Things to do
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Campuhan Ridge Walk
Between the Wos rivers a grassy spine runs north out of town, and a paved path follows it for two kilometres to the village of Bangkiang Sidem. Elephant grass and palm-filled valleys stand on both sides, with almost no shade along the way. Heat builds by nine, so dawn is when the ridge works, and the return leg can be swapped for a scooter or a loop through the rice fields.
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Goa Gajah
Elephant Cave takes its name from a misreading of an old text, and the only creature at the entrance is a monstrous carved face whose open mouth forms the doorway. Inside, a T-shaped rock chamber holds meditation niches cut in the eleventh century. Bathing pools below were dug out of the mud in the 1950s, and steps run down through the site to a ravine of Buddhist stupa fragments.
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Gunung Kawi
Ten shrines stand carved straight into the cliffs of the Pakerisan gorge, each a false facade cut from the rock in the eleventh century as a memorial to royalty of the Warmadewa line. A stairway of more than two hundred steps descends through rice terraces to reach them, with a stream and a bathing place at the bottom. The climb back out is the hard part, and sarongs are lent at the entrance.
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Mount Batur
An active volcano inside a wide caldera northeast of Ubud, Batur rises to 1717 metres and is climbed in the dark for sunrise over its lake and the cone of Agung beyond. Pickups from Ubud leave around two in the morning, and the ascent takes roughly two hours on loose scree. Local guides are compulsory, arranged through the village association at the trailhead, and wet-season cloud can shut the view down entirely.
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Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary
Long-tailed macaques, several hundred of them, live in a patch of nutmeg forest in the middle of Ubud, alongside three moss-covered temples belonging to the village of Padangtegal. Walkways loop past banyan roots and a bathing temple set in a ravine. The macaques are wild and quick with sunglasses, water bottles and loose bags, so carry nothing in the hands and leave the food stalls alone.
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Tegallalang Rice Terraces
Carved into a steep valley north of Ubud, these terraces are watered by subak, the cooperative irrigation system Bali has used since the ninth century. Paths drop through the paddies and climb the far side, a hot half hour of steps in each direction. Coaches arrive mid morning, so first light gives the quiet version. Small donations are collected at several gates along the route.
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Tegenungan Waterfall
South of town near Kemenuh, a broad curtain of water drops into a jungle pool at low elevation, unusual for Bali, where the falls generally sit high in the interior. Viewing platforms and cafes crowd the rim, and a long flight of concrete steps leads to the base, where swimming is allowed when the current is gentle. Heavy rain turns the river brown and closes the pool for days.
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Tirta Empul
A spring has fed this bathing temple at Tampaksiring since the tenth century, and Balinese Hindus still queue along its stone spouts to purify themselves, moving left to right and ducking under each one in turn. Visitors may join in a sarong, hired at the gate. Mid morning brings coaches up from the coast, so arriving at opening keeps the pools calm.
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Ubud Art Market
Opposite the palace, two floors of stalls sell sarongs, rattan bags, woven baskets and carved wood, much of it made in the craft villages along the road to Denpasar. Haggling is expected and opening quotes run high. Before dawn the same building works as a produce market, and traders in fruit, flowers and temple offerings clear out by around eight, when the souvenir sellers take over.
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Ubud Palace
Seat of the Ubud royal family since the nineteenth century, Puri Saren Agung still houses descendants of the line that drew foreign painters to the town in the 1930s. Only the outer courtyards and their carved sandstone gates are open by day, and half an hour covers them. The forecourt earns a second visit after dark, when legong and barong troupes perform there on a ticketed rotation.