Located in the mountainous region of Bali island, Ubud is known as the center of arts and crafts of Bali. Ubud is hardly “new” or undiscovered – in fact, it is a haven for visitors. All the infrastructure that caters to tourism is already well established here: locals speak fluent English, there are plenty of accommodation options from villas and hotels, lots of activities to do, places to visit, and a variety of meal choices from vegan organic cafes to authentic local Balinese food. Best of all, the costs in Ubud are still relatively affordable compared to Seminyak! These activities are located in the central Ubud area, where it can be reached either by foot or on a short motorbike ride! Here are some things you can do in Ubud:
Goa Gajah means “Elephant Cave” in Indonesian. It might be worth getting a guide here since there is no explanation whatsoever inside. We didn’t, and I had no idea what the place is about until I read up after. Outside Goa Gajah there will be ladies trying to sell you sarongs which you must buy and wrap around the lower half of your body before going into the temple. You do not have to buy from them! You can just use the cloth they give out at the entrance of the temple, which is included with the entrance ticket. The sarongs they sell outside have more patterns but you shouldn’t pay more than Rp 30,000 for them – you have to haggle a bit for this price. At first, I thought we got totally ripped off buying sarongs here, but we ended up using them a lot on the trip as sun protection while biking, or as an extra layer at other temples. I think it was actually a worthy purchase.
This is a short and very easy walk (ie: well-paved) with an abundance of greeneries around the trail. It shouldn’t take more than an hour to go to the end of the ridge and then back, but you might end up spending a long time here if you’re taking pictures. But! There is almost no shade throughout the walk so I recommend doing this in the morning or late afternoon.
Close to Ubud Central, there is a nice walk that takes you through the rice fields. It starts from Jalan Raya Ubud, and takes you up Jalan Subak Sok Wayah – a small paved street lined with cafes, villas, yoga studios, and homestays. It was quite a pleasant walk! You can loop through to another rice field, and head south. You’ll find your way back to Jalan Raya Ubud near Cafe Lotus. Keep in mind that Google Maps isn’t very accurate – at the point when you’re close to Sunset Cafe & Bungalows, keep an eye out for a small trail that takes you down to the valley below near the small stream. From here on, the road will not be paved so be careful! It will look more like a hiking trail. Keep north when you get near the stream, and you’ll find a bridge where you can cross and loop back south. You’ll be walking in the middle of the forest for a while before you’ll finally see a clearing and you’d soon be walking by the rice field again. When you see Luxe villas, you’ll know you’re on the right way! This walk took us about an hour to get through, at a very leisurely pace.
The place is very beautiful. It’s surrounded by lush rainforest and stone architecture that makes it look straight out of an Indiana Jones set. So even if you decide that the monkeys are too scary, you’d still enjoy walking around the area.
Kecak is a traditional Balinese dance involving fire and the Hindu Ramayana story. They perform every Wednesday and Saturday at 7:30 pm (but double check this schedule!). During non-peak periods, you can just buy the ticket at the door or from any ticket seller on the street around Ubud.
Tegallalang Rice Terrace is one of the most famous rice fields in Bali. This place is quickly becoming a famous tourist spot thanks to Instagram. It’s about 30 minutes ride on the motorbike up north. There are plenty of rice terraces in Ubud but the ones here are special because the rice fields are located on a cliff which makes for an amazing photo location.
Tirta Empul is a natural hot spring that is considered one of the holiest temples in Bali. Locals believe the water has magical power. Inside the temple, you can rent a sarong and go into the water for a blessing or you can walk around the courtyard and see the source of the water that is still bubbling.
There are lots of waterfalls to visit when you’re in Bali, but the ones that are very close to Ubud central are Tibumana waterfall, Goa Rang Reng, and Kanto Lampo. There will be a small fee of Rp 25,000 per adult to enter the waterfall area.
Well, Bali Swing is the place where everyone took these photos! Bali Swing has five single swings of varying heights (5m, 10m, 15m, 20m, and 78m), tandem swings, two cute nests and amazing stone over the edge above the valley with an amazing view on the canyon and waterfall. you’ll definitely get tons of good photos for your Instagram.
The Ubud Palace, officially Puri Saren Agung, is a historical building complex. The palace was the official residence of the royal family of Ubud. It was on his travels that Rsi Markandya received a divine revelation that in Bali he was to bury five precious metals on a mountain slope where the mother temple of Besakih now stands today. Along with a group of followers, Rsi Markandya was magnetically attracted to a destination located in the central foothills of the island that radiated light and energy. This place was Campuhan in Ubud at a junction in the Wos River and it was here that he felt compelled to build a temple by the name of Pura Gunung Lebah.