There are pockets of villages within Bali in which fraternization with outsiders is strictly prohibited. These result in a people and a culture that are different; the native Balinese call them Bali Aga or Old Bali. The Bali Aga may curiously be the tunnel through which we can periscope into the culture of Bali in the centuries past.

There are two major villages of Bali Aga.

• Trunyan
  Across Lake Kintamani, Trunyan is a small Bali Aga village that is most well-known for its huge, centuries-old banyan tree. This sacred banyan tree serves as the laying ground of the dead. Bali Aga people do not believe in cremation like the rest of Bali, instead, they simply lay their corpses under the village's banyan tree. Contrary to what you might expect, however, the village is not uffocated by bad odor, because the tree emits arboreal smell that envelopes the odor of the corpses.
• Tenganan
  The village of Tenganan, on the eastern side of Bali, near Karangasem, is well-known for its textile, specifically the double ikat technique. A well-made double ikat may take months to finish, and it usually belongs to family heirloom. Certain kinds, like the black and white, checkered cloth, are considered to have protective power against evil spirits, and are usually used to cover or to dress sacred items such as the statues that guard the entrance to a temple or the masks of Barong.