PLACES NEAR UBUD TRAVEL GUIDE

This Places Near Ubud Travel Guide covers the major towns and special places to visit in the area surrounding Ubud.

Goa Gajah

This ancient site is named after a cave used for meditation by Buddhist monks near the Gajah River. It dates from around 1000 AD and was first mentioned in a royal chronicle of Kertagama in 1365. Like other sites in the area it has a Buddhist and Shivaist background. Beside the T-shaped cave there are three large water spouts and pools.

Follow the path down towards the river past a waterfall and fallen rock carvings. Goa Gajah is in a very tranquil setting only 4km from Ubud. If you are feeling energetic early in the morning it makes a nice walk through Peliatan, Teges and 2km of rice-fields. At Teges intersection take the road to Tampaksiring and Gianyar, not Denpasar. Stalls selling handicrafts and fruit at Goa Gajah can be a bit of a ripoff.

Yeh Pulu

Not far from Goa Gajah, on the steep bank of a small river, is this 14th Century stone sculpture measuring 14 metres long and 3 metres high. The sculpture shows peasants at work, and is one of the oldest to deal with non-religious themes. To get there, take the next road to the right after Goa Gajah and follow it until it turns left at the school building. There you turn right and follow it to its end. Cross the ditch, through the rice paddies, cross another small stream and you are there.

Bedulu

One km from Goa Gajah and left at the intersection is the Purba Kala Archaeological Museum, also known as the Gedong Area. Built in 1960, it is a small but well laid-out museum with lines of sasophragus (stone coffins) in a garden setting. In the fields opposite the museum is the Buddhist Pura Kebo Edan (crazy buffalo temple) with a 3.6 metre statue of Dancing Bima. Another km up the road is the Pura Panataran Sasih temple at Pejeng where the famous gong was found.

Candi Tebing

This is an ancient Buddhist hermitage in the Pakerisan Valley near Desa Tegal-lingah village which is half-way between Goa Gajah and Gianyar.

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Gianyar

The second largest town in Bali and a centre for weaving and textiles. Opposite the open field on the main street is the old palace. 4km from Gianyar on the road to Bangli is Pura Dalem Sidan temple which looks back over the ricefields to the coast. Another 1km up the road in the village is Pura Puseh.

Bangli

Another former capital past Gianyar on the way to Lake Batur and Kintamani. The road from Gianyar climbs slowly as corn and oranges replace rice, and the air becomes cooler. The market street is a bit run-down, but Pura Kehen temple 2km out of town is a major attraction. Follow the road to Batur to the T-junction and turn right. The temple is 300 metres away. Artha Sastra Inn in the grounds of the former palace offers rooms with inside and outside bathrooms. One of the buildings in the private section is intricately carved and painted. There are many outstanding houses and smaller temples between the market and Pura Kehen. There is a waterfall 300 metres to the left of the T-junction. Bangli is 42km from Denpasar.