UBUD

CAMPUHAN RIDGE

The perfect way to get a little exercise and see a different side of Ubud. We walked along a ridge surrounded by rice terraces and river valleys passing a little area with lots of local art galleries, until we reached a café with a great view of the rice fields (apparently, it’s excellent for viewing sunsets).

UBUD PALACE

In the centre of Ubud is the Kingdom Palace, is the residence of King of Ubud. The compound contains Balinese traditional houses. The compound was mostly built after the 1917 earthquake. Unfortunately, it is not open to the public and can only be seen through closed gates. On many nights you can watch a dance performance here.

UBUD MARKET

The double storey warren of stalls bursts at the seams with wood carvings, batik shirts, sarongs, and all manner of other souvenirs aimed specifically at tourists.

SACRED MONKEY FOREST

The Ubud Monkey Forest is a nature reserve and Hindu temple complex home to approx 600 crab eating macaques.

AROUND UBUD

THE RICE TERRACES OF TEGALLALONG

The countryside surrounding Ubud is teeming with rice fields and terraces of varying shapes and sizes which can be seen for free. We were en route north so we stopped at the rice terraces at Tegallalang – and paid the fee to park our car on the main road so that we could walk amongst the terraces. There are plenty of shops in the village, if you have the time to browse.

BALI PULINA, TEGALLALONG, GIANYAR

Originally this place was a regular plantation. There were many plants, especially coffee, fruit and traditional Balinese spices. There are two types of coffee, robusta and arabica that are harvested once a year. A Balanese speciality is the Luwark coffee which is the most expensive in the world. It is produced from the coffee beans that have been digested by the Civet, an Indonesian cat-like animal. The faeces of the cat is collected, finished and sold as kopi luwak. The coffee has unique properties and taste. We enjoyed tasting the tea and coffee samples and the cup of civet coffee. Of course, we bought lots of coffee in the shop, including the Kopi Luwak.