What ceremonies happen in Bali during the year?

Bali runs on three calendars at once: the international one, the 210-day pawukon cycle that sets most ceremonies, and the lunar Saka calendar that sets Nyepi. This is why the dates you find online for Galungan differ by year and why nothing sits neatly in a month.

Galungan and Kuningan

Galungan marks the victory of dharma over adharma, and the period when ancestral spirits return to visit. It falls every 210 days, so twice in most Gregorian years.

The visible sign is penjor: tall bamboo poles arched over the road outside every house, decorated with palm leaf, rice and fruit. The island looks extraordinary for a fortnight and photographs beautifully.

Kuningan comes ten days later and closes the period, when the spirits return. Ceremonies happen in the morning.

For a visitor: expect family gatherings, temples busy with people in white and gold, shops and businesses closed or on reduced hours for a day or two, and heavy traffic as families travel to their home villages. It is a wonderful time to be here and a poor time to try to get anything administrative done.

Nyepi and Ngrupuk

The Saka new year, usually in March. The island shuts completely for 24 hours, preceded by the ogoh-ogoh parades the night before. See what Nyepi involves before you book anything near it.

Saraswati, Pagerwesi and Tumpek days

Saraswati honours knowledge and learning; books and manuscripts are blessed, and students wear traditional dress.

Pagerwesi follows four days later, a day of spiritual fortification.

Tumpek days recur through the pawukon cycle, each dedicated to a category of creation: Tumpek Landep for metal objects, which is why you will see cars and motorbikes decorated with palm-leaf offerings; Tumpek Kandang for animals; Tumpek Uduh for plants and trees.

Seeing every scooter in a village wearing a small woven offering is the sort of thing that tells you where you are.

Odalan, the temple anniversary

Every temple on the island celebrates its own anniversary every 210 days, and there are tens of thousands of temples. On any given day somewhere near you, a village temple is in full ceremony with gamelan, offerings and everybody in white.

This is the most accessible ceremony for a visitor, and the most rewarding. Ask permission, wear a sarong and sash, sit at the back, and do not stand above people praying.

Melasti

Three or four days before Nyepi, villages carry temple effigies to the sea for purification. Long processions in white move down to the beaches with gamelan and parasols. It is one of the great photographic events of the year and it is free, public and everywhere along the coast.

Cremation ceremonies

Ngaben, the cremation ceremony, is a celebration rather than a mourning, sometimes on a grand scale with towers carried by dozens of men. Royal cremations in Ubud draw enormous crowds. Visitors are generally welcome to watch respectfully from a distance, in appropriate dress, without pushing to the front.

Non-religious dates worth knowing

• Bali Arts Festival, in Denpasar, usually running for several weeks in the middle of the year, with dance, gamelan and craft from every regency.
• Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, usually in October.
• Nusa Dua and Sanur village festivals, mid-year.
• Indonesian Independence Day, 17 August, with flag ceremonies and village games.
• Idul Fitri, at the end of Ramadan, when Indonesia's domestic travel peaks. Not a Balinese Hindu holiday, but it fills flights and ferries across the country and the date moves 11 days earlier each year.

Practical notes for visitors

• Roads close without notice for processions. Wait. Do not push through.
• Wear a sarong and sash if you are anywhere near a ceremony, and cover your shoulders.
• Drones over ceremonies are offensive. Do not.
• Government offices, banks and notaries close around the major days, which matters if you are here on business.
• Ask your driver or your host what is happening this week. They will know, and they will often take you.