Ubud Monkey Forest 2026 — Visiting Tips, Tickets & Safety

I have been guiding visitors around Ubud for years, and the Sacred Monkey Forest is on almost every itinerary I plan. It is one of the most photographed places in Bali — moss-covered temple gates, banyan-tree roots draped over stone walls, and macaques walking the bridges like they own the place. They essentially do.

But the Ubud Monkey Forest is also where most guests get into small trouble. A monkey grabs a phone. A pair of sunglasses disappears off a head. A water bottle gets opened by a curious macaque on a railing. None of it is dangerous if you understand the rules going in — and that is what this guide is for. As a family of certified Bali guides, we walk groups through the forest most weeks, and below is exactly the briefing I give every guest before we step through the gate.

What is the Ubud Monkey Forest?

The official name is Mandala Suci Wenara Wana — the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. It is a 12.5-hectare nature reserve and active Hindu temple complex on the southern edge of Ubud, in the village of Padangtegal. It is not a zoo. It is not a tourist attraction built around monkeys. It is a religious site where roughly 1,260 long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) live wild, and where the local Padangtegal community holds ceremonies at the three temples inside the forest.

That distinction matters. The macaques are not fed on a tourist schedule for entertainment — they are fed by forest rangers as part of habitat management. The temples are not décor — they are consecrated, with restricted inner courtyards reserved for praying Balinese. When you visit, you are walking through a working temple complex that happens to be co-inhabited by a large troop of monkeys.

The forest is governed by the Padangtegal village (desa adat) and run as a non-profit conservation site. Ticket revenue funds primate research, the village, the temple maintenance, and the rangers who keep the troops in check. For a wider look at Ubud's spiritual side, see our Ubud destination page and the broader Bali temples guide.

Where is the Monkey Forest in Ubud?

The Sacred Monkey Forest sits at the south end of Jalan Monkey Forest (yes, the road is named after it), in the Padangtegal banjar of Ubud. From the Ubud center — measured from Ubud Royal Palace — it is roughly 1 km south, a flat 10–15 minute walk along Jalan Monkey Forest, or a 5-minute scooter ride. Most central Ubud hotels are within 15 minutes on foot.

The walk down Jalan Monkey Forest is part of the experience. You pass cafes, art galleries, warungs, and yoga studios — Ubud at its most photogenic. If you are coming from outside Ubud (Seminyak, Canggu, Sanur, or the airport), expect a 60–90 minute drive depending on traffic. We arrange private drivers for guests who want to combine the Monkey Forest with rice terraces or other Ubud sites in one day.

Parking is available near the main entrance on Jalan Monkey Forest — small fee, usually IDR 5,000–10,000 for cars. Scooter parking is closer and cheaper. If your driver drops you, the standard plan is to be picked up at the same entrance after 1–2 hours.

Tickets and opening hours 2026

Entry is paid at the booth at the main gate. Estimations 2026 — verify on arrival, prices have risen steadily in recent years:

• Adult ticket: IDR 80,000 (Monday–Friday); slightly higher on weekends and holidays — sometimes IDR 100,000.
• Child ticket (3–12 years): IDR 60,000.
• Children under 3: free.

Opening hours are 9:00am to 6:00pm daily (last entry around 5:30pm). The forest is open every day of the year, including major Hindu ceremonies, though parts may be closed off if a temple is in active ceremony — the rangers will redirect you.

Tickets are paper, not digital. Cash is accepted; many guests report that card payment is now available, but I would not bet on the connection — bring cash. There is no online booking system, and you cannot skip the line by buying ahead. The line moves quickly even at peak times.

For seniors, students, and group rates: there are no posted discounts. Do not waste time at the booth asking. The pricing is simple by design.

What to expect inside

Once you pass the gate, the forest unfolds into a network of stone-paved paths winding under a canopy of giant banyan and pule trees. The ambient temperature drops noticeably — even at midday, the forest is cooler and shadier than Ubud town. You hear macaques before you see them: rustling in branches above, then suddenly a family group crosses the path in front of you.

The forest's three temples are the spiritual heart of the site. They were built around the mid-14th century:

• Pura Dalem Agung Padangtegal — the "Great Temple of Death" at the center. Used for funeral and Pitra Yadnya ceremonies. The carved Rangda figures at the entrance are the most photographed details in the whole forest. Inner courtyard restricted to praying Balinese.
• Pura Beji — the "Holy Spring Temple" at the northwestern corner, used for purification rituals. There is a stone-lined water basin where ceremonies take place; the surrounding moss-covered carvings are extraordinary.
• Pura Prajapati — the cremation temple in the southwestern corner, connected to the village cemetery just outside the forest perimeter.

Beyond the temples, the path leads you to several signature spots:

• The dragon bridge — a stone bridge with dragon-headed balustrades crossing a small ravine in the southwestern part of the forest. The most photographed bridge on the property, especially in early-morning light.
• The holy banyan tree — an enormous strangler fig with aerial roots cascading down a stone wall, often draped in offerings. Locals consider it a spiritually charged spot.
• The river gorge — a deeper section in the south where the path follows a small stream. Quieter, fewer tourists, and where you sometimes spot juvenile macaques playing in the water.

Allow time to look up — many of the best photos are in the canopy, not at eye level. Mothers carrying infants, juveniles play-fighting on branches, and adult males watching the foot traffic from elevated perches are all part of what you came to see.

Monkey behavior and safety

This is the section every guest should read before entering. The macaques are wild, intelligent primates that have learned, over decades of close human contact, exactly what a tourist is carrying and how to extract it. They are not aggressive in a "stalking and attacking" sense, but they are opportunistic — and opportunity, to a Monkey Forest macaque, looks like a sunglasses-on-head, an open backpack, or a snack in a side pocket.

The honest brief I give every guest:

• Do not make direct eye contact for more than a moment. A long stare is read as a threat or a challenge in macaque language. Look at them, take your photo, then look away. Do not lock eyes the way you would with a friendly dog.
• Do not bare your teeth in a smile. A wide-toothed smile is, again, a threat display in macaque body language. Keep your mouth closed when you smile near them.
• Do not bring food into the forest. Period. Even snacks zipped in a backpack are detectable to a determined adult male. The rangers do the feeding.
• Do not bring loose plastic bags. Crinkling plastic = food sound to them. They will grab it to find out.
• Take off sunglasses and hats before entering, or stash them in a closed bag. This is the single most common item lost. A monkey jumps on your shoulder, lifts your sunglasses, and is gone in three seconds. The rangers can sometimes recover items by trading peanuts, but not always.
• Do not carry water bottles loose. Visible bottles are routinely grabbed and opened. Put them inside a closed bag.
• Do not touch the monkeys, even if they climb on you. Stay still, do not panic, and let them get bored and leave. They will. Touching — especially trying to push them off — is read as aggression.
• If a monkey grabs something, do not fight it. A real story from one of our recent groups: a guest tried to pull her phone back from a juvenile, the juvenile screamed, three adults appeared instantly. We got the phone back via a ranger and a peanut trade. Lesson: let it go, find a ranger, do not engage.
• Watch children at all times. Toddlers at macaque eye-level can be intimidating to the troop. Keep small kids on the inside of the path, hand held. For a fuller take on visiting Bali with little ones, see our Bali with kids guide.
• Do not visit if you have an open wound or are sick. Macaques can transmit several diseases through bite or scratch, including herpes B (rare but documented). If you do get bitten or scratched and the skin is broken, wash with soap and water for 15 minutes immediately and see a doctor that day. The Ubud BIMC clinic is the standard referral.

The vast majority of visits are uneventful. Tens of thousands of people walk through every month without incident. The rules above are the ones that, when ignored, produce 95% of the small problems guests experience.

Photography tips

The Ubud Monkey Forest is one of the most photographable sites in Bali, but the conditions change by hour and season. What I tell guests:

• Best light: the first hour after opening (9–10am) and the last hour before closing (5–6pm). Soft directional light hits the moss-covered temple gates and the banyan roots beautifully, and the shadows are long enough to give the photos depth. Midday light is harsh and contrasty under the canopy.
• Best location for the iconic shot: the dragon bridge in the southwest, taken from the upstream side looking down. The Pura Dalem Agung Rangda gates are the second-best frame.
• Wildlife photography: bring a 24–70mm lens for general shots, a 70–200mm for tight portraits of macaques without crowding them. Phones do well for environmental shots but struggle with macaques in the canopy due to autofocus on leaves.
• Crowd management: arrive at 9:00am sharp for the cleanest shots. By 10:30am, large tour groups arrive from the south coast and the temples become very busy. The 5–6pm window is also good — light is golden and the morning crowds have left.
• Drone: not permitted inside the forest. Drone photos around the perimeter are technically possible but you need local permission — your guide can advise.
• Be respectful at the temples: do not climb on shrines, do not enter inner courtyards even for a photo, and do not pose in disrespectful ways. The site is sacred.

For a calmer shoot, the river gorge section in the south of the forest sees fewer tourists and gives you a dense-jungle backdrop without the crowds.

How long to spend at Monkey Forest

Plan 1 to 2 hours, depending on your pace. A standard visit:

• 0–20 minutes: ticket booth, walk in, first encounters with macaques near the main path.
• 20–60 minutes: the three temples and the dragon bridge — the photogenic core.
• 60–90 minutes: the holy banyan, the river gorge, the quieter southern paths.
• 90–120 minutes: a second loop or extended photography time.

If you are a wildlife enthusiast or photographer, give yourself the full two hours. If you are doing a "see it, take a few photos, move on" visit, 60–90 minutes is plenty. Less than an hour feels rushed and you will likely miss the temples.