Ubud's sights fall into two groups. In the town centre, Ubud Palace, the lotus pond of Pura Taman Saraswati and Museum Puri Lukisan are all close together and can be seen on foot in a morning, with the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary at the southern end of Jalan Monkey Forest. The Neka Art Museum in Sanggingan and ARMA in Pengosekan complete the picture of Balinese painting and the foreign artists who worked here from the 1930s onwards.
The second group lies outside town and is best seen with a driver. Goa Gajah at Bedulu is a short drive south-east, while Tirta Empul and Gunung Kawi sit close together near Tampaksiring and combine easily with the Tegallalang rice terraces on the way back. Temples are active places of worship, so cover shoulders and knees, wear a sarong where asked and step around offerings. Arrive early at the Monkey Forest and Tirta Empul to avoid the busiest hours, and allow for long flights of steps at Goa Gajah and Gunung Kawi. Evening dance performances at Ubud Palace add a different view of the town's cultural life.
10 places · Updated October 27, 2026
Our top 3 attractions in Ubud
Attraction
A village-owned forest of about ten hectares at the southern end of central Ubud, home to more than a thousand long-tailed macaques and three 14th-century temples.
View details — Sacred Monkey Forest SanctuaryAttraction
Terraced rice paddies carved into a river valley about 10 km north of Ubud, watered by the traditional Balinese subak irrigation system and fringed with coconut palms.
View details — Tegallalang Rice TerracesAttraction
A Hindu water temple at Tampaksiring founded in the 10th century around a sacred spring, where Balinese worshippers bathe beneath carved spouts in a purification ritual.
View details — Tirta Empul TempleAttraction
The Elephant Cave at Bedulu, an 11th-century rock-cut hermitage with a demon-faced entrance, bathing pool and both Hindu and Buddhist carvings, about 6 km south-east of Ubud.
View details — Goa GajahAttraction
Puri Saren Agung, the 19th-century palace of Ubud's royal family at the heart of town, known for its Lempad stone carvings and evening Balinese dance performances.
View details — Ubud PalaceAttraction
A 1950s Ubud temple dedicated to Saraswati, the goddess of learning and the arts, designed by I Gusti Nyoman Lempad and fronted by a large lotus pond.
View details — Pura Taman SaraswatiAttraction
An 11th-century funerary complex at Tampaksiring where ten shrines about seven metres high are carved into cliff faces on both banks of the Pakerisan River.
View details — Gunung KawiAttraction
Bali's first privately owned museum, opened in 1982 by art dealer Suteja Neka, tracing Balinese painting from the 17th century alongside works by Indonesian and foreign artists.
View details — Neka Art MuseumAttraction
Agung Rai's museum and cultural centre in Pengosekan, with more than 200 paintings in two buildings, gardens, an open-air stage and cultural workshops.
View details — Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA)Attraction
Ubud's oldest art museum, opened in 1956 to continue the work of the Pitamaha artists' cooperative, with four galleries of Balinese painting and woodcarving.
View details — Museum Puri Lukisan