Ubud · Culture

Ubud Palace (Puri Saren Agung): Opening Hours and the Nightly Dance

The royal family’s home at Ubud’s main crossroads: free by day, a dance stage every night.

By The Bali Guideline Editorial TeamUpdated 16 October 2026

Overview

Ubud Palace, before you go.

Ubud Palace, or Puri Saren Agung, is the home of Ubud’s royal family, on Jalan Raya Ubud at the central crossroads opposite the art market. Its front courtyards are free to visit by day, and a Legong, Barong or Ramayana dance with live gamelan plays there every night at about 7:30 pm for around IDR 100,000. Come for the evening dance; the daytime visit takes 20 minutes.

Puri Saren Agung stands where Monkey Forest Road meets Jalan Raya Ubud, facing the market across the street. By day you can walk into its front courtyards for free. By night the same courtyard becomes Ubud’s best-known stage: a dance with a live gamelan orchestra starts at about 7:30 pm every night of the week, and tickets cost about IDR 100,000 (checked Oct 2026). The program changes with the night, from Legong to Barong to the Ramayana.

The palace took its present form under Tjokorda Putu Kandel, who ruled from 1800 to 1823. The 1917 earthquake badly damaged it, and much of the stone carving on its gates is credited to I Gusti Nyoman Lempad, the Ubud sculptor and temple architect who lived from about 1862 to 1978. The palace opened to foreign guests in 1928, and the family went on to shape modern Ubud. In 1936 Tjokorda Gde Agung Sukawati and his brother Tjokorda Gde Raka Sukawati founded the Pita Maha artists’ cooperative with the painters Walter Spies and Rudolf Bonnet, and the prince later commissioned Lempad to build Pura Taman Saraswati, finished in 1952, a short walk west.

The Sukawati family still lives here. The inner compound and the family temple, Pura Marajan Agung, are private, which is why you only see part of the palace. The family also remains central to Ubud’s religious and public life. Tjokorda Gde Agung Suyasa, head of the family until his death in 2008, served for three decades as bendesa, chief of Ubud’s customary village, and Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati, a son of the Pita Maha founder, was regent of Gianyar from 2008 to 2013 and Bali’s deputy governor from 2018 to 2023.

When a senior royal dies, the whole town turns out. On 15 July 2008 about 15,000 people watched Suyasa’s body leave the palace in a 28-meter, 11-ton cremation tower with nine roofs, bound for the Dalem Puri cemetery, where it was burned inside a black wooden bull. The New York Times reported that two royal relatives and 68 commoners were cremated with him. Smaller royal cremations followed in 2011, 2013 and July 2023, each with a nine-tiered tower carried through the center of town.

Set your expectations, though. The part you can enter is small, a 20-minute look rather than a half-day sight, and from about 3 to 5 pm it is at its busiest. The dance is staged in an open courtyard with simple chairs, no fans and no reserved seats. Getting here by car is harder than it was: since 8 September 2026 Jalan Raya Ubud has run one-way eastbound from this crossroads, and tour buses now drop off at Dalem Puri, about a kilometer east. Across the road, the market lost one of its two blocks to fire on 17 August 2024, less than a year after reopening from a long rebuild.

Opening hours: Courtyards daily about 8 am–6 pm; dance at 7:30 pm (checked Oct 2026)
Ticket: Courtyards free; evening dance about IDR 100,000 (checked Oct 2026)
Time needed: 20–30 min by day; about 2 hours for the dance, arriving early
Best time: Before 10 am for the courtyards; by 7 pm for a good dance seat
Dress code: No sarong needed; modest clothes covering shoulders and knees
Location: Jalan Raya Ubud at Monkey Forest Road, opposite the market

Jalan Raya Ubud No. 8, Ubud, Gianyar Regency, Bali 80571, Indonesia

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What to See

What to see at Ubud Palace.

01
The carved gates and front courtyard
You enter from Jalan Raya Ubud into the front courtyard, the part of the palace most visitors see. Look closely at the gates ahead of you: a kala head glares over the doorway, guardian figures hold maces, krises and flowers, and the doors are carved wood picked out in gold. Much of the stonework is credited to I Gusti Nyoman Lempad, who lived to about 116, and the palace was largely rebuilt after the 1917 earthquake damaged it.
02
Pavilions and the courtyards beyond
Inside, open-sided pavilions stand on carved stone bases, with statues flanking their steps. Several hold the gamelan instruments used for the evening shows. You can wander between the front courtyards, but you may not climb or sit on any pavilion, and closed doors deeper in mark where the family’s home and its temple, Pura Marajan Agung, begin. Fifteen to thirty minutes is enough, longer if you sit in the shade before the afternoon crowds arrive.
03
The nightly dance in the courtyard
After dark, rows of chairs face an ornate gate flanked by guardian statues, which becomes the backdrop of the stage, and a gamelan orchestra plays live. Shows start at about 7:30 pm and run 75 to 90 minutes. An evening is usually a program of several shorter dances rather than one long play, so a Legong piece may last only 15 to 20 minutes. Tickets cost about IDR 100,000 (checked Oct 2026), and seats are not numbered.
04
Which dance plays which night
Three schedules published in 2026 agree on the weekly program: Legong Mahabharata on Sunday, Legong on Monday and Saturday, the Ramayana Ballet on Tuesday, Legong and Barong on Wednesday, a Legong trance program on Thursday and the Barong dance on Friday. Different troupes from Ubud and nearby villages perform on different nights. Another 2026 list gives a different Thursday show, so confirm that night’s program with the sellers at the gate before you buy.
05
Legong, the palace dance
Legong probably began in the 19th century as entertainment for Balinese royal courts, which is why a palace courtyard suits it so well. Traditionally it was danced by girls who started training at about five. The best-known story, from the Malat romances, follows the king of Lasem, who seizes Princess Rangkesari and rides out to war until a monstrous raven foretells his death. A third dancer, the condong, opens the scene and hands the two dancers their fans. UNESCO listed Legong in 2015.
06
Barong and Ramayana nights
If you have already seen a Legong, pick a Friday or a Tuesday. The Barong is a lion-like protective spirit danced by two men inside one costume, and its battle with the witch Rangda, in which followers in trance turn their krises on themselves, is good against evil with no final winner. Tuesday’s Ramayana Ballet tells the Hindu epic of Rama, Sita and the demon king Rawana through dance and gamelan, without the chanting chorus of a Kecak.
07
Royal ceremonies at the palace
Most days the palace is a quiet sight, but Ubud’s largest ceremonies begin here. For a royal cremation, volunteers from Ubud’s villages build a nine-tiered tower around the palace, then carry it in relays to the Dalem Puri cemetery, about a kilometer east. In 2011 about 4,500 residents were expected to share the load of a 24-meter tower; in July 2023 about 1,500 carriers took turns. Recent cremations came one to four months after a death, on a date set by priests, so seeing one is luck.

Seasons

Best time to visit Ubud Palace.

By day, come early. Mornings are the quietest time in the courtyards, and the busiest stretch runs from about 3 to 5 pm, when day tours finish at the market opposite. Early morning also catches the market in its local mode, with produce, flowers and offering supplies, before the craft stalls take over from mid-morning.

For the dance, pick the night by its program, then arrive by 6:45 or 7 pm for a front seat; shows start at about 7:30 pm and finish around 9 pm. April to October is the dry season and the most comfortable time to sit outside. From November to March the courtyard is open to the sky during the heaviest rains, so bring a light layer and ask the seller what happens if it pours.

Ceremony days change the town. On Galungan (next on 13 January 2027) penjor poles line Jalan Raya Ubud, and Kuningan follows ten days later. On Nyepi, 8 March 2027, the whole island stays indoors and there is no show. A royal cremation closes the roads around the palace for a day; in July 2023 police diverted traffic around central Ubud during the procession. The Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, 21 to 25 October 2026, fills central Ubud with visitors.

Getting There

How to get to Ubud Palace.

Travel times to Ubud Palace
From	Time	How
Central Ubud	5–20 min on foot	The palace is at the main crossroads. Walk up Monkey Forest Road from the Monkey Forest lobby (about 1.2 km, 15–20 minutes), or east along Jalan Raya Ubud from the Campuhan bridge (15–20 minutes). Sidewalks are narrow, so walk single file.
Sayan and Kedewatan resorts	15–30 min by car	About 4–7 km east along the Ayung gorge road into town. Ask whether your resort runs an evening shuttle; otherwise book a driver to wait through the show.
Bali airport (DPS)	75–120 min	About 38 km by car. Pre-book a transfer, or use Grab or Gojek from the airport pickup zone. Evening arrivals hit the worst traffic, so do not plan to land and see a show the same night.
Seminyak, Kuta or Legian	75–120 min	About 34–36 km by car or driver. For the 7:30 pm dance, leave by 5:30 pm and expect to be back after 10:30 pm.
Canggu	75–120 min	About 31–33 km by car or scooter, with no direct shuttle. Traffic around Denpasar sets the time, and the ride back after the show is long.
Sanur	45–60 min	About 22–25 km by car, the easiest beach base for an evening dance in Ubud.
Uluwatu or Nusa Dua	1.5–3 hours	About 42–54 km by car. Too far for an evening show and back; see it during a night or two in Ubud instead.

Getting around Ubud Palace

Since 8 September 2026, Jalan Raya Ubud has run one-way eastbound from the palace crossroads at Monkey Forest Road to the Arjuna statue, so drivers coming from the east must loop around the center. Tour buses are barred from the narrow core and drop passengers at Dalem Puri, about a kilometer east, a 15-minute walk. The first day of the scheme brought more than four hours of gridlock, and traffic around the palace is still settling, so walk if you can.

The palace has no visitor car park. Cars use Ubud Central Parking near the market, listed at IDR 10,000 for a car; managed side-street lots charge about IDR 10,000–20,000, and scooters can drop off close to the gate. Stopping on Jalan Raya Ubud is what jams the crossroads between 5 and 7 pm, just as dance crowds arrive.

Grab and Gojek will drop you at the palace, but local transport groups discourage app pickups around it, so after the show expect to walk a few hundred meters to a side street or use a local driver. Inside, the courtyards are mostly flat, with steps up into each gateway.

Know Before You Go

Ubud Palace tips that save time and trouble.

01Buy dance tickets at the palace entrance or from sellers on Jalan Raya Ubud from about 5 pm; the price is about the same, and online resellers charge similar rates.
02Bring cash in small notes for the ticket and parking; the sellers at the gate do not take cards.
03Arrive 30 to 45 minutes early. Seating is unreserved and the chairs are simple, so sit near the front or on the aisle if you may leave before the end.
04Use insect repellent and bring water. The courtyard is open-air, with no fans, and evenings can be humid.
05Film and photograph without flash, stay in your seat during dances and do not stand in front of the people behind you.
06Do not climb or sit on the pavilions, and stay out of doorways marked private; the inner compound is the family’s home.
07Opening hours vary between sources, from 7, 8 or 9 am to 5 or 6 pm. If the gates are shut, cross to the market and come back.
08The Bina Wisata tourist office, just west of the market on Jalan Raya Ubud, has leaflets and lists local events, useful for finding Kecak and other shows elsewhere in town.
09Pair a daytime visit with Pura Taman Saraswati, 150 meters west, and the market opposite; all three take about an hour.

FAQ

Ubud Palace questions, answered.

Is Ubud Palace free to enter?

Yes. The front courtyards of Puri Saren Agung are free to visit by day, with no ticket or booking (checked Oct 2026). You pay only for the evening dance, about IDR 100,000 per person, and for parking if you drive. The inner compound and family temple are private and closed to visitors.

What are the Ubud Palace opening hours?

The courtyards are open daily from about 8 am to 6 pm (checked Oct 2026), though sources differ, with some listing a 7 am or 9 am opening and a 5 pm close. Mornings are quietest, and 3 to 5 pm is busiest. The evening dance starts at about 7:30 pm and needs a separate ticket.

What time is the dance at Ubud Palace?

About 7:30 pm every night, and it lasts roughly 75 to 90 minutes, finishing around 9 pm. Seating is first come, first served, so arrive by 6:45 or 7 pm if you want a front-row seat. The program changes by night, so check which dance is on before you buy.

How much are Ubud Palace Legong dance tickets?

About IDR 100,000 per person (checked Oct 2026); one 2026 guide quotes up to IDR 150,000. Buy at the palace entrance or from ticket sellers on Jalan Raya Ubud from about 5 pm, in cash, or book online with a reseller at about the same price. Tickets do not reserve a seat.

Which dance is on which night at Ubud Palace?

According to three 2026 schedules: Sunday Legong Mahabharata, Monday Legong, Tuesday Ramayana Ballet, Wednesday Legong and Barong, Thursday a Legong trance program, Friday Barong and Saturday Legong. One other list differs on Thursday. Listings from 2019 named troupes such as Sadha Budaya and Jaya Swara, but recent ones do not, so confirm at the gate.

Is Ubud Palace worth visiting?

Yes for the evening dance, especially if it is your first Balinese performance: live gamelan in a real royal courtyard is hard to beat for the price. By day it is a free 20-minute stop worth making if you are already in central Ubud, but not a reason to drive in from the coast. Skip the show if hard chairs and heat bother you.

Does the royal family still live in Ubud Palace?

Yes. Members of the Sukawati family, descendants of Ubud’s rulers, live in the inner compound, which is why much of the palace is closed. The family still leads big ceremonies, and its members have held public office: Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati was regent of Gianyar from 2008 to 2013 and Bali’s deputy governor from 2018 to 2023.

What should I wear to Ubud Palace?

Modest clothes that cover your shoulders and knees. The palace is a royal home, not a temple, so you do not need a sarong for the courtyards or the dance. For the evening show, wear something light, since the courtyard has no fans, and bring a layer and insect repellent.

Is there a Kecak dance at Ubud Palace?

Not on the regular program, which rotates Legong, Barong and the Ramayana Ballet. For Kecak in Ubud, Indonesia’s tourism ministry lists Pura Dalem Taman Kaja on Mondays and Fridays at 7 pm, and some 2026 schedules add Pura Taman Saraswati, 150 meters west, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Listings disagree, so confirm the night locally.

Can you see a royal cremation at Ubud Palace?

Only by luck. Royal cremations happen when a senior family member dies, usually one to four months later on a date set by priests. Recent ones were in 2008, 2011, 2013 and July 2023, each with a nine-tiered tower carried through town to the Dalem Puri cemetery. Visitors may watch from the roadside; dress modestly and stay out of the carriers’ way.

How far is Ubud Palace from the airport?

About 38 km, or 75 minutes to 2 hours by car depending on traffic. From Seminyak or Kuta it is about 35 km and a similar drive, and from Sanur about 22–25 km, or 45 to 60 minutes. To see the 7:30 pm show from the coast, leave by 5:30 pm and book a driver for the return.

Nearby

Where to go after Ubud Palace.

Places close by that fit into the same trip, with honest travel times.

1 min on foot, across the road
Ubud Art Market
Produce and offering stalls early in the morning, then rattan bags, sarongs and carvings from mid-morning. Bargain politely.
2–3 min on foot (about 150 m west)
Pura Taman Saraswati
A lotus-pond temple to the goddess of learning, built by Lempad in 1951–52 for the royal family, with its own evening dances.
5 min on foot (about 300 m west)
Museum Puri Lukisan
Ubud’s first art museum, opened in 1956 by the palace’s Pita Maha founders, with shaded gardens for a hot afternoon.
15–20 min on foot
Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary
Temples, a banyan ravine and about 1,000 macaques at the bottom of Monkey Forest Road.
Visitor guide
15–20 min on foot
Campuhan Ridge Walk
A free, shadeless ridge path to rice fields; walk it at sunrise and see the palace on the way back.
Visitor guide
About 15 min by car (5 km)
Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave)
An 11th-century rock-cut sanctuary with a demon-face doorway and old bathing pools in Bedulu.
Visitor guide

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Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave)

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Campuhan Ridge Walk

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Tegenungan Waterfall

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Tukad Cepung Waterfall

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How we researched this

Sources and fact checks.

Prices, opening hours, show times and travel times in this Ubud Palace guide were checked against official sites, government tourism pages and recent reporting on 16 October 2026. Where sources disagreed, we give the official figure and say so. Rankings are our editorial judgment, set out in our editorial policy.

We re-check the guide at least every three months and whenever we hear about a change. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

Show all 33 sources ↓

Ubud Palace (Puri Saren Agung): Opening Hours and the Nightly Dance

Ubud Palace, before you go.

What to see at Ubud Palace.

The carved gates and front courtyard

Pavilions and the courtyards beyond

The nightly dance in the courtyard

Which dance plays which night

Legong, the palace dance

Barong and Ramayana nights

Royal ceremonies at the palace

Best time to visit Ubud Palace.

How to get to Ubud Palace.

Getting around Ubud Palace

Ubud Palace tips that save time and trouble.

Ubud Palace questions, answered.

Is Ubud Palace free to enter?

What are the Ubud Palace opening hours?

What time is the dance at Ubud Palace?

How much are Ubud Palace Legong dance tickets?

Which dance is on which night at Ubud Palace?

Is Ubud Palace worth visiting?

Does the royal family still live in Ubud Palace?

What should I wear to Ubud Palace?

Is there a Kecak dance at Ubud Palace?

Can you see a royal cremation at Ubud Palace?

How far is Ubud Palace from the airport?

Where to go after Ubud Palace.

Ubud Art Market

Pura Taman Saraswati

Museum Puri Lukisan

Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary

Campuhan Ridge Walk

Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave)

Plan the rest of your time in Ubud.

More Ubud Palace guides.

7 Incredible Places to Visit in Ubud

7 Must See Temples in Bali

10 Amazing Festivals, Cultures, Traditions, Arts And Celebrations You Need To Experience In Bali (2020)

28 Best Restaurants in Ubud (2026 Guide)

Where to stay in Ubud: 30 Best Hotels, Resorts & Villas for Your Dream Island Escape

Sources and fact checks.