• Bali Guide

  • Introduction to Bali
  • Weather
  • Things not to miss
  • Getting around
  • Entry requirements
  • Money
  • Public holidays

• Explore Bali

  • South Bali
  • Ubud
  • Around Ubud
  • East Bali
  • North Bali and the central volcanoes
  • West Bali

• Accommodation

  • Find accommodation

• Things to do

  • Drinking
  • Eating
  • Shopping
  • Nightlife

Bali Guide

Ubud

Inland UBUD and its surrounding area form Bali's cultural heartland, home to a huge proliferation of temples, museums and art galleries, where Balinese dance shows are staged nightly, a wealth of craft studios provide absorbing shopping, and traditional ceremonies and rituals are observed on a daily basis. It's also surrounded by a stunning physical environment of lush, terraced paddies watered by hundreds of streams – and much higher rainfall than in the south – giving plenty of scope for leisurely hikes and bicycle rides. The 1930s saw the arrival of a bevy of expat artists in Ubud, injecting a new vigour into the region's arts and crafts, which have thrived ever since. It is now a fully fledged resort, visited by nearly every holidaymaker on the island, even if only as part of a day-trip to the much-publicized Monkey Forest.

Although it's fashionable to characterize Ubud as the "real" Bali, especially in contrast with Kuta, it bears little resemblance to a typical Balinese town. Organic cafés, riverside bungalows and craft shops crowd its central marketplace, chic expat homes occupy some of the most panoramic locations, and sidestreets are dotted with spas and alternative treatment centres. It even hosts an annual literary festival, the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival ( www.ubudwritersfestival.com ), every October, and the Bali Spirit Festival of world music, dance and yoga every March ( www.balispiritfestival.com ). There is major development along the central Jalan Monkey Forest (officially known as Jalan Wanara Wana), a kilometre-long street of hotels, restaurants, tour agencies and souvenir shops, and the core village has expanded to take in the neighbouring hamlets of Campuhan-Sanggingan, Penestanan, Nyuhkuning, Padang Tegal, Pengosekan and Peliatan. Yet traditional practices are still fundamental to daily life in Ubud – arguably more so than anywhere else on Bali – and the atmosphere remains undeniably seductive, an appealing blend of ethnic integrity and tourist-friendly comforts.