Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Monkey Forest Sanctuary
Jl Monkey Forest; the entrance is a 15min walk south of Ubud's central market • Daily 8.30am-6pm • Rp20,000,
children Rp10,000 • 0361 971304,
monkeyforestubud.com
Ubud's best-known tourist attraction is the
Monkey Forest Sanctuary
, which occupies the
land between the southern end of Jalan Monkey Forest and the northern edge of the wood-
carvers' hamlet of Nyuhkuning. The focus of numerous day-tours because of its resident
troupe of more than three hundred malevolent but photogenic
long-tailed macaques
(they
will swiftly hunt out any food or drink you might have on your person, and bites and scratches
are not uncommon, so beware) the forest itself is small and disappointing, traversed by a con-
crete pathway and with little exceptional flora to look at. A stroll around the forest works
well with a walk around Nyuhkuning.
Five minutes into the forest, you'll come to
Pura Dalem Agung Padang Tegal
, the temple
of the dead for the
banjar
(neighbourhood) of Padang Tegal (you can borrow the requisite
sarong and sash at the temple entrance, for which a small donation is requested). You'll find
half a dozen stonecarved images of the witch-widow
Rangda
flanking the main stairway -
hard to miss with her hideous fanged face, unkempt hair, metre-long tongue and pendulous
breasts. Two of the Rangda statues are depicted in the process of devouring children - a fa-
vourite occupation of hers.
Nyuhkuning
South of the Pura Dalem Agung Padang Tegal is the woodcarvers' village of
NYUHKUNING
, a pleasingly quiet place for a wander and the site of several charming,
small
hotels
. The road is dotted with shops selling the carvers' handiwork but the atmosphere
is power-key and more workshop-oriented than in the more famous woodcarving centre of
Mas - and prices are better too. Many of the carvers will give woodcarving lessons to interes-
ted tourists. Works by the famous Nyuhkuning carver, the late I Wayan Pendet, are exhibited
in the tiny
Museum Pendet
(daily 10am-5pm; free). Just beyond the museum, beside the
football field, the road branches. Heading straight on, along the peaceful
main street
, you'll
pass walled family compounds for the 600m to the main road. A left turn here leads into the
next village of Pengosekan (1km to the east). If you turn right towards the
Bali Spirit
hotel, a
right turn north again leads back up to the football field at the top of the village, from where
you can head back to the Monkey Forest and central Ubud.
Pengosekan
At the southern end of Jalan Hanoman, about a thirty-minute walk from central Ubud or a
short hop on a Ubud-Batubulan bemo, the road enters the small hamlet of
PENGOSEKAN
,
which is home to the excellent
Agung Rai Museum of Art
, as well as an interesting artist
community.
