Bali’s Cleanest Village Celebrates Major Award Win As Tourist Visits Grow

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Bali’s most famous tourist village, Penglipuran Village, has just won yet another major award for its commitment to cleanliness and the environment.

Penglipuran is famously the cleanest village in the world. For years, it has been featured on the UN World Tourism Organisation’s list of the best tourism villages globally.

The community of Penglipuran Village is celebrating a major win as it has been given the Kalpataru Lestari Appreciation Award from the Indonesian Ministry of Environment. The annual awards ceremony is held on World Environment Day and is given to 12 individuals and groups in Indonesia who have done outstanding work for Indonesia’s natural landscapes and have shown a longstanding commitment to environmentalism. Penglipuran Traditional Village previously won the Kalpataru award in 1995.

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A post shared by Dewi Penglipuran (@penglipuranofficial)

Following the big win, the Head of Penglipuran Village, Wayan Budiarta, told reporters, “We as the people of Penglipuran are very proud of this award as a bonus from the efforts of the commitment of the Penglipuran community so far to maintain the environment so that it is beautiful and sustainable.”

He added that the community’s commitment to environmental care and cleanliness is a leading value that has been passed down from generation to generation. In the present day, community members are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to protect the environment around Penglipuran Village and to help regenerate areas that need more support.

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A post shared by Dewi Penglipuran (@penglipuranofficial)

This includes the community’s commitment to sustainable bamboo forestry, which is not only a major source of income and resource for the families who live in the village but is a key part of the tourism experience too. Budiarta shared “From the area of 112 hectares, 45 hectares are bamboo forests that are still sustainable until now.”

Penglipuran Village formally became a tourism village in 1988, and was listed as one of the United National World Tourism Organization’s best tourism villages in the world every year since 2023. Speaking to reporters after Penglipuran’s most recent win the Head of the Tourism Village Communication Forum (Forkom Dewi) Bali, Made Mendra Astawa, shared his hopes for the future of the village, as well as sustainable tourism across Bali. 

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A post shared by Dewi Penglipuran (@penglipuranofficial)

Astawa shared “The environment from the beginning of becoming a tourist village has been very concerned about maintaining the environment. How bamboo forests are maintained and sustainable and provide economic value. The nature given by Ida Sang Hyang Widhi when cultivated gives economic value to its people without having to destroy the existing order.”

He praised Penglipuran Village for its world-class tourism management and shared his hopes that the community will be a source of inspiration for other communities and tourism villages around Bali and the rest of Indonesia. Astawa explained that of 247 tourist villages in Bali, all of them hold the key to cleanliness. The key point of the tourist village besides safety is cleanliness.”

The relationship between waste management and tourism in Bali has long been a hot topic of conversation.

Bali’s issues with waste management are no secret and as tourism continues to develop on the island and remains the biggest source of revenue for the province, leaders are implementing new solutions that will benefit both residents and tourists. 

Earlier this year Governor of Bali Wayan Koster issued Circular Letter Number 9 of 2025 which formally launched the Bali Clean Waste Movement. The mission of the campaign is to encourage all villages in Bali to take responsibility for their trash at a hyper-local level.

Governor Koster explained “Source-based waste management reaches the villages. In the villages today, the response is quite good, 636 villages, 42 percent have made village regulations to not use single-use plastic packaging drinks from 1,500 traditional villages in Bali, 96 percent have made regulations (pararem) to not use single-use plastic and this regulation will take effect in July 2025.”

Tourists wishing to visit Penglipuran Village can join a day trip tour or organize a visit independently. In the high season, Penglipuran Village can welcome thousands of visitors every day. To avoid the crowds, either schedule a visit first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon. A visit around sunset is particularly magical!