There are dozens of fantastic cultural and outdoor attractions to visit in Bali this festive season.
Penglipuran Village, Bali’s most famous tourism village, has just opened a new area of their magical bamboo forest to welcome more visitors into the community.
Penglipuran Village has been named among the best tourist villages in the world and has also been named the cleanest village in the world.
As one of Bali’s last remaining fully pedestrianized villages, this unique community has opened its doors to tourists to explore how this traditional way of living continues in an increasingly modern world.
One of the joys of visiting Penglipuran Village is taking a stroll through the ancient bamboo forest. Tourism attraction manager, Wayan Sumiarsa, told reporters “We connote to innovate, one of which is the bamboo forest now, this is the nature that we protect, covering an area of 45 hectares which is a conservation area in the village that has been agreed upon by the Penglipuran community.”
Tourism Professor from Udayana University in Denpasar, Nyoman Sunarta, told reporters that opening up more of the bamboo forest for tourists to visit will help enhance the experience for tourists.
He praised Penglipuran Village for its commitment to showcasing the village’s traditional architecture, community structure, and landscape, and he encouraged visitors to keep this as a key focus point.
He told reporters, “The important thing is that the [tradition] of the bamboo house must not be lost, the roof [specifically]. Also, its cleanliness, and because the icon is bamboo, maximize the bamboo forest to become a new attraction.”
Prof Sunarta added, “If you want it to be sustainable, create an exhibition of residents there processing bamboo into new houses and allow tourists to learn.”
The community of Penglipuran Village decided to open the ancient bamboo forest to the public to help promote social, historical, and ecological awareness to visitors.
A secondary reason for the decision to expand the bamboo forest area that is open to the public is to give everyone more space to explore.
Typically, Penglipuran Village welcomes 2,000 visitors a day, and guests stay between 90 minutes and two hours exploring the village streets and the bamboo forest before heading off again to explore more of the sights that Bangli Regency has to offer.
Over the festive season and peak tourist season, Penglipuran Village has been known to receive 9,000 daily visitors…more space is welcome!
Sumiarsa explained, “We anticipate with new access to the bamboo forest, and no less important at the Christmas and New Year 2025 moment, we will create a cultural attraction on 28th December and 1st January, which we predict will have high visits.”
At the Bamboo Cafe at the Penglipuran Bamboo Forest, from 25 December to 1 January, local youth will be performing the Barong Macao cultural dance.
The barong, a symbol of the strength to combat evil, is an icon of Balinese culture. Visitors will be able to attend the performance at the cafe from 11 am.
Though Penglipuran Village was not named among the winners of the World’s Best Tourism Village in 2024, the community is still reaping the benefits of the prestigious award.
Bali still won big at the awards this year, though, with the wonderful community of Jatiluwih winning a hard-earned place on the list.
A visit to Penglipuran Village or Jatiluwih Village is a great way for tourists to experience firsthand a glimpse of traditional Balinese life.
While both of these communities will be extra busy this festive season, there are dozens of emerging tourism villages throughout the province that greatly appreciate tourists’ support, including Taro Village and Bakas Village, to name but a few.
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