Semarapura Travel Guide

Famous for its classic paintings depicting epic religious scenes from the Mahabharata and Ramayana, Semarapura is a pretty town seeped in imperial history.

Worth It?: If you are exploring Bali, Semarapura is a pleasant place to get to know.
What to Do: visit the floating house, discover Semarapura's history in the museum, rafting down the river.
Best Time to Go: during the dry season between May and September.
How Long?: A day should be just about enough time to see the sights in Semarapura.
Trivia: originally named Klungkung, nearly all of the royal families of Bali descended from the Klungkung Dynasty.

This town is particularly popular with visitors to Bali as its close proximity to the airport makes it particularly accessible. This area is also popular with people who enjoy adventure tourism as a number of activities are possible such as rafting on the Unda River and trekking through the forest.

Semarapura is a good place to get to know more about Bali's history and the local museum is particularly informative, while there are also several palaces to explore to shed some light on how those in charge used to live. When it comes to evening entertainment, there are plenty of restaurants to choose from as well as bars to sit at with a beer or two at the end of the day.

Travel to Semarapura - Getting There

Getting to Semarapura is fairly easy as the town is located just an hour's bus ride from the large Ngurah Rai International Airport, which is situated a few kilometers from the city of Denpasar. There are regular buses to Denpasar as well as places such as Padangpai (1 hour) and Gianyar.

Semarapura Things to Do

Semarapura Attractions

Taman Gili

also known as the Floating House or Bale Kambang, this was formerly the headquarters of the King's Guard and is decorated with traditional Kamasan paintings.

Semarajaya Museum

this colonial building features an interesting collection of Klungkung as well as ancient artifacts.

Side trips from Semarapura

Rafting on the Unda River: this is an interesting way to see the beauty of the area.
Goa Lawah: located a short drive from town in a pretty forest, this sacred temple is home to a large number of bats.