The Ultimate Travel Guide to Bali: History & Attractions

Island of the Gods — Bali enchants with rice terraces, sacred temples, surf beaches and a deeply spiritual culture.

A Glimpse into History

Bali has been shaped by Hindu-Buddhist culture since at least the 9th century AD, when the Balinese script, royal castes, and temple traditions were established under Indian cultural influence while the rest of Indonesia gradually converted to Islam from the 13th century onward. When the great Majapahit Hindu Empire of Java fell to Muslim sultanates in the 15th–16th centuries, Hindu priests, nobles, artists, and intellectuals fled to Bali, making the island the last stronghold of Hindu civilisation in the Indonesian archipelago. Dutch colonisers arrived in 1846, meeting fierce resistance — the puputan battles of 1906 and 1908 saw Balinese royal courts march into Dutch gunfire rather than submit to humiliation. These events shocked European opinion and led to the Dutch adopting a more "ethical policy." Under colonial rule, Dutch scholars and artists — followed by Western painters and writers like Walter Spies and Covarrubias in the 1930s — romanticised Bali as an exotic paradise, attracting the world's attention. Japanese occupation during WWII (1942–45) ended with Indonesian independence declared in 1945. Bali achieved significant autonomy within the Republic of Indonesia and has successfully preserved its extraordinary artistic, spiritual, and cultural identity despite massive tourism growth since the 1970s. Today nearly 80% of Bali's 4.3 million people are Hindu — the only Hindu-majority island in Muslim-majority Indonesia.

Top Attractions in Bali

Tanah Lot Temple

Perched on a rocky outcrop in the crashing Indian Ocean, Tanah Lot is one of Bali's most sacred sea temples and its most photographed sunset scene. Built in the 16th century by the Hindu priest Nirartha, the temple is surrounded by tidal pools containing sacred sea snakes believed to guard it from evil spirits.

Tegallalang Rice Terraces, Ubud

The cascading emerald rice terraces north of Ubud — shaped by the subak irrigation system, a UNESCO-listed 1,000-year-old cooperative water management tradition — are Bali's most iconic landscape. The terraces are best experienced by walking the paths between paddies, visiting a working rice farm, and watching the light shift across the layers of green.

Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, Ubud

This ancient forest sanctuary in central Ubud is home to over 700 grey long-tailed macaques living among moss-draped temples dating to the 14th century. The forest is sacred to local Hindus and managed by the adjacent village for both spiritual and conservation purposes — a rare and atmospheric place where wildlife and religion coexist.

Mount Batur Sunrise Trek

The active volcano of Mount Batur (1,717m) is Bali's most popular trekking destination, with guided predawn hikes reaching the summit in time for a spectacular sunrise over Lake Batur and a sea of clouds below. The trek takes 2 hours each way through volcanic rock and jungle, ending with breakfast cooked over volcanic steam vents.

Uluwatu Temple & Kecak Fire Dance

Balancing on the edge of a 70-metre cliff above the roaring Indian Ocean, Uluwatu is one of Bali's six directional temples, protecting the island from evil spirits arriving from the sea. Every evening at sunset, the Kecak fire dance — 70 bare-chested men chanting in rhythmic chorus while re-enacting scenes from the Hindu Ramayana — is performed in the clifftop amphitheatre.