AMLAPURA. Crossing a wide, solidified lava flow which year by year is slowly being brought back to cultivation, you enter Amlapura, the main town of Karangasem regency. The former kingdom was founded during the weakening of the Gelgel dynasty late in the 17th century, and became in the late 18th and early 19th centuries the most powerful state in Bali . Puri Agung Karangasem long served as the residence of these kings, who extended their domain across the eastern straits to the island of Lombok . The puri's austere, three-tiered gate, penetrating the thick walls of red brick, is a notable introduction to Karangasem architecture.
BALI BEACH. Bali offers surfing die-hards and sun-worshippers foam-creasted waves lapping gently on pristine sandy beaches. Sunsets at the beaches are truly spectacular. Kissed by the perpetual sea breeze, palm sway as if performing a dance. For non-suffers, a myriad of water sports awaits them such as canoeing, parasailing, jet skiing, banana boat rides and lots more. In fact, the island has a beach to suit your mood and activity or non-activity. There are beaches untouched by human foot prints, beaches buzzing with activity, beaches backed by untamed jungles, beaches of black sands and beaches dotted with isolated fishi
BANGLI. Further inland the weather is cooler. Plots abound with sweet potato, peanut, corn and spices. A high kulkul drum tower marks the entrance to Bangli, capital of a kingdom descended from the early Gelgel dynasty. The largest and most sacred temple of the district is Pura Kehen, the terraced mountain sanctuary and state temple of Bangli. An ancient document tells of the slaughter of a black bull during a feast held at this temple in the year 1204. Down below at the foot of the stairway, there is an old temple which contains a collection of historical records inscribed on bronze plates.
BATUR TEMPLE or commonly called Ulun Danu Temple is situated at 900 meters above sea level of Kalanganyar, Batur village, Kintamani District on the eastern side of the main road leading to Denpasar or Singaraja Via Bangli. The temple faced west ward where mount Batur and remains of its solidified black laves serve as backdrop and lake Batur stretches far down the slope, enchased the beauty to nature around the temple. Formerly, before it is in its present location Batur temple is located on the south western slope of mount Batur.
BEDUGUL. To reach the mountain range, you drive west from Denpasar through Mengwi. As you leave the southern plains, the landscape changes from flowing tiers of rice to motley patches of onion, cabbage and papaya grown in the cool climate of the highlands. The clusters off arm houses along the way are no longer the familiar thatched huts of the south, but sturdy cottages made of wood and tile to withstand the steady downpour of heavy rains. This is rich alpine country.
BEDULU. The village at the crossroads beyond Pejeng was once the center of early Balinese dynasties. In the 14th century, the armies of the Majapahit dynasty in Java threatened many parts of the archipelago. One ruler refused to submit: Dalem Bedaulu or Raja Tapolung (Fall from Meditation), the last king of the Pejeng dynasty, a man reputed to be endowed with supernatural powers. Boastful of his awesome powers, he was punished by the gods.
BESAKIH TEMPLE. A climb north, through the astonishing landscapes of Bukit Jambul, ascends over 900 meters up the slopes of Gunung Agung to Pura Besakih, the holiest of all temples in Bali . It originated most probably as a prehistoric terraced sanctuary where worship and offerings were made to the god of Gunung Agung, the dominant landscape element in the Balinese world. Over a thousand years and more, it was enlarged and added to until it grew into the present complex of about 30 temples.
BLAHBATUH. The Pura Gaduh of this market village is associated with Kebo lwa, a legendary personality famous for his size, strength and magical power. Many landmarks and buildings are attributed to him, including the original gate of this temple. Enshrined in a small pavilion is a massive stone head over a meter high, said to be a portrait of Kebo lwa. The head cannot be dated precisely and does not resemble usual Hindu-Javanese iconography; it is probably solely Balinese in creation.
BLAYU. From Mengwi you may cross the range to the coast of North Bali . A left turn off the main road leads to Blayu where the women are weavers. The clicking of bamboo looms resound, as locally dyed threads are interwoven in webs of gold embroidery to fashion ceremonial cloths worn during festivals.
CELUK. A silver-spun dragon twice encircles the wrist to form a bracelet sold in the village of Celuk , a center of gold and silver work. Original designs in delicate filigree make Balinese jewelry one of the most unusual styles in Asia . Although individual pieces are elaborate, they have simple origins in their making. Artisans use a tree stump with a protruding iron spike as a pounding base, a bamboo stem to catch the filings, and a manually operated gas pump for heat. As with most Balinese crafts, gold and silver work is largely an hereditary trade.
GIANYAR. Before Gianyar, traveling from Kutri, there is a road junction. For a shorter round trip (skipping the Gianyar-Kintamani circuit) which allows more time for shopping in Ubudand Mas, take the road left to Bedulu and follow the tour from there (pages 151-157). Or, if there is time, take the road right to Gianyar and Kintamani. Just outside Gianyar there are several textile and weaving works with rows of bright; freshly dyed cloths hanging outside. Visitors are welcome inside to watch the nimble-fingered weavers at work.
GOA GAJAH. A short distance from Bedulu stands the mysterious Goa Gajah or Elephant Cave . A fantastically carved entrance depicts entangling leaves, rocks, animals, ocean waves and demonic human shapes running from the gaping mouth which forms the entrance to the cave. The monstrous Kala head that looms above the entrance seems to part the rock with her hands. Similarly decorated hermit cells are also found in Java. The large earrings indicate that the figure is that of a woman. The T-shaped interior of the rock-hewn cave contained niches which probably served as compartments for ascetics.
GUNUNG KAWI. From the lookout above a long stairway, ghostly habitations appear on the far side of the valley. The young River Pakrisan bubbles down over boulders, as it winds through the rice terraces. This is the striking setting of Gunung Kawi, a complex of rock-hevvn candis and monks' cells. Legend has it that the gigantic strongman Kebo lwa carved out all the monuments one night with his fingernails. Remarkably preserved in their deep niches over 7 meters high, they are only facades without interior chambers. There are ten in all-the main group of five east of the river, a group of four west of the river, and one by itself at the southern end of the valley.
KINTAMANI. In scripts from the 10th century indicate that this high mountain district which takes its name from the ancient, windblown town at 1,500 meters-was the earliest known kingdom in Bali. Its small houses are constructed of wood and bamboo tiles to give warmth in the cold evenings of the highlands. Plentiful vegetables and fruits prosper in the damp climate. Like many of the old villages in Bali , the center of community affairs is the bale agung, the village assembly hall, where the elders of the desa authority meet once a month.
KLUNGKUNG. As the seat of the Dewa Agung, nominally the highest of the old Balinese rajas, Klungkung holds a special place in the island's history and culture. As artistic centers, the palaces of Klungkung's rajas and noblemen patronized and developed the styles of music, drama and the fine arts that flourish today. The capital was shifted to Klungkung from nearby Gelgel in 1710, and a new palace built. Probably towards the end of that century the original Kerta Gosa, Hall of Justice, was erected.
KUBU TAMBAHAN. Here, Pura Maduwe Karang, " Temple of the Owner of the Land", honors Mother Earth and the sun which give prosperity to the crops of dry agriculture. Assubak temples venerate the creative urge in nature that insures harvests on irrigated rice fields, this temple holds ceremonies to guarantee a "blessing" for plants grown on un-irrigated land: fruits, coconut, maize and coffee. On its festival day farmers from surrounding villages come to ask for remnants of the offerings which are buried in the fields, a symbolic ritual to transmit the divine benevolence to the soil.
KUTA BEACH. Sunsets make memories at Kuta beach, one of the island's loveliest seacoasts. Skylight descends in warm waves of color, leaving shy stars behind. Village fishermen often set off at dusk, the sails of their prahus shrinking to frail silhouettes that drift across a wide, red sun. They vanish into the night, lulled by the rhythm of waves breaking on a beach longer than vision can discern. They return when the young warmth of early morning lights up the slopes of Mt. Batukau and, on clear days, the mountains on the eastern tip of Java.
MARGA. On 20 November 1946, Lt. Col. I Gusti Ngurah Rai, acommander of nationalist troops in Bali , and his company of guerrilla fighters were killed in the Battle of Marga. Surrounded by a numerically superior Dutch force, and under bombardment from the air, the small band, only 94 men in all, refused to surrender; they attacked the enemy positions and died to the last man-a puputan reminiscent of the royal puputans carried out forty years earlier also against the Dutch.
MAS. According to the Balinese chronicles, Danghyang Nirartha (Padanda Sakti Bahu Rauh) came to Bali from Java at the end of the 15th century and made his home in this village. This priest, from whom almost all of Bali 's Brahmanas claim descent, gave Balinese Hinduism the form it now presents, including its highly complex offerings and spectacular cremation rituals. He became court priest of the Gelgel ruler. Dozens of temples in Bali are associated with his name, for he made long trips on foot through the island. Most of the villagers of Mas (which means "gold") are Brahmanas who honor their ancestor in the Pura Taman Pule built upon the site of Nirartha is residence.
MENGWI. A turnoff toward the mountain leads to the principality of Mengwi which, until 1891, was the center of a powerful kingdom originating from the Gelgel dynasty. These kings continue to be venerated in the state temples of Mengwi, in particular Pura Taman Ayun. In Bali , each social unit-of increasing size beginning with the family-possesses a temple wherein they worship deified ancestors. The family ancestors are worshipped in the house temple, the clan ancestors in the clan temple.
NEGARA. A good distance from Tabanan stands Negara, the capital of Jembrana regency-a rugged strip of land partitioning the southwest coast of Bali . From Gilimanuk, the harbor at the westernmost tip of the island, ferries ply the narrow strait to East Java, the route by which most of Bali 's import needs, and such exports as copra and coffee, are transported. The most exciting event in Negara isthe bull races, a secular entertainment that began less than a century ago.
PADANG BAI. A perfectly shaped bay cradled in the hills, the harbor of Padangbai is the main port of all transit to the neighboring island of Lombok , with passenger and cargo vessels departing each morning. International shipping lines making stopovers in Bali anchor to the left of the bay; visitors and cargo are ferried to the pier. An area enclosed by white sand coves and turquoise sea, the small harbor town makes a good visit for yachtsmen sailing to Bali.
PEJENG. There are no great ruins here or ancient palaces. The remains of the old kingdom are mostly statues kept in many temples. One of the most impressive antiquities in Indonesia , however, is the monumental bronze drum called the "Moon of Pejeng", loftily enshrined upon a high pavilion in the Pura Penataran Sasih. It is a thousand years older than the Pejeng kingdom, for it survives from the Bronze Age in Indonesia which began about 300 B.c.
PENELOKAN. From the bamboo forests north of Bangli, the road emerges to a lookout above a huge volcanic basin. Ribbons of black lava ripple down the valley from the misty peak of Mt. Batur . This is Penelokan, "the place to look", where the world changes colors. Sometimes, the still lake there resembles blue glass, and at others, a sheetof platinum. In chartreuse and vermilion biouses,the mountain girisstride along the rim of an ancient crater surrounding Mt. Batur.
PENULISAN. The main road continues its ascent to a hillside in the clouds where, symbol of modern civilization, Bali 's television aerial, claims its high-tech place beside the long fligh of steps rising to the mountain sanctuary of Pura Tegeh Koripan. The highest temple in Bali at 1,745 meters, Pura Tegeh Koripan is actually a complex of temples at which a circle of surrounding villages worship. The sparsely adorned bales shelter lines of fine statues; portraits 1 of Balinese kings, queens and divinities; and linggas.
SAKENAN TEMPLE. The sakenan temple is dang Kahyangan Temple which located in island it called Serangan Island . Serangan Island has large land more less 1.119 Km2 which located at the top of south east of Bali Island which means the District Administrative Area of Serangan, Sub District of South Denpasar, Denpasar Municipal Region Level II.
SANGEH. Rawana, the villainous giant of the Ramayana epic, could die neither on earth nor inair.Tokill him,themonkeygeneral Hanuman devised a plan to suffocate the giant by pressing him between two halves of the holy mountain Mahameru-a destruction between the earth and air. When Hanuman took Mahameru, part of the mountain feli to the earth in Sangeh, along with a group of his monkey armies. And so they stayed to this very day.
SANUR. Save for a few scattered villas owned by lords and heiresses, during the thirties Sanur beach was left in seclusion. Pandy's Art Gallery was then an aquarium and coffee shop. Tandjung Sari was a solitary temple on the cape, and Hotel Bali Beach had not neared its conception. The only surviving home of those times is that of the Belgian painter Le Mayeur, who moved to Bali in 1 932 and lived there for 26 years. The house, with its statued gardens, luxuriant gold and crimson carvings, and Le Mayeur's own paintings is now cared for by his widow, Ni Polok, once a renowned Legong dancer and famed beauty-the ideal Balinese of his paintings.
SIBETAN. From Subagan, the village in the solidified lava flow outside Amlapura slowly putting itself back together, a road heads west along the foothills of Gunung Agung. It meets the Klungkung Besakih road at Rendang, and thus makes possible a round trip in Karangasem. The island route provides a chance to explore seldom-visited villages of the beautiful east. Women carrying loads of sweet potatoes, spices and bound piglets, men leading cows for sale, make their way to the village markets which teem with activity until around moon.
SINGARAJA. From the highest point on the mountain pass, 1,220 meters above sea level, a spectacular descent brings you to the northern coast at Singaraja, capital of Buieleng regency. Buieleng is a strip of land that stretches along the whole northern coast of Bali-open to the sheltered waters of the Java Sea , and bordering on most of the other regencies. Archaic types of social organization and antiquities are found in many villages that are mentioned in inscriptions dating from the 10th century onward. The inscriptions also tell of pirate raids.
SUKAWATI. After crossing the Broken bas-reliefs, rock monasteries and Hindu River Oos by the large new bridge, the road statues are found scattered among the temples turns sharply north into Sukawati and then and rice fields. Batuan. In 1022 king Marakata issued an The Petanu River has a fabled origin. A edict creating these two villages out of the popular legend tells of the King Mayadanawa, old Sukawati.
TABANAN. With Badung and Gianyar, the district of Tabanan forms the island's most prosperous region-the rice belt of the southern plains. Kept in impeccable order by the subak associations, the fertile fields stretch from the foothills of Batukau volcano to the south coast. Farmers adhere to no special seasons for planting and harvesting. The cycles of growth vary with individual plots, and planting continues throughout the year. There is, of course, a legend to explain this. It tells how after many unsuccessful harvests, these villagers went for a good yield. They vowed in exchange to sacrifice a guling buntut, a roasted, tailless pig.
TAMPAKSIRING. The hallowed spring of Tirta Empul in Tampaksiring dates from legendary times. In popular folklore, it was made by lndra when he pierced the earth to create a spring of amerta, the elixir of immortality, with which he revived his forces who were poisoned by Mayadanawa. The waters are believed to have magic curative powers. Every year people journey from all over Bali to purify themselves in the clear pools. After leaving a small offering to the deity of the spring, men and women go either side to bathe.
TANAH LOT TEMPLE. From the village of Marga , the trip west returns to the main route leading to Tabanan. At the crossroads of Kediri , a side-road branches to the sea, ending on a green hill which slopes down to the beach and to the remarkable temple of Tanah Lot , suspended on a huge rock offshore. Set apart from the land by a stone basin, the rock has been carved by incoming tides. Tanah Lot, with its solitary black towers and tufts of foliage spilling over the cliffs, recalls the delicacy of a Chinese painting.
TENGANAN. On a side-road, leading inland to the hills near Karangasem, is Tenganan, one of the most conservative villages of the BaliAga11 original" Balinese. This is a walled village. Within the bastions, all living compounds are identical in plan and are arranged in rows on either side of the wide, stone-paved lanes which run the length of the village. The people of Tenganan claim to have come originally from Bedulu.
TRUNYAN. From Kedisan, on the shores of Lake Batu , a prahu takes you across the lake to Trunyan, hemmed in by the towering crater wall. A path down the rim of the crater also leads there. Cut off and relatively inaccessible, Trunyan is technically and culturally outside the Balinese mainstream. The inhabitants-who call themselves the BaliAga, or the "original Balinese"-to this day retain a social order aligned with prehistoric traditions. Cremation is not practiced here.
UBUD VILLAGE. The trip to Ubud is a time change: from stone dwellings of antiquity to a current center of fine arts noted for its painters. On the threshold of Ubud is the village of Peliatan with an especially active dance troupe and gamelan orchestra. These famous musicians have represented Indonesia abroad in Europe and the United States . The village puri continues the tradition of fine performing with private dance lessons for aspirants from the age of five.
ULUWATU. Connected to the mainland by a low, narrow isthmus, the limestone tableland of Bukit peninsula, at 200 meters above sea level, is in striking contrast to the lush Bali mainland. Cacti grow upon this arid land. Some parts are used for grazing cattle. A good surfaced road meanders across Bukit to its western tip, where rocky precipices drop almost one hundred meters to the ocean. The small sea temple of Pura Luhur Ulu Watu balances picturesquely on the cliff's edge. Perhaps dating from the 10th century, it is one of the six prominent temples revered by all Balinese.
YEH PULU. A strenuous walk inland along borders of rice fields in Gianyar Regency leads to the unfrequented ruins of Yeh Pulu. It's best to take a guide there, though you will always be accompanied by dozens of curious children who scamper along with you. Yeh Pulu is a small temple walled by a carved cliff face-an enigmatic frieze 2 meters high and 25 meters long. Of the figures carved in high relief, none appear to be deities except the seated Ganesa, the elephant-headed son of Siwa.