Sangeh monkey forest: a unique forest in Bali
NetizenBali.com, BADUNG - In any forest, there is a different kind of peace. One that invokes a deep sense of contentment, as if these blankets of nature act as a buffer from the complications of life, found ‘out there’, in the normal world. It is just as “Father of National Parks”, John Muir,
once said: “And into the forest I go, to lose
my mind and find my soul.” So, here are four unique forests in Bali for you to go and find your soul!
Yes that’s right, there’s more than one
monkey forest in Bali, and this one exudes
an almost mystical atmosphere!
Sangeh Monkey Forest is also called Alas Pala, or nutmeg forest, but the trees differ from the nutmeg plants you might find in Indonesia’s ‘Spice Islands’.
Instead what you get are these soaring, girthy trees that can climb up to 40m high and are hundreds of years old. Within the 10-hectare area, monkeys roam freely - around 700 or so live in the Sangeh Monkey Forest. Other wildlife said to be seen here are falcons, eagles, owls and musang, to name a few.
At its centre, the most important part of
the forest is a temple called Pura Bukit Sari.
Now, many legends surround not only this
temple, but the forest as a whole. One of
the legends - written in a Historical Lontar of Mengwi - speaks of how the daughter of the deity Ida Batara, found on Mount Agung, wanted to be moved to the Kingdom of Mengwi. Ida Batara thus made the nutmeg forest on Mt.Agung (where his daughter was residing) walk down towards Mengwi in the dead of night. On its way, the forest was spotted moving through the village of Sangeh, once it was spotted by mortals, it stopped, and thus Sangeh became the new home of the forest.
Another legend says that in the 17th
Century, the adopted son of the King
of Mengwi was given a divine vision to
build a temple on Bukit Sari (Sari Hill) at
Sangeh. It was said that this was a barren
land.
Upon building the temple, Pura Bukit
Sari, dedicated to Ida Batara of Mt Agung,
the God rewarded him by transporting a
full forest to give the area life… a horde of
monkeys were sent down with it to be the
forest’s protectors. With the cool air of north Badung, the towering trees above and the quiet of the forest around all come together to sing a deep and mystical song. (NB/ nowbali.co.id)
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