Mild Monkeys at Hill Range

Bali has many tourist objects inhabited by monkeys. Yeh Ketipat village, Buleleng also has forest area along with tens of corpulent and very mild monkeys as many travelers feed them. Travelers deliberately stop there and take photograph with the monkeys.

Yeh Ketipat village is situated at Denpasar-Singaraja route—some 7 km in the north of Bedugul or some 45 km from Denpasar. The ambience here is still natural. There are two lakes at its vicinity, namely Lake Buyan and Tamblingan with cobalt blue water. Hills range view looks verdant adorned with thinly misty and cool breeze complete the allurement of the ambience.
Monkeys at this area are not as many as that of Sangeh (Badung) or Alas Kedaton (Tabanan) that has been known as monkey-forest tourist object. However, monkeys at Yeh Ketipat are companionable when they see the passing cars so many passengers throw food at them. Even, some guests make a break in their journey at this location. Snacks like bananas and peanut are much favored by the monkeys.
For those who happen to pass through at the location do not worry if you do not bring any snacks. On the roadside near the forest, there are several stalls that sell bananas, peanut or boiled yam. All of these, except for feeding the monkeys, are delicious for self-consumption while enjoying beautiful scenery of the surroundings. Even, the parking attendant will be glad to assist the travelers to find out safe and convenient place for parking.
According to Mrs. Ketut, a food hawker on the location, foreign travelers most frequently stop there. They buy bananas and then it is given to the monkeys that never feel satisfied. They will always eat every time they are fed. Sometimes, the monkeys mount on the shoulder as if they would like to be photographed.
It is said that local people believe if the monkey dies, its friends will bury it in a secret place. “Its proof, I really never found its body,” Mrs. Ketut said.
It was explained, there was a group of people passing through the location by cars one evening. Since it was a bit misty, those people drove slowly. Suddenly, the front car stopped as the driver saw a dead monkey on the road that might have been hit by a car. The driver of the car stopped his car immediately to remove the dead monkey to the roadside. When he was about to touch it, suddenly there were tens of monkeys jumped down from the tree while shouting. They gazed at the driver in frightening eyes.
Since the driver was afraid, returned to the car. The monkeys disappeared in the dark of the night. In the next morning, the dead monkey has vanished at the previous place. “This indicates that it was buried in a hidden place,” she added. (BTN/Gung Man)