The Bali Sun
Bali’s Gianyar Regency is best known to tourists for being home to Ubud, aka Bali’s arts and culture capital. Many tourists don’t realise that Gianyar Regency is also home to a stunning stretch of coastline.
Made up of mostly black sand beaches, the Gianayr Regency coast is seriously underrated, but we have seen the first glimmers that all that is about to change.
Earlier this week, community leaders spoke to the media about their intentions to develop new road access to the gorgeous Saba Beach.
On Thursday, 19th February, leaders from the traditional village spoke with reporters once again, this time sharing more about the community’s role in the island’s history and how the village continues to play an important part in preserving the spiritual heritage of the province.
We can read between the lines; Saba Village is about to be put on the tourist map in a whole new way. We’re talking cultural tourism, maritime tourism, and spiritual tourism, too. You’d better put Saba Village and Saba Beach on our 2026 Bali Bucket List!
Speaking to reporters, Head of Saba Traditional Village, I Gusti Ngurah Mahendradinata, revealed that the existence of these artifacts shows that Saba was once an important center of activity in the past. Mahendradinata explained how Pura Dalem, which is the main temple in Saba Traditional Village, is not only the spiritual center of the community for local residents, but also holds important traces of 14th-century Balinese civilization.
He explained, “The beauty of Pura Dalem Saba lies not only in what meets the eye, but also in what is preserved within. While its detailed history remains a mystery, the presence of these 54 cultural heritage objects is proof that Saba was an important center of civilization in the past.”
The community has been taking an official inventory of the cultural artefacts in the area, and data shows that there are 44 movable cultural heritage objects within the Pura Dalem area alone.
A further 10 movable cultural heritage objects were found in the Pura Puseh Temple in Saba Traditional Village. These ‘moveable’ artefacts are recorded alongside immovable cultural heritage objects such as temple structures and sacred trees.
This is all in addition to two cultural heritage sites within the Saba Traditional Village area that have received official recognition as part of the cultural heritage that must be protected.
Mahendradinata explained how the village government, along with the Saba Traditional Village community, continues to make conservation efforts, both for the environment and the cultural artefacts housed within. This move is considered vital to preserving this historical heritage and allowing it to be studied by future generations.
For tourists considering visiting Saba Village, there is a wealth of cultural heritage to explore. It seems that the community is working to both preserve the village’s heritage and promote the area as a destination to new demographics of tourists.
At the moment, Saba Beach and the surrounding community are an area of Bali most often visited by local families and domestic tourists; some international tourists make their way down there, usually if they have been surfing in nearby Keramas.
The Saba Traditional Village team has confirmed to reporters this week that they have submitted planning permission requests to build a new access road to Saba Beach, providing a safer, easier route for both cars and motorcycles to the coastal hotspot.
