Where can you see craftspeople at work around Ubud?
Around Ubud each village specialises in one craft, and you can visit them in a single excursion. Along the road from Denpasar to Ubud you pass, in order: Batubulan, Celuk, Mas, then Ubud.
What you'll see:
- Painting, in Ubud and Batuan: scenes from legends, rice fields and daily life. Ubud painters leave more space and put figures in the spotlight, while Batuan is less colourful but denser. To see more, the town's museums (Puri Lukisan, Neka, ARMA) gather works from every school.
- Wood carving, in Mas: workshops of carving families, where statues, topeng masks (masked theatre) and furniture take shape.
- Stone carving, in Batubulan: carvers working the local volcanic stone, paras, which is soft and easy to cut, in open-air workshops by the roadside.
- Silversmithing, in Celuk: the silver village, where silver and gold are worked. The silversmiths originally made pieces mostly for the royal family and the aristocracy. They work at home, in houses that double as workshop and showroom.
Want to get your hands dirty? A silver jewellery class of about 2 hours costs around IDR 450,000 (US$25), and you make a ring or pendant to take home.
Tip: buy where it is made: that is where families know how to work the metal, wood or stone, and watch the craftspeople at work before you haggle. The villages are on the road from the airport to Ubud, so a stop fits easily into the journey.
Prices, hours and rules checked in October 2026. Confirm before you travel.