GIANYAR REGENCY

Steeped in culture and history, the lush Regency of Gianyar contains some of Bali's earliest relics and the majority of her important archeological sites. It is also rich in artistic tradition and has produced a good share of the island's most accomplished painters and dancers.   Gianyar is blessed by immenselyfertile soil and a plethora of springs and waterways. Two major rivers border the regency, Ayung on the west and Pakerisan on the east, and the land in between has been shaped by generations into a magnificent series of paddy terraces. The streams that gush down from Gianyar's volcanic crown have also played an important archeological role. Cutting gorges through the land and hewing boulders from bedrock, the river ways of Gianyar left in their Millen along wake the perfect combination of materials and supernatural settings for a series of rock-cut shrines (candi) and niches.

The regency's numerous springs, considered sources of fecundity and prosperity, were also long ago transformed into sacred watering holes and temple compounds. The most impressive of these sites are the holy springs of Tirta Empul and tombs and relief's of Gunung Kawi and Yeh Pulu. The ancient hermitage of Goa Gajah ("Elephant Cave") is located on the Petanu River between Peliatan and Bedulu. Discovered by Western archeologists only in 1923, this complex comprising a man-made grotto, elaborate stone carvings, Buddhist stupas and a sacred bath is now one of the most visited tourist attractions on the island, as the procession of curio shops and snack vendors will attest to. The Gedung Arca Archeology Museum is also found in this vicinity, housing an interesting collection of stone-age artifacts. Gianyar's oldest statuary is found near the village of Pejeng at Pura Kebo Edan ("Temple of the Crazy Buffalo").

Here, amongst other silent figures, stands the centuries-old "Pejeng Giant", 3.6 meters high and sporting an enormous male organ. Also in the Pejeng area is Pura Pusering Jagat, which dates from the 14th century and contains some interesting Hindu relics, including a large, ornately carved stone vessel venerated by locals. Nearby, Pura Panataran Sasih derives its name from its most important antiquity: the Pejeng Moon. The Moon (translated as Sasih in Balinese) is a bronze-age kettle drum believed to have been forged in the first century, though local tradition has it that this relic, a wheel of the Moon God's chariot, fell from the sky. Regardless, the drum is now housed in a tower-like shrine at the back of the temple, near other 11th century statuary.

Gianyar is also an excellent place to shop. The highway from Batubulan to Ubud passes through  a rapid succession of villages, each specializing in its own art form, be it gold and silver work, wood carving, sculpting or painting. Ubud itself, 25 km north of Denpasar, has been home to artists, healers and literati for countless generations, and earlier this century became a chic retreat for foreign artist and spiritualists. Ubud caters to its ever-growing complement of tourists with dozens of shops and restaurants and its own tourist information office. Three museums, Neka, Puri Lukisan and Agung Rai, display fine works of modern and traditional Balinese art.
Ubud is a town on the Indonesian island of Bali in Ubud District, located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of the Gianyar regency. One of Bali's major arts and culture centres, it has developed a large tourism industry.Ubud has a population of about 30,000 people, but it is becoming difficult to distinguish the town itself from the villages that surround it.

The main street is Jalan Raya Ubud (Jalan Raya means main road), which runs east-west through the center of town. Two long roads, Jalan Monkey Forest and Jalan Hanoman, extend south from Jalan Raya Ubud. Puri Saren Agung is a large palace located at the intersection of Monkey Forest and Raya Ubud roads. The home of Tjokorda Gede Agung Sukawati (1910-1978), the last "king" of Ubud, it is now occupied by his descendants and dance performances are held in its courtyard. It was also one of Ubud's first hotels, dating back to the 1930s.
The Ubud Monkey Forest is a sacred nature reserve located near the southern end of Jalan Monkey Forest. It houses a temple and approximately 340 Crab-eating Macaque (Macaca fascicularis) monkeys.
Ubud tourism focuses on culture, yoga and nature. In contrast to the main tourist area in southern Bali, the Ubud area has forests, rivers, cooler temperatures and less congestion although traffic has increased dramatically in the 21st century. A number of smaller "boutique"-style hotels are located in and around Ubud, which commonly offer spa treatments or treks up Ubud's mountains.
The Moon of Pejeng, in nearby Pejeng, is the largest single-cast bronze kettle drum in the world, dating from circa 300BC. It is a popular destination for tourists interested in local culture, as is the 11th century Goa Gajah, or 'Elephant Cave', temple complex. 8th century legend tells of a Javanese priest, Rsi Markendya, who meditated at the confluence of two rivers (an auspicious site for Hindus) at the Ubud locality of Campuan. Here he founded the Gunung Lebah Temple on the valley floor, the site of which remains a pilgrim destination.
The town was originally important as a source of medicinal herbs and plants; Ubud gets its name from the Balinese word ubad (medicine).In the late nineteenth century, Ubud became the seat of feudal lords who owed their allegiance to the king of Gianyar, at one time the most powerful of Bali's southern states. The lords were members of the satriya family of Sukawati, and were significant supporters of the village's increasingly renowned arts scene.

Tourism on the island developed after the arrival of Walter Spies, an ethnic German born in Russia who taught painting and music, and dabbled in dance. Spies and foreign painters Willem Hofker and Rudolf Bonnet entertained celebrities including Charlie Chaplin, Noel Coward, Barbara Hutton, H.G. Wells and Vicki Baum. They brought in some of the greatest artists from all over  Bali to teach and train the Balinese in arts, helping Ubud become the cultural centre of  Bali.

A new burst of creative energy came in 1960s in the wake of Dutch painter Arie Smit (1916-), and development of the Young Artists Movement. There are many museums in Ubud, including the Museum Puri Lukisan, Museum Neka and the Agung Rai Museum of Art.

The Bali tourist boom since the late 1960s has seen much development in the town; however, it remains a centre of artistic pursuit. The regency's numerous springs, considered sources of fecundity and prosperity, were also long ago transformed into sacred watering holes and temple compounds. The most impressive of these sites are the holy springs of Tirta Empul and tombs and relief's of Gunung Kawi and Yeh Pulu. The ancient hermitage of Goa Gajah ("Elephant Cave") is located on the Petanu River between Peliatan and Bedulu. Discovered by Western archeologists only in 1923, this complex comprising a man-made grotto, elaborate stone carvings, Buddhist stupas and a sacred bath is now one of the most visited tourist attractions on the island, as the procession of curio shops and snack vendors will attest to. The Gedung Arca Archeology Museum is also found in this vicinity, housing an interesting collection of stone-age artifacts. Gianyar's oldest statuary is found near the village of Pejeng at Pura Kebo Edan ("Temple of the Crazy Buffalo").Steeped in culture and history, the lush Regency of Gianyar contains some of Bali's earliest relics and the majority of her important archeological sites. It is also rich in artistic tradition and has produced a good share of the island's most accomplished painters and dancers.  Gianyar is blessed by immenselyfertile soil and a plethora of springs and waterways. Two major rivers border the regency, Ayung on the west and Pakerisan on the east, and the land in between has been shaped by generations into a magnificent series of paddy terraces. The streams that gush down from Gianyar's volcanic crown have also played an important archeological role. Cutting gorges through the land and hewing boulders from bedrock, the river ways of Gianyar left in their Millen along wake the perfect combination of materials and supernatural settings for a series of rock-cut shrines (candi) and niches.

Here, amongst other silent figures, stands the centuries-old "Pejeng Giant", 3.6 meters high and sporting an enormous male organ. Also in the Pejeng area is Pura Pusering Jagat, which dates from the 14th century and contains some interesting Hindu relics, including a large, ornately carved stone vessel venerated by locals. Nearby, Pura Panataran Sasih derives its name from its most important antiquity: the Pejeng Moon. The Moon (translated as Sasih in Balinese) is a bronze-age kettle drum believed to have been forged in the first century, though local tradition has it that this relic, a wheel of the Moon God's chariot, fell from the sky. Regardless, the drum is now housed in a tower-like shrine at the back of the temple, near other 11th century statuary.

Gianyar is also an excellent place to shop. The highway from Batubulan to Ubud passes through  a rapid succession of villages, each specializing in its own art form, be it gold and silver work, wood carving, sculpting or painting. Ubud itself, 25 km north of Denpasar, has been home to artists, healers and literati for countless generations, and earlier this century became a chic retreat for foreign artist and spiritualists. Ubud caters to its ever-growing complement of tourists with dozens of shops and restaurants and its own tourist information office. Three museums, Neka, Puri Lukisan and Agung Rai, display fine works of modern and traditional Balinese art.
Ubud is a town on the Indonesian island of Bali in Ubud District, located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of the Gianyar regency. One of Bali's major arts and culture centres, it has developed a large tourism industry.Ubud has a population of about 30,000 people, but it is becoming difficult to distinguish the town itself from the villages that surround it.

The main street is Jalan Raya Ubud (Jalan Raya means main road), which runs east-west through the center of town. Two long roads, Jalan Monkey Forest and Jalan Hanoman, extend south from Jalan Raya Ubud. Puri Saren Agung is a large palace located at the intersection of Monkey Forest and Raya Ubud roads. The home of Tjokorda Gede Agung Sukawati (1910-1978), the last "king" of Ubud, it is now occupied by his descendants and dance performances are held in its courtyard. It was also one of Ubud's first hotels, dating back to the 1930s.
The Ubud Monkey Forest is a sacred nature reserve located near the southern end of Jalan Monkey Forest. It houses a temple and approximately 340 Crab-eating Macaque (Macaca fascicularis) monkeys.
Ubud tourism focuses on culture, yoga and nature. In contrast to the main tourist area in southern Bali, the Ubud area has forests, rivers, cooler temperatures and less congestion although traffic has increased dramatically in the 21st century. A number of smaller "boutique"-style hotels are located in and around Ubud, which commonly offer spa treatments or treks up Ubud's mountains.
The Moon of Pejeng, in nearby Pejeng, is the largest single-cast bronze kettle drum in the world, dating from circa 300BC. It is a popular destination for tourists interested in local culture, as is the 11th century Goa Gajah, or 'Elephant Cave', temple complex. 8th century legend tells of a Javanese priest, Rsi Markendya, who meditated at the confluence of two rivers (an auspicious site for Hindus) at the Ubud locality of Campuan. Here he founded the Gunung Lebah Temple on the valley floor, the site of which remains a pilgrim destination.
The town was originally important as a source of medicinal herbs and plants; Ubud gets its name from the Balinese word ubad (medicine).In the late nineteenth century, Ubud became the seat of feudal lords who owed their allegiance to the king of Gianyar, at one time the most powerful of Bali's southern states. The lords were members of the satriya family of Sukawati, and were significant supporters of the village's increasingly renowned arts scene.

Tourism on the island developed after the arrival of Walter Spies, an ethnic German born in Russia who taught painting and music, and dabbled in dance. Spies and foreign painters Willem Hofker and Rudolf Bonnet entertained celebrities including Charlie Chaplin, Noel Coward, Barbara Hutton, H.G. Wells and Vicki Baum. They brought in some of the greatest artists from all over  Bali to teach and train the Balinese in arts, helping Ubud become the cultural centre of  Bali.

A new burst of creative energy came in 1960s in the wake of Dutch painter Arie Smit (1916-), and development of the Young Artists Movement. There are many museums in Ubud, including the Museum Puri Lukisan, Museum Neka and the Agung Rai Museum of Art.

The Bali tourist boom since the late 1960s has seen much development in the town; however, it remains a centre of artistic pursuit.

Denpasar	Badung	Gianyar
Jembrana	Karangasem	Bangli
Buleleng	Tabanan
Most Visit  Place Of Interesting