Ubud Bali Land Tour
The “cultural heart of Bali” Ubud is a must-see for everyone interested in the history and traditions of Bali. We will start at 08:30 am from our hotel in Padangbai and take you to explore the Ubud area. Our first stop will be Celuk village, where we will show you how silver is processed. In fact, this place is island’s major center for silversmiths and almost all families residing here preserve their inherited skills in designing and creating silver jewelry.
Then we will continue to Kemenuh village to see the Tegenungan waterfall. Located just 30 minutes from the city of Ubud, it is one of few waterfalls in Bali that is not based in mountain or highlands area. You can find it surrounded by wild jungle, creating a truly pleasing, vividly green scenery. Those who feel like it are welcome to dip in the freshwater or try nearby springs. After the refreshing swim, this Bali trip will lead us to our next stop – the 9th-century temple Goa Gajah, or Elephant Cave. This temple is a fusion of Buddhist and Hindu religion that used to be practiced by the Balinese ancestors. The centerpiece of this attraction is a cave with beautifully carved stone entrance gate.
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The next stop will be the popular city of Ubud and its even more famous Monkey Forest Sanctuary. It is ruled by more than 700 cheeky macaque monkeys guarding several ancient temples hidden under enormously large and beautiful old trees. After saying goodbye to the monkey friends, we will head back to the center of Ubud.
There are plenty of dining options, however, we do recommend you taste the traditional Balinese dish “babi guling” (roasted pig). Last but not least, on our day’s itinerary is the Ubud market where we will give you some time to shop for the souvenirs.
The market is also known from the Eat, Pray, Love movie and you can find here selection of sarongs, scarves, lightweight clothes, small statues, handmade woven bags, hats, jewelry, kites and hand-crafted presents for you and your loved ones.
- Monkey forest is actually a graveyard and for this reason, it is considered sacred.
- There are three main temples – one associated with god Shiva, the other one sitting on a small river that runs through the place and the last one associated with the graveyard nearby.
- The size of Monkey Forest is 10 hectares and it features over 115 kinds of trees.
- Balinese believe that thanks to their purity and fierceness are monkeys the perfect temple guardians.
- Profit from ticket sales covers the expenses for the village’s religious ceremonies.
- Monkeys are fed three times a day with sweet potatoes by the guards and visitors are also welcomed to feed them with bananas.
- Name Ubud is derived from Balinese word Ubad which means medicine.
- When negotiating at the Ubud market, the general rule is to first suggest the seller 50% percent or one-quarter of the original price.
- Despite the temple’s name Goa Gajah translates as Elephant cave, you will not find a single one of them here. The name most probably originates from Hindu god Ganesh picturized with the head of an elephant.
- Since the majority of Indonesia is Muslim, the traditional Balinese dish Babi Guling is quite rare to find anywhere else in the country.
