Are you planning a trip to Bali? Here are the five best things to do in the cultural heart of the island, to show you why you MUST add Ubud to the itinerary.
1. SACRED MONKEY FOREST SANCTUARY
If you already know a bit about Bali, you’ll probably have already heard of the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, where hundreds of monkeys live and walk freely around a temple in the forest. What you won’t know however, is how terrifying it actually is! I’d say if you’re not an absolute wimp like me, it’s probably still worth a visit but it’s no place for a scaredy cat.
A sign at the entrance instructed us not to look the monkeys in the eyes and not to react at all if they climb on you… Literally as soon as we walked in, I felt a massive thud half way up my body where a monkey had jumped straight onto me and wrapped himself around my body, while trying to steal my water bottle that I’d attached onto my bum bag. I was petrified but I stayed calm, kept still and within about a minute he gave up and leapt off. Monkeys are like any other animal where all they care about is food and drink, so they just want to steal things - even empty cans of drink, they will take out the bin and pour the last drip into their mouths.
Later on, our group of four spotted a stupid man walking up to a circle of monkeys, singing to them really loudly (probably for the gram), and suddenly the monkeys went ape sh*t (lol) and were running around showing their teeth, when someone said one had bitten the man! That’s when we all started running but unfortunately in a hurry we all went separate ways! Megan and my boyfriend at the time Steve ran into the toilets, Steve’s friend, Kane, ran straight out the exit and I stupidly ran further into the forest where I saw lots of people I could hide behind! Eventually we regrouped and left immediately but what a scary experience – although funny now we can look back on it. If you’re braver than me, which is quite easy, you should visit the monkey forest as it’s great to get up close to the wild animals and see the babies, but if my story sounds like a nightmare then I’d give it a miss.
2. RELAX BY THE POOL IN YOUR AMAZING VILLA
As you will have definitely seen on Instagram, Bali is home to some amaaazing villas and believe it or not, they’re not even that expensive! Ubud is 100% where you’ll have the best selection of ‘goals’ villas to choose from as there are just so many with beautiful views of the surrounding rice fields. Generally when it comes to grand Bali villas, you won’t actually meet the owner as they’ll be abroad or working on something else. Instead, you’ll be welcomed by the caretaker who will usually come and clean up each day and perhaps make you some breakfast (most of the time you must pay extra for this) or sort out your laundry. For a two bedroom grand villa with a jacuzzi pool and a view, just outside of Ubud, was £80 per night on Airbnb - so for the four of us it was £20 each. Sometimes we’d have a sunny morning where we didn’t have much planned so we’d just sunbathe with a beer and take a dip in the pool every half hour – perfect. Ubud is pretty much in the centre of Bali so it’s essential to have a pool as you won’t be near a beach.
3. QUAD BIKING THROUGH THE JUNGLE
We booked this activity on Airbnb prior to arriving in Ubud but you can also book it at lots of market stalls in the town. What a unique experience this is. There aren’t many opportunities you will get to ride an ATV through the jungle, across rice fields, inside caves and through waterfalls! It costs around £50 for an hour long ride, with lunch included afterwards. It’s honestly one of those amazing things where you’ll stop for a moment and you’ll look around and think ‘wow, I’m riding a quad bike around the jungle in Bali.’ And moments like that are just so precious.
4. WATERFALL TOUR
Huge tip incoming: you can book a taxi driver for the day (you can simply find one in town or ask your host to give you a phone number) and you can literally just ask them to take you around all the best waterfalls they know of. It will take the whole day because some are local but some are about two hours north (but definitely worth it) and if there’s a group of 3 or more of you then it works out a lot cheaper than booking an official tour. It’s also good because you’re giving your money to a likely poor local instead of a large booking company like Airbnb, and it’s such a relaxed way of doing it because you’re not stuck with a load of strangers, you get the comfort of a spacious car and you can stop for food and drinks whenever you like. If you are a confident moped driver then of course you could travel in that way but I wouldn’t advise it as there is a lot of driving involved and some of the hills etc. are incredibly steep and bumpy.
My top waterfall recommendations are Banyumala Twin Waterfalls, Gitgit Waterfall, Aling Aling Waterfall (if you pay a small fee you can slide down the waterfall and jump in the water from high diving boards which is so fun – all the other waterfalls you can swim in the water for free), and looking on the internet, I’d also recommend Nungnung and Kanto Lampo waterfalls.
5. RICE TERRACES
Tegallalang Rice Terrace, the most famous rice terrace in Bali. A sight to see and a great cultural experience – and of course a picture for the gram of you on the swing overlooking the terrace. The other nearby rice terrace for a great cultural experience is Bali Pulina Coffee Plantation, which isn’t just a rice terrace as you can notice from the name. It is also the home of Bali’s famous ‘cat poo coffee’ which is actually called luwak coffee. The coffee beans are basically eaten by an animal called the Asian palm civet (looks like a badger) and pooed out again. Despite the nasty description, it tastes pretty good and when you order one cup of luwak coffee, you receive 12 herbal tea tasters for free which is a lovely touch.
Working around those five main things to do in Ubud, there are also some amazing markets to check out in the town centre. There, you can buy all the classic boho souvenirs like the round wicker bags and dream catchers. Also, if you’re planning a night out there, CP Lounge is where it’s at - it’s a busy Marbella style outdoor bar, with fantastic food and live music in the evening, then at 11pm it turns into a nightclub. Last but not least, you can see many temples in and around Ubud, the most iconic one being Pura Taman Saraswati. If you want to see the best ones in Bali, ask your taxi driver to take you there on your waterfall tour and I’m sure they won’t disappoint.
Hopefully part of your Bali itinerary is now full and if you stay tuned I’ll be writing much more about the beautiful country very soon! Subscribe to receive new blog posts via email.
Safe travels!
Em Wanders x
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