Tenganan Village Karangasem, one of the three ancient villages in Bali that belongs to the Bali Aga Village category.

Trunyan Village in Kintamani District, Bangli Regency
Sembiran Village in Tejakule District, Buleleng Regency.
Tenganan Village in Manggis District, Karangasem Regency. Also, consider the oldest traditional village in Bali.
So, what is Bali Aga village? Bali Aga village is a traditional ancient village in Bali, and their villager’s lifestyle is based on the rules and customs of the ancestral heritage, from the days before the Majapahit kingdom.

In the village of Bali Aga, the architecture houses, meeting halls, and temples built strongly defended the rules of a tradition for generations. Characteristics of Bali Aga villagers’ house building, made of a mixture of red stone, river rock, soil and has a relatively similar size.

What is the profession of Tenganan Karangasem villagers in general? Livelihoods in the Tenganan Karangasem villagers, generally as rice farmers. A small portion of villagers also exists as craftsmen. Residents in the village of Tenganan Karangasem in making handicrafts still use the old method inherited from their ancestors. The typical crafts of the Tenganan villagers such as woven bamboo, carving – carving, painting on palm leaves, and woven cloth.

I visit Tenganan Karangasem village very often, at least once a month, because I use the Tenganan village as a benchmark destination for cycling routes. The residents of Tenganan village in Karangasem are amiable, and the cleanliness of the settlement is maintained.

Every time I visit Tenganan Village, I feel like seeing villages in Bali when I was a child. When you enter the village area, you will see many old buildings and look unique. Also, you can access one of the resident’s houses of Tenganan Pegringsingan village. In the area of ​​residents’ homes, you can see the handicrafts for sales made by villagers.

The Tenganan village uniqueness as a tourist attraction lies in the traditional society buildings, woven Gringsing fabrics, and pandan war events.

The woven textile produced by the Tenganan villagers is called the Gringsing fabric. Therefore, this traditional village also called by the name of the Pegringsingan community Bali.

From the past, the inhabitants of this village, famous for their expertise in weaving Gringsing fabric. Gringsing textiles made by employing a double tie technique. This technique is the only one in Indonesia, so the Gringsing fabric produced by the local community is very well known throughout the world.

Villagers have a unique tradition and become the main attraction of Tenganan Pegringsingan tourism. Every year between June and July, the Mekare-Kare / pandanus war tradition held. Pandanus war is the ritual of a pair village youth, mutually fighting using a thorn from a pandan leaf on the stage. As a result of the incision of pandanus leaf thorns, they are causing injuries on the back of the village youth.

After the Pandanus war is over, the wound treated with antiseptic folk remedies from tubers. When smeared with medicine, the youths’ backs will feel very sore. The injury will dry up and heal in a few days. This tradition carried out to train the mentally and physically of the villagers. During the pandan war event in Jun or July, you will see many photographers covering the Mekare-Kare event.

Mekare-Kare is the peak of the Tenganan Pengringsingan village ceremony procession. Local villagers call the name of the village ceremony by the name of Usaba Sambah. Usaba Sambah ceremony has a duration of 1 month, and the pandanus war usually held 2 to 4 times

For the pandanus war schedule in Tenganan Pegringsingan village in 2020, I don’t know the exact date yet. Because the pandanus war schedule does not use the regular calendar; instead, it uses the Tenganan local community calendar. Usually, the pandanus war schedule in Pegringsingan village held in June or July. Last year, Mekare-Kare (Pandanus War) held on June 25, 2019, from 14:00 – 17:00.

Tenganan Village is about 70 kilometers from Bali’s Ngurah Rai International airport. The trip to this village from Ngurah Rai International airport will take approximately one hour 45 minutes by car. If there is road congestion, it will take longer trips.

If you depart from the tourist area of ​​Ubud, such as the Ubud monkey forest, it will make travel a distance of 55 kilometers with an estimated travel time of 1 hour 40 minutes.

In the village area, there is a reasonably large vehicle parking area. Also, many stalls around the parking area sell souvenirs, food, and drinks. If you need directions to find the location of the village, please see the map below!

Are there entrance fees to the Tenganan Pegringsingan Karangasem village? There is no entrance ticket, but there will be donations given by visitors. Due to its contribution, it’s up to visitors to provide the nominal donation.

If you want to visit the Tenganan Pegringsingan village, you will need transportation. The best option for transport in Bali is a private vehicle, such as a motorbike or a car. To get a motorbike rental and car rental in Bali is quite easy. You only need to use Google to find it.

Riding a motorbike on Bali traffic is not as easy as you might think. Therefore, I recommend you to get a car rental with a driver in Bali. If you want convenience during your vacation in Bali, it’s better to get Tenganan village tour packages.