This tour will take you to the following places:

• BUTUBULAN
• CELUK
• MAS
• PURA GOA GAJAH
• GUNUNG KAWI
• PURA TIRTA TAMPAKSIRING
• ULUN DANU BRATAN

BATUBULAN

It is famous for the numerous sculptors and stone carvers who live there. In fact, the village hosts a large number of workshops in which the inhabitants practice their art and sell their products, which are destined both for the local market (temples or houses) , both to the tourist (souvenir).

The stone used for the sculptures is a gray and porous volcanic rock called PARAS which resembles pumice stone and is light and soft it also ages rapidly giving a patina of antiquity.

The work of the Batubulan sculptors is of an excellent quality

CELUK

Village, located about 4km southwest of Sukawati district, is also Bali’s main center for goldsmiths and silversmiths.

The gold and silver items made here are of high quality and feature unique and elaborate designs, as the craftsmen are known for their skills and industriousness.

Shops and shops are located along the main road.

Most of the craftsmen come from Pande families, a subject of blacksmiths who excluded them from the circle of caste.

MAS

Means gold in Bahasa Indonesia, but wood carving is the main craft activity of the village.
Carving was a traditional art of the Brahmin priestly caste and their skill is said to be a gift from the gods.

In ancient times this activity was limited to decorating temples and making masks for dance and musical instruments.

Craftsmen in the 1930s began to portray people and animals in a naturalistic way.

PURE GOA GAJAH

Also known as Elephant Cave, it is located on the island of Bali about 2 kilometers southeast of the Ubud town hall built around the 9th century and used as a sanctuary.

It was rediscovered in 1923 by Dutch archaeologists but the pools for the sacred baths were discovered only in 1950.

The origins of the cave are uncertain, a legend of local folklore has it that it was created with his claws by the mythological giant named Kebo Iwa, one of the eleven ministers of the king Beda- Hulu, legendary ruler of the kingdom of Bali.

The name probably comes from the nearby Petanu River which was called the Elephant River at the time or it is speculated that the name may derive from the image of the statue which forms the main entrance to the site, a demon which may have been mistaken for an elephant which, however, it does not represent a typical animal of the place.

It is hypothesized that this gigantic head could represent the effigy of the chthonic god Bhoma or the witch-queen Rangda.

Examining the architectural style of the site which shows the coexistence of elements of Buddhism and Hinduism, it would date back to the 11th century and can be attributed to the kingdom of Bali, at a time when Hinduism had recently penetrated the island.

Photo of the statue-fountains depicting bidadari in front of the basins for the sacred baths within the complex. The entrance leads to a T-shaped room which branches off towards the cheeks of the demon’s face which contain each of the niches, in one of them contains effigies of lingam and yoni, male and female symbols of Shiva; while in the other there is a small statue of Ganesh.

A long corridor, adorned with reliefs representing demons of Hindu origin, leads to the rectangular ritual baths decorated with statue-fountains representing bidadari, or female spirits of water and clouds belonging to Hindu mythology.

These type of tanks were usually built in sacred places so that pilgrims and devotees could purify themselves before proceeding with their offerings or prayers. In the Old Javanese poem Nagarakretagama dating back to 1365, it is described as one of the ten main places of Buddhist worship in Bali.

GUNUNG KAWI

It is a public temple in Bali dedicated to the god of water, where members of the royal family are buried.

located between rice fields and palm groves, the temple is surrounded by a beautiful green landscape.

After a descent down the steep stairs filled with typical souvenir shops, you arrive at the river canal, where the temple is located.

In the outer part you can see the tombs of members of the royal family, although they are not buried here, but inside one of the temple caves.

Gunung Kawi Temple is an 11th-century burial complex in Tampaksiring. It is located northeast of Ubud in Bali, Indonesia. 30 minutes from Ubud.

The temple is spread on both sides of the Pakerisan River and comprises 10 candi (shrines). Carved into the rock are burial monuments, each niche is 7 meters high. These burial monuments are believed to be dedicated to King Anak Wungsu and his consorts of the Udayana dynasty.

On the east side are five temples dedicated, according to one theory, to King Udayana, his queen Mahendradatta and their sons Airlanga, Anak Wungsu and Marakata. The temples on the west side are dedicated, according to the same theory, to the minor queens or concubines of the king.

PURA TIRTA EMPUL (Tampaksiring)

It is located around a source of the Pakerisan River near the city of Tampaksiring .The temple is central to the Balinese irrigation system the temple was built in 962 AD.

After a huge entrance garden, the Tirta Empul unfolds in the classic three-level Hindu subdivision Jaba Pura a first courtyard which is accessed by a stone portal (candi bengar) and incorporates a large koi tank and various tourist shops. Jaba Tengah a second central courtyard formed by 2 bathing pools (petirtaan) and 30 fountains where Balinese Hindus go for their purifying ritual bath. Jeroan inner courtyard, the holiest place in the temple, full of altars of different sizes, a honor of the Vishnu-Brahmā-Shiva triad, statues of other deities, some votive pavilions (bale) and very intricate decorations everywhere. The name of “Tirta Empul” means torrent of crystalline water which is used as if it were “blessed water” to purify oneself in various ceremonies. Legend has it that it was Indra, the Hindu god, who made these waters acquire miraculous properties, since he used them to achieve immortality.

This spring is located inside the Tirta Empul Temple, and has been known and used since the 10th century, more than a thousand years, when the people of Bali have a tradition to come here. In the ponds, the water comes through twelve water springs santa and the ceremony to continue.

Or we can say that the ritual is to make the offerings first, and then enter the ponds and immerse yourself.

As in many of the temples in Bali, it is imperative that you enter with your legs covered, even the boys, who will have to wear a sarong that they give you there.
Pura Tirta Empul, near Ubud.

Near this pond stands the temple dating from the tenth century, but the walls that enclose the site, which is not allowed to enter, are more recent. Overlooking the temple is a strikingly modern building: the Government House built in 1954. Originally a residence for Dutch officials, later to be used by former President Sukarno during his frequent trips to Bali.

ULUN DANU BRATAN

Is the most important Shivaist temple in Bali. It is located in the village of Bedugul on Lake Bratan, inside the caldera of an extinct volcano and about 1,200 meters above sea level. The temple is dedicated to the goddess of water Dewi Danu and, for this reason, it is positioned on the most important water reserve in the whole area. Dewi Danu is the supreme goddess of the Agama Tirta hierarchy (water system), Balinese beliefs on the religiosity of water.

She is also the most important female figure of the Balinese Olympus, the vast majority of rites and local tradition revolving around her cult. Lake Bratan is the water reserve at the origin of the complex irrigation system of all area rice fields; this system is called subak and, since 2012, it has become part of the UNESCO world heritage HISTORY.

The Ulun Danu Bratan temple was founded in 1633 during the Mengwi reign period. However, an old stone sarcophagus found inside the temple complex has led historians to assume that the site was a place of worship well before the construction of Hindu altars.

The temple complex is located on the western side of the lake and consists of two parts: one lying on the shore and one “floating”.The main eleven-level meru, located on an islet in the waters of the lake, is called Lingga Petak and is dedicated to Shiva. On the bank facing the Lingga Petak there is space for the remaining part of the temple which pays homage to the Pura Puncak Mangu, a small temple located northeast of the lake, dedicated to soil fertility. This part of the temple is characterized by several bales, the padmasana and a seven-level high meru dedicated to Brahma and is usually off limits to non-believers.

Along the shore of the lake there is a beautiful flower garden in which there is also a large Buddhist stupa adorned with statues. The presence of this stupa confirms, as in the case of the Goa Gajah temple, the correlation between Buddhist and Hindu religious sites.

The image of the Ulun Danu Bratan temple which is reflected in the waters of the lake, surrounded by mountains, is one of the most iconic of the whole island: the 50,000 Indonesian rupee banknote, for example, bears its representation on the reverse. The piodalan (anniversary) of the temple is celebrated twice a year during each Kliwon Julungwangi of the Balinese Pawukon calendar.

On this occasion the temple is festively decorated, and the inhabitants of all the nearby villages go to the lake to celebrate the temple’s anniversary. It is about 45Km from Ubud and about 70K from the airport from which it can be reached, respectively, in about 1 hour and 30 and about 3 hours.