UBUD is a town on the island of Bali, Ubud has a population of about 30,000 people. Recently, it has become difficult to distinguish the town itself from the villages that surround it. The area surrounding the town is made up of small farms, rice paddies, and dense forest.

Short history of ubud

Eighth-century legend tells of priest, Rsi Markendya, who meditated at the confluence of two rivers (an auspicious site for Hindus) at the Ubud locality of Campuan. Here he founded the GunungLebah Temple on the valley floor, the site of which remains a pilgrim destination.The town was originally important as a source of medicinal herbs and plants; Ubud gets its name from the word ubad (medicine).

In the late nineteenth century, Ubud became the seat of feudal lords who owed their allegiance to the king of, at one time the most powerful of Bali’s southern states. The lords were members of the caste of Sukawati, and were significant supporters of the village’s increasingly renowned arts scene.

Tourism on the island developed after the arrival of born in Russia who taught painting and music, and dabbled in dance. Spies and foreign painters Willem Hofker and entertained celebrities including and they brought in some of the greatest artists from all over Bali to teach and train the Balinese in arts, helping Ubud become the cultural centre of Bali.