The Most Bali Temples & Culture Tour

Barong and Keris dance is a Balinese dances story about the struggle between good and evil. Good is personified by the Barong Keket, a strange, fun-loving creature in the shape of shaggy semi-lion. Evil is represented by Rangda, a witch. Ultimately, the two characters engage in battle, at which pont the Barong's keris-bearing followers rush in to attack Rangda. The witch, however, uses her magical powers to turn the keris knives in upon their owners, who fall into the trance and start trying to stab themselves. The Barong uses magic to protect his followers from the knives. In the end, the Barong triumphs and Rangda retreats to recuperate her strength for the next encounter. All that remains is for a priest to help the keris dancers powerful performance and is not taken lightly by those involved.

The most notable landmark is the village temple, known as Pura Puseh, an ancient structure dated to the 11th century, embellished with intricate stone carvings. It is located in the northern part of the village, 200 metres (660 ft) off the main road.The temple also has an inscription that testifies to the date of founding of Batuan in 1022 AD.The temple underwent restoration in 1992. It is a five-tiered gateway tower, clearly influenced by Indian religious architecture. Its icons and decorations, however, are typically Balinese in style. Notable depictions include a Bhoma head overlooking the main gateway, the god Wisnu astride a bull, great elephants on the central stairway balustrade, and Siwa standing amongst skulls. The roof of the temple is made of the fibre of chromatic black palm tree. The maintenance of the temple is done by the residents of the village. The temple is situated on the main road from Denpasar to Ubud.

The temple is characterised by menacing faces that are carved into the stone – whose purpose is assumed to be the warding off of evil spirits. The primary figure was once thought to be an elephant, hence the nickname Elephant Cave. Other sources state that it is named after the stone statue of the Hindu God Ganesh (characterised by having the head of an elephant) located inside of the temple. The site is mentioned in the Javanese poem Desawarnana written in 1365. An extensive bathing place on the site was not excavated until the 1950s.

Gunung Kawi is an 11th-century temple and funerary complex in Tampaksiring[1]: 180  north east of Ubud in Bali, Indonesia.,[2] that is spread across either side of the Pakerisan river. It comprises 10 rock-cut candi (shrines) that are carved into some 7-metre-high (23 ft) sheltered niches of the sheer cliff face. These funeral monuments are thought to be dedicated to King Anak Wungsu of the Udayana dynasty and his favourite queens. On the east side there are five temples that are dedicated, according to one theory, to King Udayana, his queen Mahendradatta, and their sons Airlangga, Anak Wungsu, and Marakata. The temples on the west side are dedicated, according to the same theory, to the king's minor queens or concubines.