Mas Village is one of the most famous Bali Places of Interest located very close to Ubud and is therefore of a similar landscape but Mas is not as developed in to the tourism market as Ubud and retains a traditional charm and feel. Mas is famous in Bali as being one of the main arts and crafts villages on the island. Where Ubud is the village of the painters, Mas is the village of the carvers where some of the most incredible woodcarvings are produced and have been produced for hundreds of years. If you wish to buy the balinese woodcarvings you may buy here with variable price between USD15 until USD100 for standard size products and USD10-USD10000 for big size products.
Carvings range from very small pieces that can be perfect gives up to larger ornaments and furniture and on to incredible elaborate pieces that can be as large as 25 square meters and even more such as murals ad great door arches that are traditionally reserved for temples and stately homes of the Balinese Royalty and wealthy. Mas Village is located in the same area as Ubud and therefore it can be included as part of a Ubud holiday and is a wonderful place to drop by at and look round the markets and take in the beauty and quiet that the village Mas entails.
Mas Village is located at around and hour and a half drive from the international Airport and is easily accessible from the south of Bali using the by pass road that leads through Sanur. Mas is located in the highlands and hill that lead up towards the mountains of the central of Bali and has some of the most amazing views of the island with many large and steep rice padi terraces and tropical woodlands that extend down towards the plains of the south, when looking north the huge impressive mountains are more prominent then anywhere else on the island.
This scenery coupled with the incredible culture of the area and low tourist presence makes for an ideal location to take some time out and there are some amazing traditional bungalows that extend into the 5 star class to do this from. The carving of Mas Village first began when the Royal Balinese families moved into Ubud and those who seek work wit them tried to offer to sell them goods. The royals then only started to buy and do business with the very best carvers from Mas and the best painters of Ubud. And soon all of the islands best craftsmen moved to their prospective villages creating subcultures orientated around there talents.
The carvings them selves differ between representations of the Balinese people often as farmers and in situations that the average Balinese worker can relate to, to amazing decorative carvings for the rich and then also some legends, myths representations of aspects of the Balinese religions and the stories that they entail. Today there is much to see and enjoy and many surrounding areas of interest in Mas Village and it can be worth staying to enjoy this area without the crowds on your doorstep. Whether you are an art lover or a couple looking to some time out, Mas Village will provide.
Related Tours Mas Village is a pivotal stop on various Bali tours, including the Ubud Tour, Rafting Ubud Tour, Elephant Ride Ubud Tour, and the scenic Kintamani Tour. These curated packages offer a holistic experience, combining the cultural immersion of Celuk with the natural beauty and adventure that Bali has to offer. Explore the island’s diverse facets through these thoughtfully designed tours and create lasting memories.
All you need to know about Batubulan Village history, Barong Dance performance, Kecak Dance, Stone Carving Sculpture and local culture
Batubulan village has been known as a center for the art of sculpture and carving in Bali, whose name has been worldwide. This carving art by the artist of Batubulan village, Gianyar is so highly admired and in demand by foreign and domestic tourists. Not only being a center for producing various types of carvings and sculptures, Batubulan Village also offers other tourist attractions, which is a place for performing arts in Bali such as Barong Dance, Kecak Dance and Legong Dance at Barong Dance which are seen by many tourists.
The History The history of Batubulan Village apparently started from a story of a Great Prince Kalesan. He was the adopted son of the King of Badung who in his adulthood was given a gift by the king to build a palace for him in the middle of the forest. Well get the mandate, then he went with his followers to a forest area in the eastern part of the Badung Kingdom. But a strange thing happened when he and his followers arrived at the border of the forest, they saw a lump of glowing stone (batu) that looked like the moon (bulan). Well from that incident, finally the Great Prince Kalesan established a palace at the location of the place and named the area as Batubulan.
About Batu Bulan Batubulan Village stands on an area of approximately 6,422 km2 and administratively belongs to the Sukawati District, Gianyar Regency, Bali. Led by a Batubulan Village Head call Prebekel, for those of you who want to send letters to relatives or business relations, the Batubulan Postal Code is 80582. Batubulan Village itself is divided into three traditional sub villages (Desa Adat), namely Tegaltamu Traditional Village, Jero Kuta Traditional Village, and Dlod Tukad Traditional Village.
Each traditional village is further divided into several banjars which function to manage agricultural activities in their respective regions. Not only that, there are also several banjars in Batubulan, Gianyar, which function as places to stage various artistic attractions, such as Balinese dances such as the Kecak Dance and Barong Dance. Jambe Barong Dance Stage at Banjar Tegehe (in Dlod Tukad Traditional Village), Barong Dance at Puseh Temple of Banjar Denjalan (in Jero Kuta Traditional Village) and Sahadewa Barong and Kecak Dance at Pegambangan Village.
Interesting at Batu Bulan One of the uniqueness of this village is the skill of it’s citizens in mastering the art of carving and sculpting statues from generation to generation. It’s no wonder that along the Batubulan Village road in Sukawati, Gianyar, it’s easy to find various galleries or art shops, You can go in there, see and buy a collection of statues or other artistic works of art as Balinese souvenirs to display at home.
Right in the middle of Village there is huge Banyan Tree, foot ball field, Batubulan Palace, Bale Budaya (culture hall) and local government office building. The foot field and culture hall use for sports and art events (PORSENI Pekan Olahraga dan Seni) every year around August to celebrate Indonesian Independent Day 17th August. There were 6 sports competitions and 7 art competitions. Among them, football, badminton, volleyball, tug-of-war for men and women, table tennis, barong competition, Balinese song karaoke competition, baleganjur competition at Batubulan youth level.
Batubulan Village also has famous 3 arts college school including SMK Negeri 1 Sukawati, SMK Negeri 2 Sukawati (SMIK) and SMK Negeri 3 Sukawati (KOKAR). These 3 college school learning how to play orchestra (Balinese Gambelan), learning Balinese Dance, how to be painter, wood carver, stone carver, silver smith and other product handy crafts.
Barong Dance The Barong Dance is a type of traditional Balinese dance that is played by one to two people wearing costumes and masks of four legged animals. Then along with its development, Barong Dance is also manifested with two-legged animals. Barong dance is said to be an art that is part of the repertoire of pre-Hindu culture in Bali besides the Sanghyang dance. Both are religious and sacred in nature which were originally performed as a means of religious ceremonies. This dance depicts the battle between dharma (Virtue) and adharma (Ugliness). In this battle, the Barong dancers manifested virtue, meanwhile, the figure of Rangda, who looks creepy with two pointed fangs in his mouth, plays virtue. The famous one is Sahadewa Barong Stage located at Jalan SMKI, Pegambangan, Batubulan, the show starting from 9.00AM – 10.00AM.
kecak Dance The Kecak Dance is typically performed by about forty to eighty men wearing only loincloths; their upper bodies are left bare. They form concentric circles, in the middle of which is a traditional Balinese coconut oil lamp. First they move their bodies rhythmically to the left and to the right, chanting the words “chak ke-chak ke-chak ke-chak” continuously, in slow rhythm. Gradually the rhythm speeds up and by turns they lift their hands, trembling, into the air. The kecak dance is performed for dance-dramas and the story presented is taken from the Ramayana Hindu epic. The Kecak Dance perform every day at Sahadewa Barong only from 6.30PM – 7.30PM.
The street of Batu Bulan Batubulan village has been known as a center for the art of sculpture and carving in Bali, whose name has been worldwide. This carving art by the artist of local people from Batubulan village, Gianyar is so highly admired and in demand by foreign business tourists and domestic tourists. The street full with varieties stone carving located at Tegaltamu Village between Barong Dance Statue junction till up to Bali Bird Park. The stone carving made from sand stone the grey color, pualam stone the white one and lava stone the black one.
Buddha statues of various sizes are also in great demand by consumers from Japan, France, Germany and other European countries. Padas stone statues made of antique types are still entering the export market and even increased in number earlier this year. Stone statues in the form of various forms of animals such as frogs, horses, in addition to ancient humans, are widely used for decoration in gardens, guest rooms and workplaces.
Many statue perform as Dwarapala, the figure who guards the gate in the temple. Each of these statues is named Nandiswara which is located on the right (left of the gate) and Mahakala which is located on the left (right of the gate). The existence of both is associated with the power of Lord Shiva as one of the manifestations of God in Hinduism.
Interesting Place nearby Some other places located near Batubulan Village is Bali Bird park, Bali Zoo Park, Butterfly Park, Puseh Batuan Temple, Celuk Silver Village, Sukawati Art Market, Mas Village, Traditional Balinese House, Tegenungan waterfall, Denpasar City, Denpasar Traditional Market, Sanur Beach,
To visit Batubulan Village and these places above can reach by take Full Day Tours and Half Day Tours or combine with Adventure Tours.
If you are staying in Ubud will take about 30 minutes drive by car local Ubud Driver or motor bike and from Kuta area will take about a hour drive by car local Bali Driver or motor bike. There is no entrance ticket to explore Batubulan Village, except if you would like to watch Barong Dance or Kecak Dance.
