Sangeh Monkey Forest: A Wonderful Place of Hundreds Tame Monkey

Sangeh Monkey Forest is one of the tourist attractions located on Banjar Brahmana, Sangeh Village, Abiansemal District, Badung Regency, Bali Province. This object is inhabited by hundreds of tame monkeys characterized as gray monkeys. This area is also known as Alas Pala which in Indonesian means Hutan Pala and has homogeneous plant species with a total area of 13,968 hectares. Sangeh Monkey Forest was the first monkey forest that was introduced as a tourist attraction in Bali. It contains tall nutmeg trees that shade the temples. These temples were built in the 17th century, during the glory days of the Mengwi Kingdom.

The Sangeh Monkey Forest entrance ticket price is quite affordable. For domestic visitors, the ticket price starts from IDR 5,000 for ages 5-10 years and IDR 15,000 for ages 10 years and over. Meanwhile, for foreign visitors, the ticket price is IDR 15,000 for the kids and IDR 30,000 for the adults. This destination is also open every day starting from 8 AM to 5 PM WITA.

Upon entering this tourist attraction, visitors are expected to always be careful with their luggage. In addition, several other rules must be obeyed by visitors, including women who are on their period and are prohibited from entering the sacred area, namely the forest area, dressing politely and neatly, not touching monkeys, and maintaining cleanliness during their visit to Sangeh Monkey Forest.

Pucak Bukit Sari Temple (Source: Private Collection)

The Sangeh Monkey Forest forest area has several temples that are places of worship for Hindus. From the main gate, we can already see a large temple called Pura Pucak Bukit Sari. Moving to the east, we will see a temple that is not too small in size, called Pura Melanting. Outside of this forest area, we will see two more temples, namely Batan Pole Temple and Anyar Temple. Around this area, there is a very large and sacred pole tree, which is often referred to by residents as the Lanang Wadon Tree. The tree is named so because it appears to have human-like 'organs'. At the bottom of the tree is a hole that resembles a woman's genitals and from the hole comes another trunk that looks like a man's genitals. From this phenomenon, the tree was named Pohon Lanang Wadon which means "Male and Female".

Lanang Wadon Tree (Source: Private Collection)

Lanang Wadon Tree in Close Distance (Source: Private Collection)

This tourist area is perfect for enjoying nature which is still beautiful and brisk. A total of 54 types of towering trees shade the existing temples. Some of these plant species include Sandpaper, Pule, Buni, Yellow Cempaka, Kepohpoh, and others. These trees are widely scattered decorating the paths on the right and left, providing a soothing and calming atmosphere. Usually around 300 visitors, both local and foreign tourists will come to visit and enjoy the atmosphere of Sangeh Forest while looking around and taking pictures with the monkeys. Most visits usually occur on major Hindu holidays, such as the Umanis Galungan and Umanis Kuningan holidays, which are dominated by local residents who are enjoying the holidays with their families.

Towering Pala Tree (Source: Private Collection)

In addition to the forest atmosphere, there are also several statues of various sizes, ranging from small to large. The statues are fragments of the Ramayana in Hindu mythology. The statues include the statues of Lord Rama, Sita, and Hanuman, as well as several small monkey statues that are the troops of Hanoman. These statues are very suitable to be used as photo spots in this tourist area.

Sangeh Monkey Forest also has several kiosks that sell souvenirs ranging from clothes, bags, food, and drinks. You can make these souvenirs for your relatives when visiting this tourist attraction.

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