Gianyar, Regency

Ubud’s Monkey Forest
Organized by the Village of Padang Tegal

While the number of visitors to the ‘Mandala Wisata Wanara Wana’ (Monkey Forest) has decreased by 70 %, the effort to conserve of the plants and fauna has not stopped. This naturally beautiful tourism destination is the main source of income for the Padang Tegal villagers in Ubud. For that reason, the management and the administration of the forest, which has many kinds of tropical trees and is populated by 250 monkeys, has become a priority. “We protect and conserve this forest in order to preserve our ancestors’ heritage and because it is the main source of income for the villagers,” explained the Head organizer of the Monkey Forest, I Wayan Suarjana recently.

In this forest, we can see monkeys playing and also find thousands of green tropical trees. The forest is located 25 kilometers north of Denpasar city and is also populated with some Rusa (deer). Visitors can visit several temples such as Pura Dalem, Pura Majapahit, Pura Beji, Pura Prajapati and the ancient local funerals which all make the place such a beautiful and sacred forest.
The male monkey usually weighs about 8-10 kilograms with long fangs and large shoulders and its hair is the same colour as its moustache. The female monkey is smaller then the male weighing about 4-8 kilograms, they usually give birth in May and August every year. Although they may seem to be friendly, don’t ever disturb them or destroy their habitat, as this will make them angry. When you are in the forest and require information about the trees, you can ask the officers, who wear green cloth-es.
The harmony of the forest is very important to the workers there. Following the Balinese way, they usually give offerings for the forest in all the temples. They also celebrate Tumpak Kandang (the ceremony for animals) in order to ask for the safety of animals there and celebrate Tumpek Bubuh (the ceremony for plants) to maintain the beauty of the flora.
This forest is also used for research in conservation. For instance, in 1990-1991, the act of the monkeys were observed and studied by Alabama University (USA) in cooperation with Udayana University (Bali), also in 1998, Central Washington University also did research, where scientists studied Balinese monkeys further.
This Monkey Forest, which is located in Padang Tegal village, Ubud, has 21 local workers. Being the forest officials, they should have a recommendation from the prajuru of the Padang Tegal Village. There duties range from cleaning to security guards and sometimes are guides for the visitors.
Formerly, a security system was only applied in the parking area and at the entrance gate, after that the visitor was free to enjoy the beauty of the forest. Now, in order to make visitors feel more secure there are officials all over the area, this is not meant to be intimidating just to keep people safe from the monkeys, and to be available to answer any questions visitors may have.
According to him it is not just the officials or the villagers who maintain the forest but also the visitors. They often come to the forest and plant seeds or help with general cleaning.
Wayan Suarjana said that 20 % of the money derived from the admission ticket goes to Gianyar Government and the rest is given to Padang Tegal Village for renovating the forest. (sana)