Slippery banana peels in the Monkey Forest

Monkey forest

The Monkey Forest in Ubud is another of those places where monkeys roam freely and visitors are warned not to feed them. But then they sell bananas for the monkeys at the entrance. So visitors do feed the monkeys after all.

The alpha male monkey feeding on offerings at the cemetery

Additionally, the Monkey Forest houses a sacred Balinese Hindu temple complex which means that local people constantly bring offerings to the temples and to the cemetery. These offerings usually include food items, another source of food for the monkeys. It was interesting to watch the monkeys feeding at the cemetery. First, the alpha male monkey went through the offerings, eating what he liked while the rest of the monkeys kept their distance. When he was done and gone, the female and young monkeys looked for any leftovers.

The rest of the monkeys look for leftovers

Monkeys that were fed bananas by the visitors didn't have to observe such hierarchical rules. They each grabbed a banana as it was offered, peeled and ate it and dropped the banana peel wherever it fell. I wasn't aware of banana peels lying about while I was strolling through the sanctuary, taking photos. I can now confirm that banana peels really are slippery and I was lucky that I regained my balance before I fell.

Monkey surrounded by banana peels

Another thing that also surprised me were the many monkey statues scattered about the forest. It seems that monkeys lived in these areas for ages, already when the temples were built and the statues created.

Monkey statue in the Monkey Forest

It was another hot and humid day when I visited the Monkey Forest. It's no wonder that a monkey decided to cool off by taking a nap in the shade.

Monkey napping in the shade