Ubud
The Cultural Centre Of Bali; A Town Of Temples, Palaces, Dance And Craft Villages Set Among River Gorges And Rice Terraces, And The Island'S Principal Inland Destination · Ubud, Bali
Ubud is the inland counterweight to Bali's beaches - a town in the hills among river gorges and rice terraces that has been the island's CULTURAL CENTRE for a century, since the princely house began attracting painters and the Western artists of the 1930s arrived. What that has left is real: a royal palace where LEGONG AND KECAK ARE DANCED most evenings, temples in constant ceremonial use, and surrounding villages that each specialise - Mas for woodcarving, Celuk for silver, Batuan for painting. THE SACRED MONKEY FOREST holds three temples and several hundred long-tailed macaques. IT IS ALSO BADLY OVER-VISITED, and anyone promising serenity is selling something: the centre is a traffic jam of scooters and the famous rice-paddy calm begins a few streets out. Both things are true and the good half is genuinely very good - the dance at the palace costs a few dollars, the ridge walk is free, and ten minutes on foot puts the traffic behind you.
Ubud, Gianyar Regency, Bali, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
UBUD IS A TOWN - no gate, no admission, open always. WHAT HAS HOURS IS EVERYTHING INSIDE IT: the UBUD PALACE stages DANCE PERFORMANCES most evenings, usually starting around 7.30 PM, ticketed at the door and cheap; the SACRED MONKEY FOREST charges entry and keeps daily hours; the ART MUSEUMS and the MARKET each keep their own. THE CAMPUHAN RIDGE WALK IS FREE AND OPEN AT ALL HOURS and is best at dawn. BALINESE CEREMONIES CLOSE ROADS WITHOUT WARNING and processions take absolute precedence - this is routine, not exceptional, and no amount of planning avoids it. NYEPI, the Balinese day of silence, shuts the ENTIRE ISLAND for twenty-four hours including the airport, with nobody permitted outdoors; check the date before booking, because it moves each year.