The district of Gianyar is the centre of Balinese culture, rich in history and artifacts. Gianyar's history is arguably the most fascinating in Bali. the first village is Batubulan. Famous for its stone carvings, most of the stone sculptures you see around Bali will almost certainly come from Batubulan. These works are exhibited all along the main road. Batubulan also specializes in the Barong dance, which is performed daily. The dance symbolizes the never-ending battle between good and bad.
Just after Batubulan, Celuk and nearby Singapadu are the centres for the Balinese goldsmiths and silversmiths. The jewelry is exported worldwide. After Celuk the main road heads to Sukawati, which is famous for its art market (pasar seni). Set in a two-floor building, the market sells everything from statues to dance costumes, all at reasonable prices. At night this market is closed, but a night market provides a good selection of Indonesian food. Sukawati village is also a centre for the manual production of the wind chimes you find all over the island.
Further towards to Ubud is the village of Mas. Famous for woodcarving, Mas offers a myriad of wooden items. The road through it is lined with craft shops and tourist are welcome to drop in and see the carvers at work.
After Mas, you enter the area of Ubud. Ubud is recognized as the cultural centre of Bali. It is where the image of Bali as a land of artists was created. A former principality, it has several palaces and Brahmin mansions. The modern Balinese art movement began here when artists first began to abandon purely religious and court scenes for scenes of everyday life. Ubud is home to many respected local and western artists.
The cultural image of Ubud is paramount to the people as it is home to the best art museum in the country. The Puri Lukisan, a Museum of Fine Arts established in the 1950's, displays art from the 1930's and 1950's, as well as fine examples of modern Balinese art.
Ubud is an ideal place to see Balinese dance. Legong, Ramayana, Baris, Kecak, and the Fire Dance, are performed nightly in or around the Ubud area. Ubud gives you the opportunity to see the real Bali. It is a place for leisurely strolls through rice paddies, lush forest, breathtaking gorges, and deserted swimming holes. walkin distance from centre of Ubud mongkey forrest nestled walk along Monkey Forest Road from Ubud, down into a dense forest where you will find a bunch of happy monkeys waiting for passing tourists.
Gianyar has some of the most important archeological sites. The majority are located in the Pejeng are a 4 km from Ubud. It is home to one of South East Asia's oldest artifacts, a huge kettledrum known as the Moon of Pejeng, a relic from the Bronze Age originating from Dongson, Vietnam, and a nearby archeological museum. The village also has two ancient temples, the Pura Pusering Jagat and Pura Kebo Edan.
The road to Pejeng and Gianyar is the site of the elephant cave (Goa Gajah). The Elephant Cave is carved into the rock face and reached by a flight of steps. It probably dates back to the 9-12th centuries and shows elements of both Hindu and Buddhist use. A kilometre from Goa Gajah is Yeh Pulu. After a short walk through rice paddies you will arrive at an ancient rock carving dating from the 14th century. The carving depicts various scenes of everyday life and the figures of the elephant headed Ganesh indicate a close relationship between the two sites.
Batubulan Batubulan, meaning "moonstone" is the village for stone carving. Shops displaying a huge selection of interesting hand-carved stone items line the road just northeast of Denpasar. Here, mostly young people create and carve guardians for temple gateways, divinities and demons from Balinese mythology.
Celuk
Continuing on the road to Ubud, you will pass through Celuk, known for its silver and goldsmiths. The skills of the Celuk artisans are well known for their high taste of art and high quality products. A large variety of all types of intricately designed pieces can be found. The silver filigree work is quite amazing.
Cekingan
Our first glimpse of the famous rice terraces of Bali, reputedly the most beautiful in the world. Newly planted, these paddies were irrigated and the mud trampled to make it ready for transplanting. Young shoots were planted is groups of four to six and will be tended constantly until harvest.
Ubud
The main street of Ubud, and Monkey Forest Road are the traditional places to look for low cost accommodation, but recently many new low and medium cost places have sprung up in Jalan Hanoman and Jalan Bima
The Elephant Cave - Goa Gajah - is situated on a steep bank to the side of the main road in the Banjar of Goa, Bedaulu Village in the area of Blahbatuh, Gianyar.It is approximately twenty-six kilometres from Denpasar and is easy to find as it is by the side of the main road, just East of the crossroads in Teges village.
Taman Barung
Bali Bird Park Near Batubalon and a 30 minute drive from Ubud a wonderful place to spend a few hours. Looks like Disneyland but this is for real.Hundreds of the worlds most rare and beautiful birds inhabit the park There are 2 hectares of tropical gardens to enjoy and plenty of places to take a break in the shade.
BALI
CAR RENTAL
The deep strait separating Bali
from its eastern neighbour Lombok
is believed to be the dividing
line between Asia and Australia
in geologic times.
Map Gianyar
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