Ubud, near Bali’s cool central upland, is a treasure trove of cultural landmarks, ranging from ancient temples and majestic age-old royal palaces, to wonderful panoramas of green hillsides and rice terraces. The town and its outskirts within the Gianyar regency, is your holiday destination if you are also into the Balinese culture, arts and crafts, as it was where some of the world’s notable artisans and collectors have visited, lived and worked, creating or compiling eclectic masterpieces that you can observe in local museums and art galleries. While most of the museums and galleries are along the main Jalan Raya Ubud thoroughfare, some kilometres away from the centre are other worthy attractions to see and spend a whole day at, such as the Bali Safari & Marine Park, the Setia Darma House of Masks and Puppets, and the Bali Zoo.
Here are my list :
1. Pura Taman Saraswati
The Pura Taman Saraswati is a beautiful water temple in central Ubud, accessible from the Jalan Kajeng side street off the main road of Jalan Raya Ubud, just behind Café Lotus. The temple is a great stopover along your leisure walks through Ubud town, offering sightseeing and photo opportunities with its classical Balinese temple architecture and a beautiful foyer featuring ponds filled with blooming pink lotuses. Entry into Pura Taman Saraswati is free but, as with any temple visit in Bali, a sash and sarong around the waist is compulsory. You can also drop into Café Lotus for a minimum dinner cover charge of IDR 200,000 or USD 15, which will get you the best view over the lotuses and to the temple’s open stage, where regular traditional dance performances are held in the evenings from 19:30. You can enter the temple behind its amphitheatre at any time of the day and admire the calming atmosphere, architectural features and sandstone bas reliefs that honour the Hindu goddess of knowledge and arts, Saraswati.
2. Tegalalang Rice
If you’ve ever cyber-stalked photos of Ubud on Instagram, there’s a good chance you’ve seen photos of the Tegalalang rice terrace. Like something out of ancient history book, the layered terraces line the side of Ubud’s famous green hills, providing a stunning patchwork that has to be seen to be believed. While it may seem easy to find them, it took us a few visits to Ubud and many failed attempts to finally find them. If you’re planning a trip to Ubud and want to visit these gorgeous bright green rice terraces for yourself, peep this guide first. Here’s everything you need to know to find them and a few extra tips and tricks too.
You’ll find signs directing you to stairs for ‘Rice Trekking,’ just follow those and you’ll head down a whole bunch of steps to the bottom of the terraces. There, you’ll be greeted by a local and asked for a donation. You can pay what you wish but the minimum, we learned, is 5,oooIDR per person.
There may be locals working in the fields and if you take a photo and they’re in it (even if you didn’t ask them to be or didn’t intend them to be) they will ask you for money. The locals also have those rice-field hats you can put on and a special rice carrying bamboo set-up you can throw over your shoulder and snap a photo with. Just be aware you’ll need to pay if you do that.
3. Tirta Empul Tampak Siring – Bali Holy Spring Water Temple
Tirtha Empul Temple is a Hindu Temple located in a valley between two hills with big springs and sacred by the local residents as a place to melt all the bad influences in the body and purifies the soul and mind. Tirtha Empul Temple or better known as Tampak Siring Temple or Holy Water Temple is a place to purify our self from the bad influences in life where we can discover the traditional showers sourced from the springs at this temple. The water that comes out from the shower is believed to eliminate all kind of diseases including adverse effect in the human life and give the new holy spirits. This place is very famous in Bali and many visited by local people and tourists every day since it has been appointed as one of the tourist destinations in Bali.
4. Panglipuran Village
Penglipuran village is a beautiful highland village in the regency of Bangli in East Bali, best known for its well-preserved culture and village layout. While most of its residents have embraced modernity, its individual compounds are well-kept to look traditional with visitors in mind, with manicured gardens lining its single linear stone-paved street that runs through the centre of the village toward the village temple, and age-old arched entrance gates and walls that conceal their houses within.
Throughout the years Penglipuran village has evolved into a community based tourism site. Some villagers even run shops inside, and ‘donations’ are customary but not in any way mandatory. Nevertheless, tickets, purchased at the village’s front entrance, are IDR 30,000 and 25,000 (USD 2 and 1.85) for adults and children respectively. The village is a highlight on tours to the island’s eastern region, conveniently along the same course with the scenic rim of the Mount Batur crater and the village of Kintamani.
5. Coffee Tasting at Luwak coffee plantations in Bali
We choose Bali Pulina Plantation. The coffee plantation is located in a very quite and calm area near Ubud and is around 12 kms from the main city. This plantation has various vegetation and is in the form of a hill downside. As you enter the plantation you notice the various kinds of tea and coffee plants all around. The caretakers have done a good job in maintaining the area well with the tea and coffee marked with their names.
Kopi Luwak is the coffee produced from coffee beans digested and excreted by Civet Cat(Luwak). The excreted beans are then collected, processed and roasted to prepare the coffee beans. The taste of this coffee is arguably considered to be the best because of the method by which it is prepared. The digestion of the coffee by the cat ensures that it reduces the bitterness and increases the smoothness of the coffee.
What are your favorite activity in ubud?
Around The Tellus 