited while planning my trip that I would be able to see monkeys in Bali, but then my wish came true…

And you know what they say about being careful about your wishes; read on for a couple laughs and hopefully a few lessons so you don’t wind up in a situation similar to mine!

And if you’re looking for more tips for your trip to Bali, you’ll want to check out this super thorough guide to Bali for first timers!

Planning to See Monkeys in Bali

Bali, Indonesia is known to be home to many long tailed macaques. While planning my two and a half week trip to Bali, I was really excited to see them in the wilds and I came across a lot of recommendations to check out the Monkey Forest in Ubud. I love animals and seeing them in ethical ways… so this was definitely something I put on my original list of things to do on my trip.

Ubud Monkey Forest

If you’re planning to spend time near Ubud — which you definitely should and I’ll share more info for Ubud soon — and enjoy seeing wild animals, you’ll want to add the Monkey Forest to your own plans!

From Ubud city center, it’s really easy to get to either by walking or taking a quick scooter ride depending on where your accommodation is located in the city. The entrance fee is 80K IDR (~$5 USD).

If you’re not staying in Ubud, this tour has incredible reviews and will take you to several Ubud-area highlights, which will include a stop at the Ubud Monkey Forest Sanctuary as part of the experience. If you prefer, you can also hire a private driver to bring you to the Monkey Forest as well as other customized stops!

Scrapping Our Plans

Unfortunately for my friend and I, we had a last minute flight cancellation which meant we had to rearrange our trip quite a bit, and we didn’t actually get to experience the Monkey Forest in Ubud.

I was disappointed, but hopeful, that we would encounter wild monkeys in other places around Bali!

My Experience with the Monkeys in Bali

The first day we arrived in Bali, we dropped off our luggage, grabbed some lunch, and prepared to go to the Uluwatu Temple to watch the sunset and Kecak Dance (a unique, cultural fire dance).

Our accommodation was super close to the temple, so we just hopped on Grab Bikes without realizing that we were dropped off too early, about half a mile from the Temple entrance.

Read this post if you need help figuring out your Bali accommodations!

As we were walking down the dirt path we were dropped off on, I spotted them! The monkeys! And not only did I see the monkeys for the first time in Bali… I spotted a mom and her baby right on the path in front of us!

It was a magical moment!

My Friend’s Apprehension of Monkeys

All of sudden, my friend stops short… I asked him what was wrong, and it turns out that he’s very apprehensive about monkeys because monkeys LOVE to take anything they think could be food. I joked a bit that they were so cute and couldn’t harm anything, but didn’t want to make him uncomfortable so we turned around and made our way to the temple for the fire dance.

Visiting Uluwatu Temple & Seeing the Kecak Dance

When we arrived at the temple, we paid the entrance fee and bought a ticket for the show, were each given a sarong and sash to wrap around our waists and headed inside.

Uluwtau temple is a great sunset spot overlooking some cliffs over the ocean; it’s also known for… having lots of wild monkeys! Again, I was super excited to see them out and about while wandering the ground and before heading in to watch the fire dance.

The fire dance was so unique (you can read more about it here); my friend even got pulled into the dance twice which was awesome! Then, as the sun came down, it was time to head back to the hotel.

An Unforgettable Way to End the Night

We left the outdoor auditorium with the rest of the massive crowd, and as we were talking about how great the experience was, I felt something tug on my sarong.

Now, you may have put two and two together by this point, but in my exhausted-from-traveling-across-the-world-earlier-that-morning mental state… I did not…

Until there was an even sharper tug on my sarong, a feeling of something climbing up my leg, and realization that a monkey was trying to rip my purse off.

Yep, I got mugged by the monkeys in Bali! 🙈

You see, I normally keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer attached to the outside of my purse for easy access, and when the monkey saw it dangling and swinging, I guess it thought the hand sanitizer was food? Luckily, the hand sanitizer snapped off pretty easily the second time, so the monkey left me alone afterwards!

FAQs

Final Thoughts on the Monkeys in Bali

Let’s just say I totally understand my friend’s monkey hesitation now; while I still think they are super adorable, I will be cautious with what items I have on me if I know monkeys will be around!

Now, the goal of this post isn’t to scare you away from the monkeys in Bali; just to make you aware they they like all things flashy, shiny, crinkly… basically anything that is attention-grabbing, is likely to grab a monkey’s attention!

Curious about the Kecak Dance after reading this post? Read my thoughts on the traditional Balinese fire dance!