With over 40 old temples in the region between the rivers Pakrisan and Petanu, the Pejeng area contains Bali's richest collection of antiquities-from the earliest known kettledrum and clay 'stupa' to relatively modern Shivaite sculptures and rock-cut Buddhist sanctuaries and bathing places.

Most antiquities are in the form of worn statues kept in important area temples. Because Balinese Prince Udayana married a Javanese princess, East Javanese cultural influences started to appear in Bali in the beginning of the 11th century and the language used in inscriptions changed from Old Balinese to Old Javanese.

The town of Pejeng, 48 km northeast of Denpasar, is named after an illustrious kingdom concentrated in the Bedulu-Pejeng area from the 9th century to the 14th century, when it fell to Majapahit invaders. Today it has a powerless but high-status 'puri' (Pemayun) and is full of Brahmans.

Most visitors drive from Denpasar right through Bedulu and Pejeng on their way to Tampaksiring and Penelokan, sometimes stopping en route at the Gedong Arca archaeological offices in Bedulu. No accommodations or restaurants in Pejeng, but some good markets. From Pejeng, take the wonderful walk to Manggis, lots of small villages, emerald green rice fields and dense green forests.

Archaeological Sites

There are many archaeological odds and ends in this 'Valley of the Kings' in the middle of Bali's rice belt. Follow the directory on Pejeng's main street. A strange 120-cm-high 'linga', surrounded by eight upper-body statues of Shiva, is found in the open bale of Pura Ratu Pegening east of Pura Panataran Sasih. It's a nice walk to the 14th-century cut-rock 'candi' at Kalebutan near Tatiapi, one km west of Pejeng Timor.

To reach this group, which looks like a scaled down version of Gunung Kawi, start on the path from the second crossroads after the 'puri' leading to Pejeng's graveyard. A landslide uncovered this 'candi' in 1928. Vegetation covered it again after the war and yet again in the 1950s. The 3.5-meter-high temple has been carved in relief from a two-meter-wide niche cut into solid rock. In 1951 a cloister with cut-rock niches and a courtyard were discovered on the other side of the ravine.