Inhabited since the Bronze Age, and considered a holy site ever since, the village of PEJENG and its immediate environs harbour a great wealth of religious antiquities, from carvings and rock- cut candi to bronze artefacts and massive stone statues. Some of these have been left in their original location, alongside riverbeds or buried in among the paddys-fields. while others have been housed in local temples; a number have also been carted off to museums, both here in Pejeng and further afield in Denpasar, Jakarta and Amsterdam. The remains have rather an esoteric appeal, and the area gets relatively few visitors and rarely features on the tour- bus circuit. Although all the major temples are clearly sign posted from the main Bedulu-Tampaksiring road, you might want to engage the help of a local guide for the more out-of-the-way sites. The best place to find a guide is in the compound of Pura Penataran Sasih Rp.15000-20000, for a full day's walking or cycling tour of the area is a reasonable fee.

Pejeng's three main temples all lie within a few hundred metres of each other on the Bedulu-Tampaksiring Road. To get to them from Ubud, take a Gianyar bound bemo to the Beddulu crossroad and tfhen either wait for a Tampaksiring bound one, or walk the kilometer to the temples. The alternatrive route from Ubud, preferably by motorbike, but feasible by bicycle or even on foot, is the fairly scenic five-kilometre back road that heads off east from theJalan Raya/Jalan Peliatan T-Junction at the eastern edge of Ubud you'll pass a smelly and unsightly garbage dump before getting to the bes part of the route - a steeply undulating stretch that winds through paddies and tiny villges before finally emerging on the main road, just 25m north of Pura Penataran Sasih.

if you want to eat while you're in Pejeng, either stop by at the Depot Nasi Goreng, in the cluster of shops on the side of the main road between Pura Pusering Jagat and Pura Kebo Edan, or make your way down to the snack stalls in the car park at Goa Gajah. Should you want to stay overnight in the very traditional village enviroment that permeates the tiny gang of Pejeng, ask among the guide at Pura Penataran Ssihm, as a number of them open their home as informal guesthouses if requested.