• Selling Last and Love in Bali
• What to Do-Kuta and Seminyak
• The Hidden Life of South Bali
• The Struggle to Save Bali's Turtles
• Jimbaran-The Bukit
• What to Do-Impossible Surf at The Bukit
• Fair Trade in Bali
• Ubud
• A Dance for Every Day
• Balinese Painters
• Ubud-What to do
• A Word of Dance
• East Bali in a Nutshell
• The Hidden life of East Bali
• Klungkung
• Where to Stay-Padang Bay
• Where to Stay Candidasa
• First and Third World in Tenganan
• Amlapura-Tirtagangga
• Tirtagangga and Around
• Amed Beach
• Planning Your Trip: The Best of Bali
• South Bali in a Nutshell

 

Tirtagangga and Around

The village is also home to a few families and priests known as Brahm ana Buddha. These are followers of a Hindu cult, the Budha Kasogatan, which differs slightly from the Shiva dominant in Bali . Their presence in the village is said to date back to the 16 th century when Danghyang Nirartha, a revered Hindu leader, invited a young Javanese priest of the Budha Kasogatan cult to attend a ceremony in Bali . To test his capacities, the local villagers buried a noisy goose under the ground and asked the visitor to guess the source of the clamour.

The legend says that the priest identified the noisy beast as a dragon, making everyone laugh at his expense until a fum­ing dragon jumped out of the cage. The young priest tamed the dragon, which in Budha Kasogatan cult is the vehicle of holy men to the afterlife, and thus gained acceptance in the local community. The village was renamed Budakeling from Buddha and Keling, the priest's village in east Java ( story by Ida Wayan Oka Plating ).

From the eastern end of Budakeling, a small road climbs up for about 8km towards Tanah Aron . Located at an altitude of 900m on the slope of Mt. Agung , the site offers a sweeping view to the south and, on a clear day, to Lombok . It hosts a monument to Bali 's independ­ence fighter and their leader, Ngurah Rai. You can also reach it by driving 3km northwards from Tirtagangga to Abang, where a small road on the left leads to Pidpid, 3km up in mountains, and then finish on foot for another 3km.

The Amlapura – Muncan Road

The road heading west out of Amlapura offers pleasant views and several interesting stops. Five kilometres after Amlapura, before the Bali Aga village of Bebandem and its famous livestock market, you can find the road leading to Budakeling and Tirtagangga on your left. About 3km further, a small road on the right leads to Jungutan. Follow it to be the temple Tirta Telaga Tista, about 2km from the main road - a scenic walk through lovely countryside. More modest than the water palace

raja of Karangasem

young Javanese priest

breathtaking views over