Sangeh Monkey Forest is a tourist destination to see the tropical forest as a place for monkeys to live and also see the Sangeh temple which is so beautiful to the eye. In the 17th century during the golden period of Mengwi Kingdom, I Gusti Ketut Karangasem, son of Gusti Agung Made Agung (King of Mengwi) founded a temple in the midst of Pala tree forest, later it was called bukit Dari Temple. Sangeh tourist destinations have always been famous by foreign and domestic tourists, where tourist attractions in Sangeh offer stunning views of the forest with vast tropical forests and monkey habitats that are here, with the many trees here make the atmosphere cool and sustainable with the air. fresh which will make the atmosphere around Sangeh monkey forest very pleasant.
Sangeh Monkey Forest Location
Sangeh Monkey Forest located at the northern Sangeh Village, Abiansemal District Badung Regency. Sangeh is the name of a village of which its northern pan overgrown with Palas to the extent of hectares, and which is occupied by hundreds of monkeys. It is about 21 km from Denpasar and can be reached by car easily with a good road condition. If you drive from Denpasar or Kuta it will take about 1 hour of travel time, the location is not so difficult to find because there are many road signs at the crossroads, and also you can use Google maps to guide you to reach this location. If you don’t want to travel alone, we from Bali Tour are ready to take you to visit the Sangeh Monkey Forest with private transportation and an experienced driver will make this trip even more enjoyable
Meaning name Sangeh
According to the mythology from the local villagers, the word Sangeh is derived from the root “Sang” that means a determiner for person and “Ngeh” mean seeing or observing. It is said that the Pala trees growing in the forest were originated from Mount Agung that performed a journey to Taman Ayun Temple. They would be going to festoon the garden belonged to Mengwi Kingdom. Their journey was carried out in the evening to avoid from being observed. Unfortunately, people saw the Pala trees walking in a procession. They suddenly stopped. Spot where they stopped was named Sangeh that means one who sees. If you visit the island of Bali, it would be nice to visit this Sangeh Monkey Forest to see the beauty of this tropical forest and Pala Trees that are hundreds of years old, and also see tame monkeys roaming around the forests and temples here.
Pala Tree Mystery at Sangeh Monkey Forest
Sangeh is a tropical forest located in Badunga district which the local people refer to as “Alas Pala” which means Pala forest. The Pala is meant for a plant that has the Latin name Dipterocarpus haseltii. This forest has a very high species abundance. The Pala tree in Sangeh is estimated to be hundreds of years old. Such Palas can not be found in other places Bali, and the existence at Sangeh a mystery. The nut meg tree forest with extent of 10 hectares is a holy territory that is securitized by Sangeh Customary Village and its vicinity. In the middle of such green and dense forest, lives over 600 tame and friendly monkeys that all the time appeal to visitor, Part from functioning as sacred places, the forest along with the monkeys comes to be fascinating tourist object that is worth visiting. Dipterocarpus hasseltii is a group of commercial tree species from the Dipterocarpaceae family. The tree is buttressed, can reach a height of 45 m with a diameter of up to 1.5 meters. This species is found in Thailand, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Bali and the Philippines. In timber trading activities, this species is known as keruing.
Pucak Bukit Sari Temple at Sangeh Forest
In the Sangeh Monkey Forest, you can see a very old temple located in the middle of the forest with monkeys roaming around this temple, while there is a unique history that can be said about this temple. In the middle of the forest stands the Pucak Bukit Sari Temple building. According to history, The tall Pala trees shade the Pucak Bukit Sari Temple in the middle of the forest. This temple, which was built in the 17th century, is a sacred place that was bequeathed to Sangeh Village by the Mengwi Kingdom. this temple was built by Anak Agung Anglurah Made Karangasem Sakti, the adopted son of King Mengwi, Tjokorda Sakti Blambangan. It is said that Anak Agung Anglurah Made Karangasem Sakti, since childhood, did ‘rare asceticism’, namely meditating like children’s behavior. After his magic became stronger, he also received a magical prompting to make a place of prayer in the middle of the Pala forest in this sangeh, which is now known as Pura Pucak Bukit Sari.
Lanang Wadong Tree at Sangeh Forest
In addition to the Pala tree, there are still famous plants in the Sangeh forest, the local community used to call it the “Lanang Wadon Tree” which is translated into English which means a “Female and Male Tree”. It is called the Lanang Wadon Tree, because this tree looks like it has an ‘organ’ like humans. At the bottom of the tree there is a hole so that it resembles a female genitalia and from the hole emerges another trunk that looks like a male genitalia. From this phenomenon, the tree was named the Lanang Wadon Tree which means “Male and Female”. The tree grows right in the front yard of the Sangeh tourist spot. The uniqueness is very unique where you can see a tree that grows very large and has a hole in the middle and there are root protrusions that resemble male genitals and the holes resemble female genitals, so the locals call them male and female trees. As for the age of this tree, it is hundreds of years old, as can be seen from its sturdy roots hanging down. It’s a very beautiful sight to know more about the history of this sangeh forest.
