Places of Interest :

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.

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.

Batu Bulan
Driving northeast of Denpasar, one is soon among the fields and streams of Badung and Gianyar. Badung's district border is marked by a spinning factory named Patal Tohpati. Tohpati means "where people risk their lives" and alludes to a former battle between two rival kingdoms. Entering Batubulan, stone statues of divinities and demons, humans and animals line the roadside.

Mas
According to the Balinese chronicles, Danghyang Nirartha (Padanda Sakti Bahu Rauh) came to Bali from Java at the end of the 1 5th century and made his home in this village. This priest, from whom almost all of Bali's Brahmanas claim descent.

Batur
In 1927,the people of Batur began rebuilding Pura Ulun Danu, the temple which once lay at the foot of the volcano. It was an ambitious project. The majority of the 285 planned shrines are yet to be completed. At present, the temple is finely and simply designed. Two august gateways, severe in contrast to the elaborate split gates of South Bali, open onto spacious courtyards laid with black gravel.

Bedugul
In jungle terrain lies the serene lake of Bratan, veiled with mist. It fills the ancient crater of Mt. Bratan. Because the lake is an essential water source for surrounding farmlands, the people of Bedugul honor Dewl'tanu, goddess of the waters.

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.

Besakih
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.

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.

Kuta
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 the waves.

Marga
On 20 November 1946, Lt. Col. 1 Gusti Ngurah Rai, a commander 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.

Blahbatuh
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. A sarong two meters long takes three weeks to a month to weave, depending upon the intricacy of the design.

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 jeweiry 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.

Denpasar
With a population over 100,000, this Bali's capital city is the largest city in the island. It is also clock. Since the Denpasar's two main shopping streets at el960sand the tourist boom, Denpasar has come together at the Guru statue Hindu concepts. It replaced an old street Jalan Gajah Mada grown quickly into a bustling little city in is block-full with.

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 Ubud and 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.

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.

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.

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.

Kintamani
In script 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.

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.

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.

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. The history of this coastal village is connected with those eventful years that saw the deaths of Mahendradatta and Udayana at the beginning of the 11 th century.

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 sheet of platinum. In chartreuse and vermilion houses, the mountain giri's stride 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.

Sangeh
Rawana, the villainous giant of the Ramayana epic, could die neither on earth nor inair.Tokill him, the monkey general 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 fail to the earth in Sangeh, along with a group of his monkey armies. And so they stayed to this very day.

Sangsit
The temples of North Bali differ from those in the south. Instead of the small shrines and meru towers of southern temples, a single pedestal, built on a terraced stone base, furnishes the inner courtyard. Often, the pedestal supports a padmasana, throne of the sun god, and sacred "houses" to store relics and serve as a resting place for deities during temple festivals. Next to the classical lines of southern decoration, North Balinese carving is forcefully baroque.

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 1932 and lived there for 26 years.

Sawan
A side-trip southeast of Singaraja passes the small temple of Jagaraga whose reliefs portray: two smug Europeans in a model-T Ford suddenly taken unawares by an armed bandit (a robbery probably inspired by cowboy films), flying aces in one-propped aircraft plunging into the sea; and a Dutch steamer signaling an SOS upon being attacked by a crocodilian sea monster. Even the wicked Rangdas and fertility statues-a dazed mother buried under a pile of children-are skilfully hewn with a delight full sense of humor.

Sempidi
These villages west of Denpasar, are noted for decorative temple sculpture. Carvings of domestic scenes and mythological episodes are mischievously exaggerated and painted in bright colors, reminiscent of the exuberant North Balinese style of sculpture.

Serangan
A pleasant sail by prahu from Sanur or Benoa, carries you to Serangan, an island just off the coast south of Sanur, nicknamed "The Turtle Island" for the large sea turtles caught there and fattened on sea grass until they are sold as the specialty of village feasts. At low tide it is possible to walk there. The island's sea temple, Pura Sakenan, is held sacred by all the people of South Bali, especially those of the Denpasar and Mengwi areas.

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.

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 Buleleng regency. Buleleng 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.

Sukawati and Batuan
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.

Tabanan
Pasar Hewan, in Kediri, a village en route to Tabanan, is Bali's cattle market. Every three days, by the religious calendar, merchants from South Bali come to buy cattle for export to Singapore and Hong Kong. Other livestock on sale include geese, ducks, pigs, chickens, and fighting cocks.

Tampak Siring
he 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.

Tanah Lot
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.

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.

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.

Ubud
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.

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.

Yeh Pulu
A strenuous walk inland along borders of rice fields 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.

(From Bali Vision, http://www.balivision.com/article_resources/placeofinteres.asp)