Bangli Day Trip Links Ulun Danu Batur Temple with Penglipuran Village

Bangli — — An inland day trip in central Bali can link Pura Ulun Danu Batur, a major highland water temple above Lake Batur, with Penglipuran, a traditional village in Bangli known for its customary governance and community-based tourism model.

The route caters to travellers interested in temple culture, village planning and agricultural landscapes rather than the island’s coastal resorts.

Start at Pura Ulun Danu Batur

Pura Ulun Danu Batur, also known as Pura Batur or Pura Ulun Danu, is a Hindu temple complex located on Jalan Kintamani in Batur Selatan, Kintamani subdistrict, Bangli.

The temple stands on the rim of the Mount Batur caldera and is closely associated with Lake Batur, which is regarded locally as a key source of irrigation water for Bali’s rice fields.

According to local temple guides and travel literature, visitors are required to wear a sarong or cloth around the lower body to enter the temple area, with rental and purchase options available on site, although current prices are not specified in the sources consulted.

Pura Ulun Danu Batur contains multiple courtyards separated by split gates and features several shrines, including an eleven-tiered meru tower connected in local belief with the worship of deities associated with water, fertility and prosperity.

The temple complex was relocated to its present position after a major eruption of Mount Batur in 1926 destroyed most of the original compound on the volcano’s lower slopes.

Scholarly and heritage sources note that Pura Ulun Danu Batur is the supreme water temple within Bali’s subak irrigation system and forms part of the Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy, which UNESCO inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2012.

Continue to Penglipuran

From Kintamani, travellers can continue south into Bangli Regency to visit Penglipuran, a traditional village in Kubu subdistrict that has become a well-known tourism destination.

Academic studies describe Penglipuran as an adat village, meaning it is governed through customary institutions and bylaws known as awig-awig, with a leadership body called Prajuru Desa Adat Penglipuran overseeing community and tourism affairs.

Research indicates that Penglipuran is considered an ancient settlement believed to date back to around the 13th century, with its current planned spatial layout developed through community-led initiatives in the late 1980s and formalised with district government support from 1993 onwards.

The village is located about 5 kilometres from Bangli town and roughly 45 kilometres from Denpasar, at an altitude of around 700 metres above sea level, on a route often combined with visits to Kintamani.

Penglipuran’s built environment follows the Tri Mandala concept, which divides space into three zones according to levels of sacredness and use: a northern temple area, a central residential zone and a southern area for fields and cemeteries.

Visitors walking through the village see rows of similar traditional homes aligned along a central uphill lane, entrance gateways known as angkul-angkul, and family compounds that often include bamboo structures and kitchens used for domestic and customary activities.

Multiple studies describe Penglipuran’s tourism model as community-based, with ticketing and common concessions managed collectively and revenues channeled into village development rather than individual profit.

Planning and transport

Sources consulted do not provide a detailed, verified timetable or fixed itinerary connecting Ubud, Pura Ulun Danu Batur and Penglipuran.

Travel narratives and maps suggest that Ubud lies within driving distance of Kintamani and Bangli, and that the sites can be visited in a single day with a private vehicle or hired driver, but they do not confirm current public transport options, journey times between each stop or standard fares.

Given these gaps, visitors are advised to confirm up-to-date entrance fees, opening hours, clothing requirements, ceremony conditions and transport arrangements locally before departure.

Context

Bangli’s highland attractions present a counterpoint to Bali’s coastal tourism economy by emphasising heritage, customary institutions and the relationship between communities and their environment.

Pura Ulun Danu Batur illustrates the religious and ecological dimension of this landscape through its role in the subak irrigation system and its position overlooking Lake Batur.

Penglipuran illustrates the village-level dimension, with its spatial layout guided by Tri Mandala and Tri Hita Karana philosophies, its adat governance, and a tourism approach that seeks to balance visitor activity with cultural and environmental preservation.

Together, the two sites offer an accessible introduction to Bangli’s cultural landscape, provided travellers treat any suggested route as flexible and verify practical details on the ground.

Sources

• Wikipedia – Pura Ulun Danu Batur
• Facts and Details – North Bali: Mt Batur and Subak Water Temples
• Ancient Bali Today – Pura Ulun Danu Batur
• Tira Vilagna Bali – Pura Ulun Danu Batur: Sacred Temple Above Lake Batur
• Frontiers in Sustainable Tourism – Heritage at a crossroads: overtourism in Penglipuran Village
• Cultoure Journal – Article discussing Tri Mandala in Balinese spatial planning
• SOSHUM Journal – Kegiatan Pariwisata Berkelanjutan di Desa Penglipuran
• Jurnal Pariwisata – Implementasi Community Based Tourism Dalam Pengelolaan Desa Wisata Penglipuran
• Binus Humaniora Journal – Community Participation in Developing Penglipuran Village
• IJMRA – Public Policy Law in the Development of Culture
• Travel And Tour World – Article on Asia’s living heritage tourism and Penglipuran Village