Beyond the beach clubs and terraced rice fields that most visitors associate with Bali lie two of the island's most remarkable cultural destinations: Penglipuran in Bangli and Tenganan Pegringsingan in Karangasem. Both are Bali Aga villages — communities of Bali's original indigenous people who have maintained their own customs, architecture, and traditions for centuries, independent of the Hindu-Javanese influence that shaped the rest of the island. Plan your Bali cultural circuit with Traveloka and discover the side of the island that time has not changed.

This guide covers the best photo spots at each village, when to visit for golden hour and the best light, what to see and do, how to combine both in one trip, and practical tips that will make your visit more rewarding and respectful.

The term Bali Aga refers to the original inhabitants of Bali who settled here long before the waves of Hindu-Javanese migration from the Majapahit Empire in the 14th and 15th centuries. While most of Bali adopted the new religious and cultural influences, these highland and eastern villages held to their own ways — their own architecture, their own rituals, their own social structures. Penglipuran became famous for its extraordinary cleanliness and its uniform bamboo gate architecture. Tenganan earned global recognition for its production of geringsing, a sacred double ikat textile recognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage. Together they offer the most complete picture available of pre-Hindu Balinese civilisation that survives into the present day.

Penglipuran sits at an elevation of 600–700 metres in Bangli Regency, around 45 minutes from Ubud and 1.5 to 2.5 hours from South Bali. The village has earned recognition as one of the cleanest villages in the world — and the description is immediately apparent on arrival. The main pathway is spotless, the identical bamboo gates are in perfect alignment, and the gardens in front of each home are immaculately maintained without a single piece of rubbish visible anywhere along the route.

The row of uniformly designed bamboo entrance gates (angkul-angkul) lining Penglipuran's main path is one of the most visually striking streetscapes anywhere in inland Bali. Every gate follows nearly identical proportions — a deliberate expression of the village's desa kala patra philosophy of harmony and balance in community architecture. The late afternoon golden hour between 4:00 and 5:30 PM WITA is the best time for photography here: warm western light fills the path from end to end and the long shadows from the bamboo structures create a depth and texture that midday light simply cannot produce. This is also when village residents are most active outside — returning from the fields, preparing offerings, or sitting at their gates — adding natural life and movement to the frame.

Beyond the main village area, a quiet bamboo forest invites visitors willing to walk 10 to 15 minutes further along a shaded path of towering bamboo culms. At the end of the forest track sits a small, hidden café with affordable local food served in intimate corners surrounded by greenery. The café provides a free shuttle service back to the main entrance, so there is no need to retrace the same path after visiting. Spending 30 to 45 minutes in the bamboo forest — quieter and significantly cooler than the main village path — rounds out the Penglipuran experience in a way that many visitors who rush through in under an hour miss entirely.

Penglipuran is still home to around 240 families who are all original descendants of the village — it is a living community, not a preserved heritage site. One of its most distinctive traditions is the longstanding village rule prohibiting the cultivation of aren palm trees within the village boundary, a centuries-old measure for maintaining community peace. During the Galungan festival — celebrated twice a year in the Balinese calendar — every home erects a tall penjor, a decorated bamboo pole arching over the path with woven offerings, transforming the entire main street into a corridor of ceremonial decoration that is exceptionally beautiful to photograph. Traditional Balinese attire is available to rent from several points within the village for visitors who want a more immersive cultural photo experience.

Penglipuran is open daily from 8:00 AM to 6:30 PM WITA. Entry costs IDR 50,000 for adult visitors and IDR 30,000 for children aged 3 to 12. The best visiting windows are 8:00–10:00 AM for quieter conditions and soft morning light, or 4:00–5:30 PM for golden hour photography. Avoid the 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM window when group tour buses fill the main path. Bring cash — most vendors do not accept card payments, though an ATM is available near the entrance.

Penglipuran is approximately 80 km from Ngurah Rai International Airport — find the best fares on flights to Bali on Traveloka and lock in your travel dates well in advance.

Tenganan Pegringsingan lies in Karangasem Regency in East Bali, roughly 10 minutes from the coastal town of Candidasa and 1.5 hours from Ubud. It is one of the most culturally intact villages on the entire island — still governed by its own customary law (awig-awig) and still inhabited exclusively by Bali Aga people whose traditions have remained largely unchanged for centuries. There is no fixed entry ticket; visitors leave a voluntary donation of approximately IDR 50,000 to 100,000 at the entrance. The village is open daily from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Tenganan is one of the very few places on Earth that still produces geringsing — a textile made using the double ikat technique, in which both the warp and weft threads are individually tied and dyed before weaving begins, allowing intricate patterns to emerge on both sides of the fabric simultaneously. UNESCO recognises this technique as an intangible cultural heritage of exceptional rarity. A single piece of geringsing can take up to five years to complete and is believed in Tenganan tradition to carry spiritual protective power — used in ceremonies for healing, purification, and as a sacred offering. Visitors can watch weavers at work inside their homes and purchase authentic pieces directly from the artisans, with prices reflecting the extraordinary investment of skill and time embedded in each cloth.

Perang Pandan, also known as Mekare-Kare, is an annual ceremonial combat held during the Usabha Sambah festival in Tenganan, typically taking place between June and July. Village youth engage in ritual combat using thorned pandan leaf stalks on an open stage in front of the entire community — not as a violent contest but as a display of courage and devotion to the gods of the village. Despite the thorns, the atmosphere is one of communal sanctity, with the proceedings concluding in shared celebration rather than animosity. If your visit coincides with the festival period, witnessing Perang Pandan is one of the rarest and most authentic ceremonial experiences available to visitors anywhere in Southeast Asia.

Tenganan's layout is immediately distinctive — houses line both sides of a wide central stone-paved street, with communal pavilions (bale) positioned at the village centre still used for community gatherings and ritual ceremonies. The stone alleys flanked by traditional walls and buildings untouched by any form of modern renovation create the feeling of stepping into a living history photograph from several centuries ago. The morning light between 7:00 and 9:00 AM enters the main street at a low angle that backlights the stone surfaces and doorways dramatically — one of the most photogenic lighting conditions available in any village in Bali. At the edge of the village, a small Trigona honey farm run by local residents offers demonstrations of black bee honey production and handmade rattan craftswork.

Penglipuran and Tenganan sit in different regencies — Bangli and Karangasem — with roughly 1.5 to 2 hours of driving between them. The most efficient routing combines both villages with the destinations that naturally fall along the way: start at Penglipuran in the early morning, continue to Kintamani for a caldera viewpoint lunch, then descend toward East Bali stopping at Tenganan in the late afternoon, and finish the day in Candidasa or Amed. Alternatively, both villages work well as anchors for separate day trips — one focused on Central Bali and one on East Bali — allowing more depth at each destination without the pressure of a long single-day drive.

The Kintamani area between the two villages offers some of the best accommodation views in Bali — browse hotels in Kintamani on Traveloka for caldera-view properties and unique glamping options that make an overnight stay in the highlands a destination in itself.

Both villages sit within regions rich in additional attractions that reward spending extra days in Central and East Bali.

Kintamani, approximately 30 to 45 minutes north of Penglipuran, overlooks one of the most dramatic calderas in Indonesia — the ancient volcanic bowl of Mount Batur with its deep blue lake sitting at the base. A sunrise hike to the crater rim of Mount Batur is one of the most popular experiences in all of Bali, and the relatively moderate climb is accessible to most visitors with basic fitness. The sacred springs at Tirta Empul temple in Tampaksiring, about 20 minutes from Penglipuran, add a deeply Balinese religious experience to the same day. Besakih, Bali's most important and largest temple complex, is also within reach for those extending their Central Bali itinerary.

Tenganan occupies the centre of one of Bali's richest day-trip corridors. The royal water palace of Tirta Gangga — built in 1948 with ornamental pools, water spouts, and stepping stone paths — sits around 40 minutes northeast. The iconic gate of Lempuyang Temple and the diving and snorkelling waters of Amed are both within an hour. Taman Ujung, an abandoned royal water palace with lake views across ruined stone terraces, provides a hauntingly beautiful photography stop on the same East Bali circuit. Virgin Beach and Blue Lagoon Beach offer quiet coastal alternatives for ending an active day in Karangasem with water and sand.

These four tips will help you get more from both villages and ensure your visit respects the communities that keep these traditions alive.

Penglipuran can become significantly crowded after 10:30 AM when group tour buses arrive, and the midday sun creates harsh, flat lighting that is the worst time for photography. Arriving at opening time gives you the village almost to yourself for the first couple of hours, with soft morning light perfectly suited to the gate-lined pathway. Check Traveloka promotions for early-bird deals on flights and accommodation to Bali, and book accommodation that puts you within a 30-minute drive of each village for comfortable early morning starts. At Tenganan, the 7:00 AM opening gives you the most atmospheric morning light in the stone-paved lanes before the heat of the day builds.

Both Penglipuran and Tenganan are living communities, not tourist performances, and respectful behaviour makes a real difference to the experience for everyone. Neither village has a strict sarong requirement, but modest clothing covering shoulders and knees is expected and appropriate throughout. At Tenganan in particular, always ask permission before pointing a camera at residents — especially elders, weavers at work, and anyone inside or near a temple space. Silence in ceremonial areas, and avoiding stepping into spaces marked for community or religious use, are simple courtesies that reflect genuine respect for what these villages represent.

Penglipuran requires a cash entry fee and most in-village vendors do not accept card payments, so carry sufficient cash before arriving — an ATM is available near the entrance if needed. At Tenganan, the donation-based entry relies entirely on visitor goodwill, and leaving a reasonable contribution at the gate directly supports village maintenance. If you are interested in purchasing geringsing cloth, lontar etchings, or bamboo crafts, buying directly from the artisans in Tenganan means the full payment goes to the maker rather than an intermediary. A geringsing cloth is a significant investment, but it is also one of the rarest textiles on Earth — the price reflects years of skilled work.

Rushing through either village in under an hour means missing most of what makes them worth visiting — the bamboo forest walk at Penglipuran, a weaving demonstration at Tenganan, or simply sitting quietly and observing daily village life. Allocating a minimum of two hours at each destination, and ideally three, allows the pace to slow enough for the atmosphere to actually land. Browse activities around Kintamani and East Bali on Traveloka to find guided tours that combine Penglipuran, Tenganan, and the surrounding highlights efficiently — removing the planning pressure and letting you focus on the experience. A private driver for the day is the most flexible and comfortable option for covering both villages and the destinations between them.

Traveloka is Southeast Asia's leading travel platform, trusted by over 100 million users across the region. Everything you need for a Penglipuran and Tenganan cultural trip is available in one app: flights to Bali, hotels in Kintamani and Karangasem, local activity and tour bookings, eSIM, car rental, and travel insurance.

Book an airport transfer from Ngurah Rai for a smooth start to your Bali highland journey, and arrange a car rental or private driver for the flexibility to move between Penglipuran, Kintamani, and Tenganan at your own pace. Pay with your preferred local payment method — bank transfer, e-wallet, or credit card — for a seamless checkout on every booking.

Download the Traveloka app today and start planning your authentic Bali cultural experience. Rated among the top travel apps on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in Southeast Asia, Traveloka is the one-stop platform millions of travellers rely on for every trip.