MONKEY FORREST

At the south end of Monkey Forest Road in Ubud is the Monkey Forest, with a beautiful small, cavelike 'pura dalem' embraced by roots and a holy spring inhabited by a band of irascible gray monkeys.

The 'pura dalem' on a hill around the corner (right fork) contains well-executed statues of Rangda devouring children.

The temple has been given a face-lift-new entrance, an explanation in Balinese and English, more attractive walkways. It's fairly small and peaceful with no persistent hawkers. Give a donation.

Vendors sell bags of 'kacang' for the monkeys, but if you carry no food they'll leave you alone. The simians are definitely habituated to people. The tour buses from the south tend to arrive in the early afternoons, a time to avoid. On the other hand, tourist-watching can be more fascinating than monkey-watching.

Refresh yourself at the cold-water springs just before the forest or in 'warung' beyond. A path beside the great banyan tree leads down to the bathing place inside a remnant of the dipterocarp forest that once covered all of Bali.

The Monkey Forest Road loops around to a fork. The left branch leads to Pengosekan's many woodcarving and clothing stores while the right leads to the small village of Nyuhkuning, another center for woodcarving.