Pedawa Village, Buleleng: Bali Aga, Palm Sugar and Bamboo Houses in the Hills

Desa Pedawa in Banjar district, Buleleng, is one of four Bali Aga villages in the hills of North Bali — alongside Sidatapa, Cempaga and Tigawasa. It sits at roughly 400–800 metres above sea level, about a 45-minute drive from Lovina, around an hour from Singaraja and only 25–30 minutes from Munduk. The air is cool, the road winds between coffee, clove and sugar-palm gardens, and foreign visitors are almost nowhere to be seen.

The Bandung Rangki House

Pedawa's icon is the Bandung Rangki: a bamboo house with woven gedeg walls, an earthen floor and a sandstone base. A single undivided room holds the pedeman gede (parents' bed), pedeman kicak (children's bed), the paon or kitchen, and a pelangkiran shrine — laid out along the hulu–teben axis. Only a few remain, so ask permission and go with a local before entering or photographing.

Pedawa Palm Sugar

• The palm's flower stalk is bound and gently beaten at intervals for about 35 days before the sap may be tapped.
• The sap is boiled for 5–6 hours over a wood stove, then poured into coconut shells to set.
• Local taboos apply: raw sap is not considered something to sell, and tapping follows auspicious days.
• Take home shell-moulded blocks or granulated gula semut, roughly Rp40,000–50,000 per kilo.

Traditions You Will Not See Elsewhere

Pedawa does not follow the Kahyangan Tiga temple pattern of lowland Bali; its rituals centre on several village sanctuaries accompanied by the selunding gong. There is Ngerebeg, a ceremony welcoming the gods while repelling malevolent spirits, and Ngangkid, a periodic mass cremation held by the river. Arriving during an odalan means seeing a Bali that has not been staged for visitors — modest dress and asking first are essential.

Info Praktis & Reservasi

• Location: Desa Pedawa, Kecamatan Banjar, Buleleng — View on Google Maps
• Hours & cost: the village is open all day and wandering on your own is free; cultural activities such as palm-sugar demonstrations, bamboo weaving or megangsingan spinning-top games are run by the village tourism group from around Rp50,000 per person, and homestays exist — confirm prices directly.
• Getting there: from Lovina or Singaraja head towards Banjar and climb up to Pedawa; from Denpasar allow about 2.5–3 hours via Bedugul–Munduk. The climbs are steep, so a car or a stronger motorbike is safer.
• Bring: a light jacket, grippy shoes, cash (ATMs and signal are limited) and a sash for temple areas.
• Latest photos & contacts: search on Instagram

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