Bali may be one of Asia’s most heavily touristed destinations but it’s still possible to get off the beaten track and find something underappreciated on the Island of the Gods. Here are seven lesser known yet rewarding attractions and curiosities on the Indonesian holiday island. His is an artform born out of both inspiration and necessity, Pak Wayan Gama tells me, inside his small, street-front studio, its walls filled with framed works of art.
An intricate style of Balinese painting laden with Hindu mythology and compressed on tiny canvases emerged in the 1970s. Miniature paintings evolved to allow artists in mountainside Keliki village to make a living from the island’s burgeoning tourism industry. For nearly 50 years, Keliki’s gifted painters have fed their families by selling their work to tourists.
In recent years, they’ve opened tourist workshops in this time-warp village ensconced in jungle about 8km north of Ubud. The artists relay the mythology of Hindu gods such as Brahman and Shiva, who are often depicted in the paintings amid bucolic Balinese scenery. Many of Pak Wayan Gama’s students stay at the nearby Capella Ubud, a luxury resort that offers guests immersive cultural experiences that include Keliki painting lessons.
Tenganan is all about its bloody spectacles. While still a fairly low-profile attraction, the village – a 50km drive east of Ubud – has been gaining social media attention for its unique and violent gladiator battles, called Makare-.