Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, Ubud

IDR 130,000 per adult and IDR 100,000 per child. No age cut-off for the child rate is published, so check at the desk. Cash and cards both work at the counter, kiosks are card-only, and you can also buy in advance via the Book Now button on the sanctuary's own website.

Every day from 9 am, closing at 6 pm with last admission at 5 pm. The quietest trails and calmest monkeys come right after opening. The one closure is Nyepi, Bali's day of silence, when the whole island shuts for 24 hours; it next falls on 8 March 2027.

Safe enough for those who stick to the rules. Bites occur, but mainly to people who handle, tease or feed the animals. Staff walk the trails with slingshots to deter aggressive monkeys. Leave food and loose belongings behind, do not stare and stay calm, and trouble is unlikely.

Go directly to the sanctuary's first-aid clinic, where a nurse cleans and dresses the wound, and then see a doctor that day. Scrub any bite or scratch with soap and running water as quickly as you can: Indonesia has rabies, which is fatal once symptoms begin. The doctor will advise whether you need a vaccination course.

None of Bali's temple monkeys has been found with it, and the sanctuary tracks their health with the primate research centre at Udayana University. Rabies is present among Indonesian dogs, though, and macaques may carry herpes B virus, despite no human infection being recorded in Bali. Any bite deserves a doctor's attention the same day.

Bring nothing edible, nothing to drink and no plastic carrier bags. Never handle a monkey or offer it food; that job belongs to the keepers. Do not lock eyes, and if one climbs onto you, keep calm and move slowly. Hide jewellery and small items, watch your children, dress respectfully and stay out of sacred areas indicated by signs.

A bag is fine if it is not plastic and contains nothing to eat. Plastic bags are banned because the monkeys snatch them, and lobby lockers take anything you will not need. Wear a zipped daypack on your front for safety, and keep your water bottle zipped inside it, never in an outer pocket.

An hour to 90 minutes suits most people. You could cover the main trails in under an hour, but the central pond and the walk down to the Holy Spring Temple tend to slow everyone down. Two hours gives time for the selfie session with a monkey and for a good number of pictures.

Children who can follow instructions usually love it, whereas toddlers can find it scary. Monkeys go for toys, snacks and little fingers, so keep a firm grip, leave toys at the hotel and tell children beforehand that running and staring are off limits. The child ticket is IDR 100,000. Because of the stairs into the ravine, a baby carrier beats a pushchair.

No. All three are prayer sites for Padangtegal, and entry is reserved for worshippers wearing Balinese ceremonial dress. You can still see their gates, walls and statues from the paths. Since you remain outside, a sarong is unnecessary, but the sanctuary asks visitors to avoid revealing clothes in the sacred forest.

For a first visit to Bali, generally yes: about 1,000 macaques in a working temple forest, with a ravine, holy spring and centuries-old carvings, all a short walk from central Ubud. It makes less sense if you have already seen the monkeys at Uluwatu, dislike crowds or are uneasy around animals that snatch. Arrive at 9 am.