It was in the 17th century when an adopted son of the King of Mengwi received a heavenly message to build a temple on Sari Hill in Mengwi. His obedience towards God’s order has turned the once barren place with no plants at all into a green area surrounded and protected by trees.
It is said that all the greeneries were supernaturally teleported by God Ida Bhatara from His holy volcano, Mount Agung. However, that wasn’t the only magic occurring that day, for hundreds of monkeys were also ‘sent’ to the temple’s area to compliment the trees.
These monkeys immediately started occupying their positions as protectors inside and around the temple. Some faithful elders in this area claimed that they can verbally communicate with these monkeys – but only when they are praying and focused. Not only that, the elders also told that just anybody could also communicate with the monkeys. If we are in a highly-focused state, then it is said that we could hear the monkeys talk to us – and that we could talk back to them. Today, this area is called Sangeh; due to its abundance of trees and monkeys, Sangeh is also for many times referred as Monkey Forest.
Many Balinese people consider Sangeh as the real Monkey Forest in Bali – not to be confused with the famous one located in Ubud. Also, different from the ones in Ubud or Uluwatu, the monkeys in Sangeh are not aggressive. Thus, it is considerably safe to still wear your sunglasses or hat when visiting the area. Anyway, although the high-level of concentration required to talk with these monkeys is not certain, you can always give it a shot and see if this tale is true. Indonesia Today
