The Bali Spirit Festival is a five-day immersive gathering that takes place in Ubud each March or April, occupying the open-air pavilions and venues around the Sacred Monkey Forest in the heart of the town. Founded in 2008 by Meghan and Kadek Gunarta, the festival began as a small yoga and world-music event and has evolved into one of Asia's most significant wellness and cultural festivals, drawing 5,000+ participants from 50+ countries. The festival programme is structured around three pillars: yoga (across all traditions, from Iyengar to acro to kundalini), music (world, electronic, ceremonial, and fusion genres), and dance (ecstatic dance, Balinese sacred dance, and contemporary movement). More than 100 events run each day across multiple stages and pavilions — from pre-dawn meditation sessions at 5 a.m. to late-night concerts that end after midnight. The programme is deliberately designed to be overwhelming in volume, inviting participants to follow their intuition rather than a schedule. What distinguishes Bali Spirit Festival from similar gatherings elsewhere in the world is its deep integration with Balinese Hindu ceremonial culture. The festival opens and closes with Balinese ritual purification ceremonies conducted by local pemangku priests, many workshops incorporate local offerings and prayers, and Balinese gamelan, legong, and shadow puppetry are presented alongside international musical traditions. Local artisans occupy a large market area, and a significant portion of the festival's proceeds support community education and environmental projects in Ubud.