Neka Art Museum

The Neka Art Museum, on the road through Sanggingan just west of central Ubud, is one of the best places in Bali to understand how Balinese painting developed. It was founded by Pande Wayan Suteja Neka, a Balinese art dealer, and was officially opened on 7 July 1982 by Indonesia's minister for education and culture, becoming the first privately owned museum on the island. The founder's son, PM Kardi Suteja, now directs it. The museum was renovated and expanded after the pandemic and reopened in April 2022.

The museum covers about a hectare and is laid out like a traditional Balinese family compound, with separate pavilions linked by garden paths. Its collection numbers around 400 paintings and sculptures. The Balinese Painting Hall is the place to start, covering the main schools of Balinese painting from the 17th century to the present. The Arie Smit Pavilion is dedicated to the Dutch-born painter, the largest single artist in the collection, and to the Young Artists style that grew up around him after he arrived in Ubud in the 1960s.

Other pavilions focus on the drawings of I Gusti Nyoman Lempad, contemporary Indonesian art by painters such as Affandi, Hendra Gunawan and Sudjojono, and the East-West Art Annex, which brings together foreign artists inspired by Bali, including Rudolf Bonnet, Donald Friend and Theo Meier. A Photography Archive Centre shows black-and-white photographs of Bali from the 1930s and 1940s, a useful glimpse of the island before mass tourism.

The Kris Hall is a highlight in its own right. It holds a large collection of kris daggers, including heirloom blades and antique pieces, among them an 18th-century kris said to have played a part in the kingdom of Karangasem's annexation of Lombok. The founder's interest in kris runs in the family: his father was a carver whose three-metre garuda was shown at the 1964 New York World's Fair.

Allow at least an hour and a half. The museum suits anyone interested in art or Balinese culture, and the pavilion layout makes it easy to see in sections. There is parking on site, and the main building, Bale Sumanggen, holds the ticket office, a gift shop, a bookshop and a temporary exhibition hall. The museum is on Jalan Raya Sanggingan Campuhan, the road running out of Ubud through the Campuhan and Sanggingan area, so it combines well with the Campuhan Ridge Walk.