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From the mountain to the sea.

Mount Agung at first light, its grey cone rising above a band of pink cloud, with green rice terraces and coconut palms in the valley below.

Bali · 8.34°S 115.51°E · first light

From the mountain to the sea.

Before the sun clears the cloud, Agung is already lit: a cone of ash-grey stone, about 3,030 metres above a sea you cannot see yet. Balinese villages, homes and temples are laid out along the line between this mountain and the water. We start at the top, and walk down.

Scroll to descend

01Mount Agung

Above the clouds

Kaja means toward the mountain. It is a direction, not a compass bearing: in the south of Bali it points roughly north, and in the north of the island it points south. Agung, the highest and most sacred peak, is the mountain that line leads to. Its slopes carry Pura Besakih, the island's mother temple, and it is an active volcano that closes its own paths when it is restless.

8.34°S 115.51°E3,031 to 1,500 m

See Agung from Batur at sunrise
A thatched hut standing in still water on Lake Batur, mirrored in the lake, with Mount Batur low on the horizon under streaked blue sky.

02Lake Batur, Kintamani

Where the water begins

Lake Batur fills the caldera of an active volcano, and its goddess, Dewi Danu, is honoured at Pura Ulun Danu Batur: the supreme water temple of the island, and one of the five places UNESCO lists for the subak, Bali's way of sharing water. Rain, springs and highland lakes like this one feed the canals that run down to the terraces below.

8.25°S 115.40°E1,500 to 1,031 m

Water temples and highland lakes

03Jatiluwih, Tabanan

The terraces

Every flooded step belongs to a farmer, and every farmer belongs to a subak: a water-sharing society that has settled the order of the irrigation for centuries. UNESCO inscribed the subak landscape in 2012, Jatiluwih's terraces among it, for the way farming, temples and water are managed as one thing.

8.37°S 115.13°E1,031 to 700 m

Walk the terraces with a farmer
  • Two canang sari offerings of flowers and a biscuit in small palm-leaf trays on dark pebbles, with incense sticks laid beside them.
    OfferingsCanang sari: palm-leaf trays of flowers, set out daily with incense. Step around them.
  • A carved stone gateway at Ubud Palace in orange brick and grey relief, with two small ceremonial umbrellas and green foliage framing it.
    CraftA carved gateway at Ubud's palace, stone and red brick worked by hand.
  • Close view of a Barong mask in red, white and gold, with round eyes, bared teeth and tusks, and a gold sun ornament, set in thick brown fur.
    DanceA Barong, the protective spirit of Balinese ritual and dance. Masks like this are treated as sacred.

04Ubud, Gianyar

Forest and village

Ubud sits where the hills fold into forest, and its day runs on offerings and on hands. Canang sari go out each morning at doorways and shrines; stone is carved, silver beaten, masks made and kept. Step around an offering, never over it, and you are already a good guest.

8.51°S 115.26°E700 to 200 m

Ubud craft, dance and offerings
The sun setting over the Indian Ocean with a path of orange light on the water, and Uluwatu Temple on its sheer cliff at the right edge.

05Uluwatu, Bukit peninsula

The edge

Uluwatu temple stands on a cliff about 70 metres above the Indian Ocean. Wear a sarong and sash, keep sunglasses zipped away because the macaques are quick, and stay while the light goes.

8.83°S 115.08°E200 to 70 m

Kecak at Uluwatu
A reef manta ray gliding over coral in hazy blue water at Manta Bay, Nusa Penida.

06Manta Bay, Nusa Penida

Below the surface

Off Nusa Penida, reef manta rays glide into a cleaning station at around ten metres. The rules are short, because the mantas set them: do not touch, do not chase, keep about three metres away, and let them choose.

8.79°S 115.53°E−2 to −10 m

Manta snorkelling day

07 · The surface

Across the water

From Bali the sea is a road. Four crossings lead somewhere that feels like another country.

Nusa Penida Gilis Lombok Labuan Bajo Ijen Bromo
  1. Nusa Penida30 to 45 min by boatForty minutes from Sanur, and the reef begins.
  2. Gilis and LombokAbout 1 h 30 by boatAn hour and a half to the Gilis, or fly to Lombok.
  3. Komodo and FloresAbout 1 h 15 by airAn hour and a quarter by air, then a boat into the park.
  4. Ijen and Bromo30 to 60 min by ferryA ferry across the strait, then volcanoes before dawn.

The full map, with times and seasons

Featured experiences

All 9 experiences
  • The ridge of Mount Batur lit gold at sunrise, with a line of tiny hikers silhouetted on the summit viewpoint.

    Nature · Adventure

    Mount Batur sunrise trek

    Climb in the dark, breakfast on the rim, and watch the island come out of the cloud.

    Time
    Half day
    Group
    Small group, up to 8
    Fitness
    Moderate
    Meeting
    Hotel pick-up

    fromUS$62per person
  • Contoured bands of bright green rice terraces curving round a hillside at Jatiluwih, with coconut palms among them and forested slopes behind.

    Nature · Culture

    A subak walk with a farmer

    Walk the channels with someone whose family has shared this water for generations.

    Time
    Half day
    Group
    Small group, up to 6
    Fitness
    Easy
    Meeting
    Hotel pick-up

    fromUS$58per person
  • A reef manta ray gliding over coral in hazy blue water at Manta Bay, Nusa Penida.

    Ocean · Nature · Adventure

    Manta snorkelling day, Nusa Penida

    A morning on the water with reef mantas, and the rules that keep them coming back.

    Time
    Full day
    Group
    Small group, up to 10
    Fitness
    Moderate
    Meeting
    Meet at Sanur beach

    fromUS$115per person
  • The sun setting over the Indian Ocean with a path of orange light on the water, and Uluwatu Temple on its sheer cliff at the right edge.

    Culture

    Kecak at Uluwatu, with the cliff walk

    The temple on the edge at golden hour, then a hundred voices as the light goes.

    Time
    Half day
    Group
    Small group, up to 10
    Fitness
    Easy
    Meeting
    Hotel pick-up, or meet at the temple

    fromUS$48per person

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