Recently, I led a photography tour to Indonesia with Natural Exposures. We met in Bali to get over the jetlag and to settle in before continuing our trip. On our rest day, we visited the nearby Monkey Forest in Ubud. While this is certainly not a wild, natural environment, it still offers some nice photography opportunities to capture long-tailed macaques and get a glimpse into Balinese culture.
A Tourist Hub with Surprising Order
The Monkey Forest (or the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary) is located in the heart of Ubud, the historic and cultural centre of Bali. Nowadays, this is a very touristy and busy spot. To be honest, this is usually not my idea of travel, so I had to put my principles aside for a moment and just go with the flow.
Once we arrived at the forest, I was actually surprised by how busy yet well-organised the place is. There is a large parking area, a modern ticketing system, and well-marked trails guiding you around the forest. There are also numerous “guards” and caretakers stationed throughout the grounds to make sure that interactions between people and monkeys happen without too much conflict. Overall, the sanctuary runs smoothly, and it seems that visitors and the local primate inhabitants manage to coexist in a strange sort of harmony.
Photographing the Macaques
Long-tailed macaques are some of the most common monkeys in Southeast Asia and Indonesia. They have adapted exceptionally well to human presence and sometimes take advantage of unsuspecting tourists. Hence, the strict rules: bring no food, keep valuables hidden from plain sight, and absolutely no feeding the monkeys directly.
We walked around with our local guide, who made sure we didn’t get sidetracked along the numerous trails winding through the park. At first glance, it seems the monkeys are everywhere! There are several designated feeding spots stocked with plenty of corn and bananas, so the monkeys are certainly well-fed.
A telephoto lens is definitely the most useful piece of gear here. Having visited the park twice now, I relied on two lenses for the majority of my shots: the Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 and the Nikon Z 100-400mm. Both are fantastic for this kind of photography. Since the monkeys are quite close, extreme reach isn’t a problem. However, the harsh sunlight filtering through the canopy can be tricky to expose for, so it is best to time your visit on an overcast day or when the sun is low on the horizon. Other than that, photographing in the monkey forest in Ubud is quite straightforward and a lot of fun.
As a photographer, I was impressed by their mischievous behaviour, their complex social interactions, and their incredible climbing skills. It was genuinely fun photographing them. I focused on capturing them in natural-looking scenes and behaviours, but I also took some shots of them sitting on and climbing the ancient-looking statues and temples, as well as interacting with visitors.
It seems the most popular activity here is trying to get a selfie with a monkey! I refrained from doing this—after all, I am a nature photographer, not a silly tourist. 🙂
Photos from the Monkey Forest in Ubud
Final Thoughts
A couple of hours went by incredibly fast, and we soon met back at the entrance with memory cards full of fun photos and great experiences. We even treated ourselves to some delicious gelato sold right at the main entrance!
I can highly recommend visiting the Monkey Forest in Ubud if you are vacationing in Bali. But do not stop here—go out and explore the more authentic, quieter parts of Ubud and the rest of the island before moving on to explore the other islands of this incredible country.
