Monkey Forest Protected Since the Reign of King Jaya Pangus

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When you see the current conditionof the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, it looks different than it did when it was first made into a tourist destination back in 1970. Based on the Jaya Pangus inscription this site, which currently attracts thousands of travelers each day, has in fact been preserved since Saka year 1103 or 1181 AD. “We got this inscriptional note from Ida Pedanda Wayahan Bun from Griya Sanur, Pejeng” said Operations Manager of the Monkey Forest, I Nyoman Buana.
According to Buana, the Jaya Pangus inscription mentions that during the reign of King Sri Jaya Pangus, the Monkey Forest area was a hunting area. However, over time many people started to clear the forests to make room for settlements. “ King Aji Jaya Pangus therefore finally issued a decree to help preserve the forest” he explained.

Buana went on to explain about the development of Ubud attractions between 1930 and 1970, when travelers began exploring every nook and cranny of Ubud -especially the unspoiled Monkey Forest, native home to hundreds of monkeys. “Because of the increasingly large number of travellers coming to the forest, around 1970 a donation box was placed inside the gates of the forest so that those visiting could contribute to helping maintain the forest area” he said.

Later, in the 1980s, Padangtegal customary village put a number of local residents in charge of collecting donations from travelers visiting Monkey Forest. In 1986, a booth was placed at the entrance of the tourist attraction that was guarded by a number of civil defense officers. “Due to the ever-growing number of visitors, in 1988 the Padangtegal Monkey Forest Management or the BPWP was established to manage the Monkey Forest attraction” he said.

The BPWP was first chaired by I Wayan Atjin Tisna, who created a ticketing system for the entrance fee to the 12.5 hectares attraction. . Today, the  cost of admission for adults is IDR 30,000 and IDR 20,000 for children. “In 1999, I Wayan Selamet was appointed as the first operations manager of the site by the customary village. This was an important step in creating a more professional system for managing the site” explained Buana, who concluded by saying that the Monkey Forest remains an extremely popular tourist destination to this day.www.bali-travelnews.com
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