CULTURALDemo

Bali Temples, Rice Terraces and Jungle Trek

Ubud, Bali · Indonesia

Easy5 daysAsia~£500 est.

Overview

Bali's cultural and natural landscape is the most layered in Southeast Asia — a Hindu island inside a Muslim archipelago, where the rice terrace engineering of the subak irrigation system has shaped the land for a thousand years and the temple calendar runs continuously through 200+ ceremonies a year. Walking through this landscape rather than touring it by scooter reveals the depth beneath the Instagram surface. A five-day itinerary centres on Ubud — the cultural heartland in the island's interior — and radiates out: north into the volcanic highlands of Mount Batur, east to the water temples of Pura Tirta Empul, west through the Campuhan Ridge walk above the Wos River, and south to the rice terraces of Tegalalang and Jatiluwih. The Campuhan Ridge is the ideal first morning: a 9km walk along a narrow path between two river valleys, through stands of bamboo and the back gardens of the silver craftsmen's compound, arriving at the Pura Gunung Lebah temple above the confluence. No tourist buses reach this path. The only company is local farmers and the occasional artist seeking light. Mount Batur at dawn requires a 2am start but pays back: the volcanic caldera at sunrise, with Lake Batur below and Agung filling the eastern horizon. It is the easiest summit in Indonesia and the most rewarding dawn view.