Understand Bali

The Island

A Balinese temple procession, offerings carried down the steps

Start here

Bali does not have hundreds of gods. It has one. Everything else you see, every statue, mask and offering, is a face of that same god.

Almost everything that confuses visitors comes loose once you know that one thing.

Start with the gods →

Five things worth knowing

One idea each. Nothing you have to memorise.

Canang sari offerings and incense smoke at a Balinese temple

One god, many faces

Bali has one supreme god, not hundreds. Everything else you see is a face of that one god.

Close-up of a Barong Ket mask, red face with gold crown and mirrors

Barong and Rangda

The most famous dance in Bali has no winner. That is the entire point.

A towering ogoh-ogoh effigy raised above the street on the eve of Nyepi

Nyepi, the day the island stops

For twenty-four hours Bali does nothing at all. No flights, no traffic, no lights after dark. Ngurah Rai is the only airport in the world that closes every year for a religious day.

Kecak at night, a masked figure lifted above a circle of chanting men by torchlight

Kecak, the dance with no instruments

No gamelan. No drums. The entire orchestra is a hundred men chanting cak.

A Balinese dancer in gold headdress performing with the gamelan orchestra behind

Legong and the gamelan

The dancers' eyes are choreographed. Every flick to the side is written into the dance.

Balinese women in kebaya carrying offerings down temple steps

How to visit a temple properly

Wear the sarong, stay lower than the priest, and never walk in front of someone praying.

While you are here

The next ceremonies

Something is nearly always happening within a short drive of the villa. These are the island-wide ones coming up.

Read the full ceremonies guide

See it for yourself, from a villa in a dance village.

Check dates & book