Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary

The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary holds a cluster of three Hindu temples shaded by towering banyan trees with roots that twist deep into the volcanic soil. Local villagers consider this forest a spiritual preserve, home to long-tailed macaques that move freely through the temple courtyards. In nineteen twenty-four, a local healer named Made Batuan worked here to protect the site from encroaching development. He argued that the monkeys guarded the temples, and his persistence kept the forest canopy intact for the next century.