As the art and cultural hub in Bali, there’s plenty to keep yourself entertained in Ubud for a good couple of days. Here’s what we did.
Monkey Forest
The famed monkey forest can’t be missed, even if you’re like me and semi-terrified of the little creatures. Located about 15 min walk from the main street of Ubud, with a small entrance fee, you’ll find the sacred forest and the monkeys, and there’s lots of them. Given this was near the start of the trip we were new to the whole ‘monkey thing’ and found the place pretty cool, it’s just more of an hour activity than a whole day activity.
The Markets
They do have a decent market in Ubud if you’re wanting some cheap Bali pants or other souvenirs. They seem to go on forever, and across multiple floors. You could be in there all day, or for ten minutes, if you’re able to find your way out. Worth checking out, but some parts are a little grotty, not going to lie. You also need to be firm with some of the sellers here, in case they get a little hands on.
Campuhan Ridge Walk
We’d read up about the ridge walk and knew to find the entrance down towards the bridge, on the right hand side, just before the Warwick villas. We’d originally planned to do the walk as suggested first thing in the morning, but we slept in. So opted for a late afternoon stroll instead.
The scenery is pretty cool. The amount you will sweat, not so much. Truthfully, we didn’t do the whole walk and gave up half way along due to our heat levels and hunger levels, but even that much was worth it. We would suggest turning up a little better prepared than us and doing the walk. Your photos will thank you.
Tegallalang Rice Terraces
If you’re like us, you’ll find the rice paddies across Asia pretty intriguing, and nowhere as much as the rice terraces of Tegallalang. They’re a little ways out of Ubud like a few of the sights, so we hired a driver for the day for 500,000 IDR and the terraces were the first stop. You’ll be charged a small entrance fee to drive along the road, but once parked up, the view is pretty cool. Make sure you wander down the terraces and get all the views.
Bali Pulina for Luwak Coffee
Our driver decided for us that this was the next place we would visit and while dubious at first, it turned out to be worth it. Just up the road from the rice terraces, this place hosted great views, a nice seating area, a variety of different flavoured coffees to try – ginger, vanilla, chocolate, Bali, Cacao, which were all free to taste, plus the famed Luwak coffee, available for 50,000 IDR a cup.
Our driver obviously got his coffee for free in return for taking us there so he was happy. We sat and drank coffee for a while overlooking rice terraces, so we were happy and we enjoyed the different plant varieties in their garden too. Worth a stop for half an hour or so for sure.
Teganungan Waterfall
And because we’re such fans of getting our sweat on, we also stopped off at Teganungan Waterfall. It’s pretty badass. So is the climb down to the bottom of the falls, and similarly the climb back up. Pretty magical falls, just make sure you take your togs, your camera and be prepared for the hoards of people. Again, would suggest making this an early morning trip to avoid the stream of tourists, but it’s a pretty nice waterfall and there’s cold drinks being sold at the bottom and back up at the carpark.
