Monkey Forest in Ubud with kids

During the month we lived in Canggu, Bali, we took fewer excursions than expected – COVID was already a concern, we knew from some locals that the government was hiding cases to save the economy, and we had big decisions to make for the our future as travelers…

But my mum had come to visit us, and we had to spend at least one day in the surroundings of Ubud. The Monkey Forest, a "macaque sanctuary", was our first stop… If there's monkeys, we must see them! And at Monkey Forest there's certainly not a shortage of monkeys ;-)

I was expecting a wilder place, but it's actually very built and touristy. The wooden bridge and the Holy Spring Temple, however, are really impressive and a perfect adventure for the little ones – also because, again, macaques are literally everywhere. We were lucky enough to go during Kuningan, a day of offerings and prayers, so all the locals wore traditional clothing.

Monkey Forest is about 1.5km from Ubud, and costs around €5 (IDR 80,000) for adults and €4 (IDR 60,000) for children. It's easy to walk, mostly flat (except for the stairs that lead to the temple), which makes it perfect also for the littlest ones. We visited it as part of a guided tour around Ubud that we found on Airbnb.