What should you know before visiting the Ubud Monkey Forest?

Sacred Monkey Forest tickets and opening hours

The forest is at the south end of Jalan Monkey Forest in Padangtegal village, a short walk from central Ubud. The official site lists hours of 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily, with last entry at 5:00 p.m., and ticket prices of IDR 130,000 per adult and IDR 100,000 per child. Older blogs quote lower weekday and weekend prices, so treat those as out of date.

The sanctuary covers about 12.5 hectares of forest, ravine and temple grounds, and is home to more than 1,200 Balinese long-tailed macaques (the 2023 count was around 1,260). Allow about 1 to 2 hours to walk the paths, including the ravine walkway and the moss-covered dragon bridge.

Monkey Forest rules: food, bags, sunglasses and hats

The sanctuary's own guidelines are short and worth following exactly. Food and drinks are prohibited in the forest, and so are plastic bags; lockers are available in the lobby. Don't touch the monkeys or try to pick them up, avoid staring into their eyes (they read it as aggression), and supervise children so they don't play with them. Only staff feed the monkeys, about nine times a day, and visitors may not feed them, including peanuts.

The guidelines also say to keep small objects such as jewelry, toys and beads close and out of sight. In practice that extends to sunglasses, hats, water bottles and phones: monkeys grab anything loose or shiny, so put sunglasses in a zipped bag rather than on your head, and keep phones on a strap or in a closed pocket.

If a monkey jumps on you, the official advice is to stay calm, stand up and walk away slowly, and ask staff for help. Don't run, shout or swat at it.

Monkey Forest bites, rabies and what to do

Bali has had rabies in animals since an outbreak began in 2008, and studies of travelers returning from Bali found that monkeys, not dogs, caused most animal injuries needing rabies treatment. Most of those bites happened when the traveler initiated contact, which is why the no-touching rule matters. A study cited in CDC's Emerging Infectious Diseases journal also found antibodies to herpes B virus in more than 80% of macaques sampled at the Bali Monkey Forest.

If you're bitten or scratched, the WHO advice is to immediately wash the wound with soap and water for at least 15 minutes, then seek medical care. The sanctuary has a first aid clinic with a nurse on site. After first aid, see a doctor or travel clinic the same day to assess whether you need rabies post-exposure treatment (a course of vaccine and sometimes immunoglobulin). Australian health surveillance found travelers often had delayed or incomplete treatment abroad, so don't wait until you get home.

If you plan to spend a lot of time around animals in Indonesia, ask a travel clinic before you leave about pre-exposure rabies vaccination. It doesn't remove the need for treatment after a bite, but it simplifies it.

Temples inside the Monkey Forest

The forest is a sacred site for the village of Padangtegal and contains three temples: Pura Dalem (the main temple of the dead), the Holy Water Temple, and the Cremation Temple. They're active places of Balinese prayer, and visitors can't enter them, but you can see them from outside. Some people throw coins into the Holy Water Temple pool for luck.

The sanctuary asks visitors to dress respectfully and discourages revealing clothing, and to stay out of areas signed as restricted. For the wider rules on sarongs and temple behavior, see our Bali temple etiquette guide.

Best time to visit and nearby Ubud plans

Arriving at 9 a.m. opening generally means cooler air and thinner crowds than midday, when tour groups arrive. Late afternoon is also pleasant, but remember last entry is 5 p.m. Wear closed shoes with grip, since paths and steps in the ravine can be slippery after rain.

Food rules in the forest are strict, but eating around Ubud carries its own risks; read our guide to avoiding Bali belly before working through the warungs. For where to stay and what else to see, start with our Ubud guide.

Frequently asked questions