Gianyar Regency

Capital : Gianyar
Important Phone Numbers :
Direct Inquiries : 0361 108
Gianyar Tourist Office Address : Jl. Ngurah Rai 21 – Gianyar.
Phone : 0361 93401

Gianyar is an art and cultural town, has been well known throughout the word. Apart from proliferation of its archeological remains, in recent development, Gianyar looks so fascinating with the establishment of gardens and statues of Gods and demons along its street or at every road intersection. It is really worth seeing, because all the art works erected in this town are master pieces of Gianyar’s artists, those are inspired by a single source called ” Paramayoga ” Hindu legend or ” Purana Dewa ” in mount Tengguru, that tells us about the cooperation between Gods (Sura) and demons (Asura) in their succesful effort to turn or stir fast mount Mandara, searching for elixir water or water for eternal life, which is finally ended with the change of cooperation into a war disputing the elixir ownership.

Gianyar regency constitutes an agricultural region with its beautiful nature panorama, that it’s why many kinds of agricultural plantation can be developed in this region. Additionally, Gianyar Regency is rich with ancient remains and famous for high creativity of its people in field of art and culture, which considered as one of invaluable asset to the region. With this high potential, in reality nowadays, Gianyar has grown rapidly in tourism, which is the result of the richness of the nature, traditional culture heritage as well as modern one. Having this reality we realize there is possibility of emerging negative impacts towards the progress of Gianyar Regency globally, somehow, by understanding strong concepts of Hindu religion it is expected these impacts can be filtered, that local culture and foreign one can acculturate to each other positively and naturally.

Finally to all parties, especially those entrepreneurs are involved in tourism, we are expecting their participation to keep and develop tourism positively, that the tourism and Balinese culture which had has high value more well known and praised in the world.

General Information

Demographic / Living Sum up resident (1999) as much 354.530 people, Men 180.760 people and woman 173.770 people. Sum up labor force 225.520 employees, living of dominant resident in industrial sector crafting / diligence, agriculture, commerce, and construction services.The Regency of Gianyar Region is about 368 km² in administratively divided into 7 sub district such as: Payangan ,Tegallalang, Tampak Siring, Ubud ,Gianyar, Sukawati, Blahbatuh Gianyar is the district to which many a sun-struck tourist flee the heat of the coast, for it is in this district that the cool highland village of Ubud is located. Increasingly popular Ubud is an ideal base from which to explore the many attractions of the surrounding countryside.

Culturally, Gianyar is the oldest and richest region on Bali . The town Gianyar (elev. 125 meters) is the regency’s administrative capital, but Ubud is the cultural capital, and most populous town. Consisting of 244 ‘Desa’, 504 ‘Banjar’, 2,732 temples, and a population of around 350,000, the regency of Gianyar stretches from the southern undeveloped coastline into the cool, fresh hills and mountains to a point over 800 meters above sea level. The northern border lies only three kilometers away from Gunung Batur’s active crater. Rivers run from the crater’s lake through the valleys, hills, and terraced fields. One, the Ayung, is the island’s longest river. Gianyar is the heartland of Bali ‘s crafts production, where the weaving, plaiting, and wood- and stone carving industries are major employers.

The Technical High School in Guang gives instruction in sculpture and carving; Celuk is an important center for silversmiths and goldsmiths; Batubulan for stone carving; Mas, Ubud, and Batuan for painting and woodcarving. Sukawati is known for its puppet sculptors, Pujung and Sebatu produce expressive wooden statues and wooden jewelry, Bona is the center for bamboo furniture and a thriving tourist-oriented performance venue, and the artisans of Tampaksiring carve tusk and bone.

Overview

Entering the central part of Bali Island , means to come into the Gianyar regency. Gaduh temple, seven kilometers from Gianyar, has a states of Kebo Iwa, a holy person who live around the 12 th century. Eight kilometers from Denpasar is Batu Bulan village. Sculptors who make the statue from stone are found here. The sacred Barong and Keris dance are shown every day to tourist. At a distance of three kilometers from Batubulan, is Celuk a village which is a center of the gold and silver craft.

Art shops stand in rows along roadsides, selling souvenirs. About 20 kilometers from Denpasar flows the Ayung Kedewatan river, the longest river on the island of Bali . The river has its origin in the Penulisan hills and its mouth on Sanur Beach . The river valley is very lovely, with the green hills in the background and paddies field strewn across the landscape. Not far from the road between Denpasar and Tampaksiring, is the village Mas, famous especially for is wood carving and sculptures. On the route between Denpasar and Ubud 21 kilometers from Denpasar, one finds Peliatan village, famed for its Legong Kraton and Sekelegong dances.

About four kilometers before Gianyar town, is Kutri village on a junction between Bedulu and Gianyar. There are three temples standing close to each other, known respectively as Puseh, bukit Dharma and Kedharman. There is a statue of the Bodhisattwa Amoghapaca in the temple of Puseh , kept inside a closed chamber. The Bodhisattwa Amogapaca was a reincarnation of Budda and believed alsoto be the reincarnation of King Airlangga. A statue of Durga, Shiva’s consort, is found in the temple of Kedharman . It is 220 centimeters of Gunapriyadharmapatni, Airlangga’s other.

He grave of Queen Mahaendradatta is found in the Bukit Drama temple, where she is immortalized in a statue of Durga, the six-armed goddess standing on a bull. Relief carved on the rock is found in the Penaksiran valley, near Kurti at Tegal Linggavillage. The Barong dance at Batubulan village begins at 9.00 p.m. It illustrates the fight between good and evil. The Barong is a mythical animal, embodying virtue. Rangda, the witch, embodies evil. Gajah Cave is found at Bedulu village 26 kilometers from Denpasar. It gets its name from the elephant figure and the statues of the cave’s entrance.

The cave was once a hermit’s abode and was constructed by King Kasari Warmadewa, in 917 A.D. A waterfall and a pool are found nearby. There is a path leading towards Yeh Pulu, between Gajah Cave and Bedulu. A wall, covered with reliefs, 15 meters long and two meters wide, ca be seen here,. Also in Beduu is the Samuan Tiga temple, in which ancient statues are kept. Mandala Wisata Samuan has a stage and halls for art and culture exhibitions, lying next to the Samuan Tiga temple. Pejeng lies between Bedulu and Tampaksiring. Pejeng is the center of an old Balinese kingdom. Forty temple and some historical relies are found here.

The ‘Moon of Pejeng” is a kette-drum kept at the Penataran Sasih temple. According and old Balinese legend, the earth once had seven moos. One fell onto the earth, shining brightly. It was so bright, night was like day, and thief were afraid to do their evil work. One of the thieves, however, had enough courage to urinate on the moon ad so it’s luster dimmed. The “Moon of Pejeng” is shaped like a hug kettle, but served as a drum. T is considered sacred by the people. It is almost two meters long and smaller in diameter in the middle. It is made of solid bronze. It has a diameter of 1,865 meter at both ends Syiwa Bhaiwara and Cebol, statue fragments, are found in the Kebo Edan tple.

The Syiwa Bhairawa statue illustrates a giant 3.60 meters tall. Pusering Jagat temple is found nearby. There is small forest to the right of the road, four kilometers before entering Gianyar from the direction of Denpasar. The place is called Bukit Durma. Here, the Durga Kutri temple stand. Visitor’s can enter this temple through a side door, then climb 113 stone steps. According to local belief, the control structure holds the grave of Queen Gunapriya who came from Java to rule Bali until her death in 1006. This Queen, also known as Mahendratta, was King Airlangga’s mother, who hailed from east Java. Canggi Sakah temple, is 500 meters off the road between Denpasar and Gianyar.

It has a very old gate, Ganesya satues and miniature statue. Ubud village is a major center of the art in Bali . Ubud grew from a small village into the famous resort that it is today. It became famous as an art colony and tourist destination since the arrival of Walter Spies, a German painter who establish the Pita Maha artists organization. The famous museum, Puri Lukisan was started by Rudolf Bonnet, a Dutch painter, with then aim of preserving the high quality of Bali ‘s art works. Ubud has many artists, but it is especially known for its painters. There are painters who let themselves be guided only by their artistic conscience, and those who do portraits on short order, to be finished in less than an hour.

Ubud is also known for is legong dancer. The village lies 28 kilometers from Denpasar. The Warna Warta Museum is also found here. There is also the Neka Museum at Campuan Ubud village, where works of art are exhibition, among them 100 paintings by Teja Neka, who founded this museum. Bona, 30 kilometers from Denpasar is the village where kecak dance was developed. It is also known for its lontar palm-leaf manuscripts and bamboo plaiting. Saba Beach , with its beautiful scenery and fores in the background, is nearby. The beach slopes gently towards the sea and has back sand.

The Sukaluwih temple is found nearby. There is also the Neka Museum at Campuan Ubud village, where works of art are exhibition, among them 100 paintings by Teja Neka, who founded this museum. Bona, 30 kilometers from Denpasar is the village where kecak dance was developed. It is also known for its lontar palm-leaf manuscripts and bamboo plaiting. Sab Beach , with its beautiful scenery and fores in the background, is nearby. The beach slopes gently towards the sea and has back sand. The Sukaluwih temple is found nearby. At Tampaksiring village, on the road to Tirta empul , is mount Kawi .

To reach to holy baths, one must go onfoot over steep and winding paths, descend a flight of steps, to arrive at the side of the Pakerisan river, where four temples stand in a row, carved put of the clifs. The temple relief is 17 meters tall and resembles those of east Java. The temple functions as a grave. Grottos for hermit are found nearby. Magening temple is not far from Mount Kawi and Tirta Empul, approximately 10 kilometers from Gianyar. The Tirta Empul temple is found in the Tampaksiring district , 36 kilometers from Denpasar , behind the Presidential rest house, which was built 1957.

Tirta Empul means spring water. The spring water is fed into the pools through artistically sculpted water spouts. The spring is found in the southern part of this area, and is considered secred. There are another spring in other part of the area, which people use for bathing. Temple festival are held on wage Matal Tuesdays. A spring is also found under the tree outside the temple grounds. The place is crowded with tourist on galungan day. The air here is cool and refreshing.

History

Gianyar Town – District capital of Gianyar Regency – Located in the south eastern part of the regency, Gianyar is well known for it’s roasted babi guling (suckling pig) and crispy duck. It is a large town that holds little of interest for the tourist. The temple of Pura Dalem just north of the town has fine examples of stone carvings and you may wish to visit some of the small weaving industries.

Place of Interest in Gianyar Regency :

Gianyar Town Map
(click Image to Enlarge)

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