AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Puri Agung Klungkung is the royal heart of Semarapura, the capital of Klungkung Regency in eastern Bali. For more than two centuries the kings who styled themselves Dewa Agung ruled here as the most prestigious dynasty on the island, heirs of the old Gelgel court, and the remains of their palace—its Hall of Justice, floating pavilion and carved main gate—still stand in the middle of town. Today the site is one of Bali's richest historical landmarks, a place where you can read the island's art, law and royal ambition straight off the ceilings of a 300-year-old court.↗↗↗
What draws visitors is the Kerta Gosa pavilion, whose sloping ceilings are covered with wayang-style paintings in the Kamasan tradition—vivid scenes of heaven, hell and karmic justice painted for the king's court and repainted across the 20th century. Next to it the wall-less Bale Kambang seems to float in its pond (Taman Gili), and the great red brick gate, the Pemedal Agung, still carries a carved chronogram dating the palace to around 1700. Set in the lively centre of Semarapura beside the regency office and the traditional market, Puri Agung makes an unhurried, deeply rewarding half-day stop on any cultural tour of Bali.
