Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The inland town of Ubud and its surrounding area form Bali's cultural heartland, home
to a huge number of temples, museums and art galleries, where Balinese dance shows
are staged nightly, a wealth of craft studios provide absorbing shopping, and tradition-
al ceremonies and rituals are observed daily. Once you get away from the main thor-
oughfares, Ubud's lovely location is apparent, set amid lush, terraced paddies offering
plenty of scope for hikes and bicycle rides, many of them with fine views up to the cent-
ral mountains. The route between Ubud and Denpasar connects a string of craft-produ-
cing towns where you can watch artisans at work and browse their wares. You'll need
to venture out to the villages around Ubud, however, for a sense of old-fashioned Bali -
to the classic settlements of Penestanan and Peliatan, for example, or Pejeng, which still
boasts relics from the Bronze Age.
Ubud lies within the boundaries of
Gianyar district
, formerly an ancient kingdom.
Gianyar
itself, 10km east of Ubud, lies on the main route into east Bali. Roads around Ubud tend to
run north-south down river valleys, making it difficult in places to travel east-west.
