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Guide · Ubud evenings
Kecak dance in Ubud, courtyard by courtyard
No cliff and no sunset, but torches, carved gates and a chorus close enough to touch. Where the Ubud stages are, which night each one performs and what a ticket costs.
Check availabilityfrom $6 · no cancellation fee
Editorial team, kecakfiredanceshow.comUpdated October 26, 20267-minute read26 sources
In a few lines
- 01Start
- Shows at 19:00 on the main Ubud ticket; its gates open from 18:00.
- 02Venues
- Sayan, Pura Dalem Kutuh Kaja, Peliatan Palace, Dalem Junjungan, ARMA and Batukaru.
- 03Ministry's tip
- Pura Dalem Taman Kaja, Monday and Friday at 7:00 pm.1
- 04Price
- The most-reviewed Ubud ticket starts from $6.
- 05Vs Uluwatu
- No sunset, but no 1.5 to 2-hour drive from Ubud either.2
Why the kecak moves around Ubud
Most people picture the kecak on the cliff at Uluwatu, but the kecak dance in Ubud is an evening institution of its own. The Ministry of Tourism lists Pura Dalem Ubud, the Padang Tegal Stage, Batubulan and the Umadewi Stage among the places beyond Uluwatu where the dance is performed.3 Each is a different courtyard, with a different troupe and a different night of the week.
That rhythm of venues and nights is the first thing to understand before you buy. The Ubud shows are not one fixed performance in one theatre: a ticket names a venue and a day, and the listing for the most-reviewed Ubud ticket asks you to follow the location printed on your voucher. Friends who booked the same ticket on different evenings may end up in different courtyards.
The Ubud evenings are also later and darker than the Uluwatu show. On the main ticket the gate opens between 18:00 and 19:30 and the dance begins at 19:00. By then the sun has set, and the chorus sits in the light of torches, the way the Ministry describes the story continuing into the dark under flickering bamboo flames.4
One Ubud evening
From dinner plans to the last chant
-
Afternoon
Check your voucher
It names the venue for your night; follow it.
-
18:00
The gate opens
Seats fill from now until 19:30.
-
18:30
Take your seat
At least 30 minutes early for a good view.
-
19:00
The chorus begins
Torchlight, chanting and the Ramayana.4
-
After the show
Dinner in town
Pura Dalem Taman Kaja is a walk from Monkey Forest Road.5
Which stage performs on which night
The ticket with the most reviews in Ubud covers several venues on set days. It lists a front-seat show at Sayan on Friday and Sunday, Pura Dalem Kutuh Kaja on Sunday and Tuesday, Peliatan Palace on Thursday, Dalem Junjungan Temple on Saturday, ARMA on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, and a show performed by women at Batukaru Temple on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Tourism names one more: Pura Dalem Taman Kaja, where locals perform on Monday and Friday at 7:00 pm, with tickets of around Rp100,000 to Rp150,000.1 It sits in the centre of Ubud and can be reached on foot from Monkey Forest Road.5 That makes it the easiest stage to combine with dinner in town.
Line the two lists up and there is a show somewhere in or around Ubud on every night of the week. That is the real advantage over the coast: you can fit the kecak into whichever evening is free rather than planning a whole afternoon around it. Pick the night first, then the courtyard, and check the venue on your voucher before you set off.
The week in Ubud
Ubud kecak stages and their nights
| Venue | Nights | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Sayan | Friday, Sunday | Front-seat option |
| Pura Dalem Kutuh Kaja | Sunday, Tuesday | Temple courtyard |
| Peliatan Palace | Thursday | Palace courtyard |
| Dalem Junjungan Temple | Saturday | Temple courtyard |
| ARMA | Monday, Wednesday, Saturday | Art museum stage |
| Batukaru Temple | Tuesday | Women's chorus |
| Pura Dalem Taman Kaja | Monday, Friday | Locals, 7:00 pm |
The first six venues are the stages of the main Ubud kecak ticket; Pura Dalem Taman Kaja is the Ministry of Tourism's tip.1
Three evenings from Ubud
Ubud courtyard, Uluwatu cliff or the palace Legong
Stay in town
Worth the drive
A second nightDecision helper
Stay in Ubud or drive to the coast?
Choose the line closest to your trip
An Ubud stage
Shows at 19:00 on set nights, no long drive.
Uluwatu
The show runs as the sun sets behind the cliff temple.6
Batukaru on a Tuesday
A kecak performed by women, on the main Ubud ticket.
Pura Dalem Taman Kaja
Central Ubud, on foot from Monkey Forest Road.5
Legong at Ubud Palace
The Ministry singles out the palace's nightly Legong.7
Pura Dalem Taman Kaja. Locals perform the show and feels more traditional. Schedule: Monday and Friday at 7:00 pm.
Pura Dalem Ubud and the temple courtyards
Pura Dalem Ubud stands close to the centre of town, and the Ministry of Tourism lists it among the regular kecak venues.3 The Pura Dalem Ubud kecak dance is a courtyard show: the chorus sits inside the temple's own carved walls, with the gateway as its backdrop and the audience close around the circle.
The same temple stages other dances too. The Ministry describes Legong performances held in the courtyard of this historic temple, accompanied by gamelan music.8 One Barong ticket also lists Pura Dalem Ubud as a venue, beside the Seraya Budaya stage in Batubulan. If the kecak night does not fit, the courtyard may still be worth an evening for another performance.
Temple courtyards are sacred spaces even when a show is on. Dress modestly, keep your voice low and leave the flash off: the main Ubud ticket asks for no flash photography, and the Uluwatu management's own rule of silence during the kecak is a good habit on any stage.9 Once the chorus starts, the courtyard is theirs.
Map
Where the kecak is danced on Bali
First the island with every stage this site compares, then the Bukit peninsula with Uluwatu, Melasti and GWK, then the temple courts and palaces of Ubud.
1Pura Luhur Uluwatu2Melasti Beach stage3Garuda Wisnu Kencana4Tanah Lot5Ubud6Batubulan7Denpasar8Ngurah Rai Airport
1Pura Luhur Uluwatu9Karang Boma Cliff10Labuan Sait Beach3Garuda Wisnu Kencana2Melasti Beach stage11Jimbaran Beach
12Ubud Palace13Pura Dalem Ubud14Pura Dalem Taman Kaja15Puri Agung Peliatan16ARMA
- 1Pura Luhur Uluwatu
The cliff temple whose amphitheater stages the daily kecak at 18:00.106
In Google Maps ↗ - 2Melasti Beach stage
A beach stage in Ungasan, 16.3 km from the airport.1112
In Google Maps ↗ - 3Garuda Wisnu Kencana
The cultural park lists its own kecak every day at 6pm.13
In Google Maps ↗ - 4Tanah Lot
The sea temple; its kecak is held at De Jukung from sunset.14
In Google Maps ↗ - 5Ubud
Several village stages take turns through the week.
In Google Maps ↗ - 6Batubulan
The village the Ministry names for Barong performances.15
In Google Maps ↗ - 7Denpasar
The provincial capital; Kesiman stages Barong too.15
In Google Maps ↗ - 8Ngurah Rai Airport
About 45 minutes by road from Uluwatu.16
In Google Maps ↗ - 9Karang Boma Cliff
A separate kecak about 1 km from the temple, not inside it.
In Google Maps ↗ - 10Labuan Sait Beach
Also called Padang-Padang; about 50 macaques live here.1718
In Google Maps ↗ - 11Jimbaran Beach
Where several sunset tours end with dinner.
In Google Maps ↗ - 12Ubud Palace
Home of the nightly Legong the Ministry singles out.7
In Google Maps ↗ - 13Pura Dalem Ubud
One of the kecak stages the Ministry names in Ubud.3
In Google Maps ↗ - 14Pura Dalem Taman Kaja
Kecak by locals on Monday and Friday at 7:00 pm.1
In Google Maps ↗ - 15Puri Agung Peliatan
The Peliatan palace; one listing sells its Thursday kecak.
In Google Maps ↗ - 16ARMA
The art museum stage; one listing sells kecak here on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
In Google Maps ↗
Checklist
For a kecak night in Ubud
01
Bring
- A light jacket or shawl for the cool evening
- The voucher that names your venue
- A light for the lanes after dark
02
At the venue
- Seated half an hour before the show
- Modest clothing in a temple courtyard
- No flash during the show
Cost calculator
Your group at an Ubud show
Starting totals for an Ubud night, the coast or the palace.
People
Total from$12
per participant from $6
Check availabilityfree cancellationTotals: the cheapest listed fare times your headcount, turned into your currency with the ECB's daily figure; the booking page settles the real sum.
Video
Kecak Ramayana and fire dance on an Ubud stage
Nothing loads until you tap play.
An evening in an Ubud courtyard
Arrive at least 30 minutes before the show to choose a good seat, the main Ubud ticket advises, and bring a light jacket or shawl, as the hills cool down in the evening. Its venues are listed as wheelchair accessible, and the ticket lets you skip the queue at the gate. Those are small things, but they make a late evening easier with children or older relatives.
The performance itself follows the pattern you will see anywhere on Bali. A circle of about 50-60 bare-chested men in Balinese sarongs sits cross-legged around torches, chanting without instruments, while dancers act out the Ramayana.1920 A soloist leads the chorus, setting the high and low notes and acting as narrator.21
In a courtyard the scale changes the experience. The chorus is close, the faces are lit from below, and the fire scene happens a few metres away rather than across a large amphitheater. Sit near the front if you want to see the dancers' hand gestures and expressions, which the Ministry describes as the way the characters tell the story without spoken dialog.22
Kecak dance in Ubud or Uluwatu?
Choosing between a kecak dance in Ubud or Uluwatu is mostly a choice between setting and convenience. Uluwatu has the cliff, 70 m above the ocean, and a show that runs as the sun sets behind the temple.6 It is also 1.5 to 2 hours from Ubud by road, with heavy traffic in the late afternoon in the holiday season.223
The price structure differs as well. At Uluwatu you pay the show ticket and the temple entry separately, IDR 150,000 and IDR 60,000 for a foreign adult on the management's lists.2425 The Ubud ticket with the most reviews starts from $6, against $9 for the Uluwatu ticket sold on this site.
If you are based in Ubud for a few days and the coast is not on your plans, see the kecak here and save the drive. If you are heading south anyway, the Uluwatu show is the one the Ministry of Tourism calls the best place to watch, and it pairs naturally with a beach afternoon.26 On a longer stay there is room for both, on different nights.
The women's kecak and other variations
The kecak was created with a male chorus, and the Uluwatu management describes exactly that: synchronized chanting by a large male chorus.20 One of the Ubud venues breaks the pattern. The main Ubud ticket includes a Tuesday show at Batukaru Temple performed by women. For anyone who has already seen a traditional kecak, it is a reason to stay an extra night.
The Sayan show on that ticket is also sold as a front-seat option, and the ARMA performance takes place at the Agung Rai Museum of Art, a few minutes south of the town centre on the map. Peliatan Palace, on Thursday, puts the chorus in a royal courtyard rather than a temple. Each venue keeps the same story but frames it differently.
For a different dance entirely, the Ministry of Tourism singles out the nightly Legong at the Ubud Palace.7 One listing for that Legong evening starts at 7:30 PM and lasts about 90 minutes, from $6. Seeing a gamelan dance and the kecak a night apart shows how much the chorus replaces.
Getting to the courtyards and home again
Most of the Ubud stages are a short ride from the centre, and the ones the Ministry of Tourism names are easy to find: Pura Dalem Taman Kaja is in the middle of town, reachable on foot from Monkey Forest Road or by local motorcycle taxi.5 The map on this page shows the palace, the temples and ARMA so you can judge the walk from your hotel.
The lanes of Ubud are dark and uneven after a show, and the traffic on the main roads does not stop for the crowd leaving a courtyard. Take a small light, wear shoes you can walk in, and agree on a pickup point with your driver before the show rather than after it, when everyone is calling for a car at once.
If you are staying outside Ubud, in the rice fields or towards Sayan, ask your hotel about transport before you book a particular venue. The main Ubud ticket covers the show itself and its venues; it names no pickup, so getting there and back is up to you. A venue near your hotel is often the better choice than the most famous name.
Your seat
The kecak on the cliff, on the evening you choose
One-hour show ticket, temple entry paid at the gate, free cancellation up to 2 days before.
You ask,we answer.
Is there a kecak in Ubud every night?
Across the venues, yes. The main Ubud ticket spreads its shows across several venues, and together they cover every night of the week.
What time does the Ubud kecak start?
At 19:00. On the main Ubud ticket the gate opens between 18:00 and 19:30 and the show starts at 19:00.
Where is the kecak at Pura Dalem Taman Kaja?
In central Ubud. The Ministry says it can be reached on foot from Monkey Forest Road, with shows on Monday and Friday at 7:00 pm.51
How much is a kecak ticket in Ubud?
From $6 online. That is the most-reviewed Ubud ticket; the Ministry gives around Rp100,000 to Rp150,000 at Pura Dalem Taman Kaja.1
Is there a kecak performed by women?
Yes, on Tuesdays. The main Ubud ticket lists a show by women at Batukaru Temple on Tuesday.
Is the Ubud kecak at sunset?
No, after dark. Shows start at 19:00 by torchlight; for a sunset kecak, Uluwatu starts at 18:00.10
Can I take photos?
Yes, without flash. The main Ubud ticket asks guests to avoid flash photography so as not to disturb the performers.
Sources
What this text is based on
- 1Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia (indonesia.travel)Kecak Dance: the Meaning and Its Philosophical Movements↩
- 2Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia (indonesia.travel)Pura Uluwatu Bali↩
- 3Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia (indonesia.travel)Ubud's Kecak Dance: Enchanting Tradition↩
- 4Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia (indonesia.travel)Ubud's Kecak Dance: Enchanting Tradition↩
- 5Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia (indonesia.travel)Kecak Dance: the Meaning and Its Philosophical Movements↩
- 6Uluwatu Temple (official site of the managing body)Uluwatu Kecak Dance↩
- 7Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia (indonesia.travel)Legong Dance↩
- 8Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia (indonesia.travel)Legong Dance↩
- 9Uluwatu Temple (official site of the managing body)Uluwatu Kecak Dance↩
- 10Uluwatu Temple (official site of the managing body)Uluwatu Kecak Dance↩
- 11Love Bali, Bali Provincial GovernmentPantai Melasti↩
- 12Love Bali, Bali Provincial GovernmentPantai Melasti↩
- 13Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park (official site)Daily Cultural Performances↩
- 14Daya Tarik Wisata Tanah Lot (official site)Kecak Dance↩
- 15Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia (indonesia.travel)The Barong and the Kris Dance: The Eternal Battle Between Good and Evil↩
- 16Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia (indonesia.travel)Kecak Dance: the Meaning and Its Philosophical Movements↩
- 17Uluwatu Temple (official site of the managing body)Why Feeding Uluwatu Monkeys Should Only Be Done with Staff Guidance↩
- 18Uluwatu Temple (official site of the managing body)Conservation & Wildlife↩
- 19Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia (indonesia.travel)Ubud's Kecak Dance: Enchanting Tradition↩
- 20Uluwatu Temple (official site of the managing body)Uluwatu Kecak Dance↩
- 21Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia (indonesia.travel)Ubud's Kecak Dance: Enchanting Tradition↩
- 22Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia (indonesia.travel)Kecak Dance: the Meaning and Its Philosophical Movements↩
- 23Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia (indonesia.travel)Pura Uluwatu Bali↩
- 24Uluwatu Temple (official site of the managing body)Uluwatu Kecak Dance↩
- 25Uluwatu Temple (official site of the managing body)Uluwatu Temple↩
- 26Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia (indonesia.travel)Ubud's Kecak Dance: Enchanting Tradition↩
