Ubud Monkey Forest
The forest of monkeys in Ubud is a reserve and an important temple complex of Hindus on the island of Bali in Indonesia. Officially, the name of the reserve sounds like a sacred secret forest of monkeys.
The forest of monkeys covers an area of approximately 10 hectares. But even this small territory attracts many tourists, because about 10 thousand tourists visit it in a month. The forest is a hilly area with a deep ravine along the bottom, which is a rocky stream.
Life in the forest of monkeys in Ubud is built in accordance with the Hindu principle of "Tri Hata Karana" ( Three Ways to Achieve Spiritual and Physical Well-being ), which seeks to make people live harmoniously throughout their lives. According to this principle, it is necessary to develop harmonious relations between people and people, between people and nature, as well as between people and the Supreme God. Accordingly, the forest of monkeys has the philosophical goal of creating a harmonious world for visitors from around the world. It is also aimed at preserving rare plants and animals for use in Hindu rituals and providing a natural laboratory for educational institutions, with particular emphasis on research in the field of social interaction of the monkeys of the park with each other and their interaction with the environment.
There are 3 Hindu temples in the forest, built around the 14th century. One of them is called Pura Dalemang Padangtegal ( The Great Death Temple ), also known as the main temple, is located in the southwestern part of the park. The temple is used to worship God Shiva. The Beja Temple in the northwestern part of the park is used to worship the goddess Gangga. The Temple of Prajapati is dedicated to the god Prajapati. The cemetery next to this temple receives the bodies of the dead for temporary burial, and then they wait for the ceremony of mass cremation, which takes place once every five years. Temples play an important role in the spiritual life of the local community, as well as monkeys and its mythology play an important role in the Balinese artistic tradition. The sacred sections of the temples are closed to the public, except for those who came to pray in proper clothes.
In 2011, there were 605 crab-eating macaques in the monkey forest. Park staff feed monkeys with sweet potatoes three times a day, tourists who want to feed monkeys are sold bananas, and the diet of local monkeys includes papaya leaves, corn, coconuts and other local fruits. For the health of monkeys, visitors are not allowed to feed them snacks such as peanuts, cookies, cookies and bread. Local monkeys have lost fear of people and, as a rule, do not approach people who, in their opinion, do not offer food, but they invariably approach a person, if they see any package of food from him. They can also tear out plastic bottles and bags that do not contain food, and also climb into the pockets of trousers in search of food. Due to the abundance of food, many monkeys have developed obesity. When feeding monkeys, you should be very careful, since aggressive macaque can bite and bring various viruses into the blood.
