Where I am usually very reluctant when it comes to tourism where animals are involved, I could not resist a visit to the monkey temple in Jaipur . Monkeys are just as common in India as donkeys or rats, so there is a good chance that you will encounter them when traveling around Rajasthan. But a whole temple full of monkeys? That seemed like a cool experience. Yet I held my heart, because animal attractions are usually not very animal-friendly . That is why I am telling you today how I experienced my visit to the monkey temple in Jaipur!
The temple we are talking about is actually a Hindu temple: Hanuman Temple. It lies in the wooded hills around Jaipur, about half an hour outside the city. People still come to the temple to pray, although it has become a tourist attraction because of the many monkeys that live there.
Upon entering Galta Ji (Indian name) you only have to pay a small fee for your camera (50 rupee), and you can also buy nuts to feed the monkeys if you want. In the beginning you really get the impression that you have landed in an Uncharted or Tomb Raider video game. An abandoned temple complex in the middle of the hills in the middle of nowhere. The temple itself is already a very cool sight. And then there are monkeys everywhere too! You can book taxi for jaipur from best taxi service in udaipur.
Once in the complex we also quickly meet the 'monkey man'. I can't remember his name, but if I understood correctly, his father owns the temple. The best man has grown up here all his life and is so used to the monkeys that he can read them exactly. The monkeys also know him and do what he tells them to do. Very funny!
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Then about the animal-friendly aspect: The monkeys live in the hills around the temple, where there is a large forest. They can be released and go to the temple or into the hills. Nobody forces them to be anywhere. Of course they know that people can get food, so it is not surprising that they regularly hang around the temple. But when we were there I constantly saw monkeys running in and out of the temple, into nature. They seemed totally at ease, and in their natural element (as far as I know, of course). There were maybe twenty tourists in total, so it wasn't busy with people at all. There are no tricks, shows or anything like that. It is actually just a bit of a ruined temple that you can visit, where a lot of monkeys live.
I loved seeing the monkeys like that. Monkeys are super normal in India, they just live on the street, and these monkeys seemed to behave just like normal monkeys. They flew together, slept, fought with each other (until bleeding), and also made baby monkeys somewhere in a corner of the temple. Complete of course. And I thought that was nice. I had expected in advance that I would see a big game of animal abuse, with monkeys on chains and so on, but that was totally not the case. That is why I can recommend this temple with a good conscience.
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