Badung is the name of the regency in Bali that includes the whole Denpasar area, Sanur and the surrounding villages and lands. Badung today is very different to its original state of rice terraces and market towns and is now the most developed area of Bali from both an administrative perspective and from the tourism perspective as many of the most lucrative tourism areas and resort are located within the Badung Regency. The regency dates back to the end of the eighteenth century and was forged by the Raja of Pemecutan. It was not till 1891 that the regency had expanded to control most of the land that beforehand been controlled by the neighboring kingdom of Mengwi but the supremacy of the area was distinguished by the Dutch who invaded in 1906 that completely destroyed the area in terms of the building power of the families in control. As one of the bloodiest and terrible events in Balinese history unfolded that resulted in the mass suicide of all the royal and powerful people and all of those loyal to the Badung regency who would rather die than face the shame of being driven out of their land or to turn control of this area to the Dutch.

The Dutch set up their main administrative area in Singaraja that was the center of control until Indonesia gained Independence in 1949 and When the Balinese government was reformed and the center of control was returned to the Badung are that was renamed as Denpasar that now operates independently from the Badung Regency as a self governing municipality. The royals that have remained as with many of the other regencies in Bali have lost all of their power and have turned their palaces and assets into tourism attractions. Many of these Palaces are incredible to visit and when spending time in Bali it is worth visiting at least one of these palaces in order to see the rich Balinese pre-colonial heritage and also to pay respect to the people.

Today the area of Badung is developed into a well built up district that although actual Badung as it appears today is now very small. The Denpasar area can be referred to as being Badung as still has many historical jewels from the Badung's reign and to day although all of the regencies of Bali has diminished in power, Badung remains the richest due to the positioning of the resorts and main tourist area of which it encompasses. In terms of attraction that relate to the history of Badung there area many museums, art galleries, markets, palaces and temples that remain in excellent condition. The best way to visit these is to employ the use of a professional tour operator and have guided tour that will include extra information on the areas of which you visit. This also ensures you see the best of the area without getting lost in Denpasar.