If you really want to see monkeys whilst in Bali, then the Ubud Monkey Forest is probably the safest place to see them. However, it is still wise to take precautions and follow some simple advice to keep yourself from encountering any problems.

There are around 600 monkeys in the Monkey Forest Ubud and monkeys are well known for being quick and incredibly smart.

The Ubud macaque monkeys are used to seeing, and interacting with, thousands of tourists every month and therefore know what to expect of us; that is, we often have food concealed somewhere, perhaps at the bottom of a backpack, and have interesting collectibles hanging around our necks or from our ears. Some people may also have water bottles, camera cases, or be wearing bum bags (or fanny packs as they are known in the US).

The monkeys will use all this knowledge and their instincts to do all they can to get what they want. They are clever enough to know that if they steal something of little value to themselves, but perhaps greatly valuable to you, they can get you to offer something they really want, like a banana or some other type of food, in exchange for the return of the item taken.

Therefore, to avoid any unwanted attention, it's probably best to empty your pockets before you go and travel very light.

As much as the monkeys in Ubud are used to seeing humans in its forest and have lost their fear of us, these monkeys are still very much wild animals.

If a monkey does try to take something from you, it is very important to try and avoid any sudden or aggressive altercation.

The park staff advises visitors never to pull back an offer of food to a monkey or to touch a monkey, as either action can prompt an aggressive response by the animal. Although they generally ignore humans who they believe do not have food, they sometimes mistake a human's actions as an offer of food or an attempt to hide food. If a tourist then either does not provide the food or does not provide it quickly enough, the monkeys will occasionally bite; in fact, monkeys bite tourists daily and videos of many of these attacks can be found on YouTube.

Monkeys can perceive prolonged eye contact, staring, or slow movement as a threat. Additionally, showing your teeth can be interpreted as a display of aggression. The sight of monkeys running around can easily bring a smile to our faces so it's worth bearing this in mind if you start to get any unwanted attention.

Park personnel carry slingshots with which to intimidate aggressive monkeys and intervene quickly in confrontations between monkeys and humans.

These monkeys are known for carrying Herpes B, Hepatitis C, in addition to fleas. There are even rare cases of rabies from monkey bites. Come prepared before visiting or be sure to get vaccinated immediately if you are unfortunate enough to get bitten.

Feeding the monkeys with general food is strictly prohibited for a variety of obvious reasons, not least because feeding peanuts, chips, or sweet things are harmful for a macaque's health. Perhaps, again to avoid unwanted attention, it's best to avoid bringing any food or snacks for human consumption in to the forest. For those that do want the up close and personal experience, bunches of bananas can be purchased on site.

.: Map of Ubud Monkey Forest :.