Lying in the center of the island, Ubud will charm you with the presence of its beautiful and natural scenery. Your stay in Ubud will be filled with peaceful moments. Everyone spends their time in different ways here. Discover 7 of the best things to do in Ubud to help you plan your stay in the area.
- Monkey Forest
- Rice fields
- Visit a sacred temple with healing powers
- Visit the waterfalls
- Ubud Water Palace
- Mount Batur -Volcano hike
- Shop at the Ubud Art Market
Monkey Forest
This natural sanctuary, which most people like to call the Ubud Monkey Forest, is home to over 1200 long-tailed macaque monkeys. Efforts are made to preserve its natural beauty while promoting responsible tourism. There is an entrance fee of 50k IDR that helps with the food for the monkeys and all the care they get.
There are no fences whatsoever, the monkeys choose to live there. They are divided into 10 groups, and sometimes the conflicts between the groups cannot be avoided. Remember it is like you are visiting their house so be respectful. Don’t try approaching them since they might try to fight with you. They are pretty strong, but more importantly, they can carry diseases. Also, be careful with your belongings because they might steal them. Pretty wise these little monkeys, they even know how to open a water bottle.
Pictures with the monkeys?
Yes, you can take a picture with a monkey but only with the help of a local worker. If the monkey doesn’t want to, they will never force them. What they will do is offer them cookies on your lap, so it comes close to you. You don’t touch them, you just let them be on your lap. They honestly don’t care about you and as soon as they don’t get any more cookies they will leave.
It’s so beautiful to see how much they are respected and loved by the locals. It really touched me to see the monkey’s cemetery.
Rice fields
If you ever made just a small research on Bali, you’ve clearly seen a picture of a rice field.
They are such a popular picture spot. The most famous one is called Tegalalang Rice Terraces. There are multiple layers of rice fields stretch across the hills. Everything is surrounded by the island’s magnificent jungles.
Make sure to always stay on the paths, since these are active farming lands, and you wouldn’t want to disrespect the workers.
Visit a sacred temple with healing powers
There is a beautiful temple called Pura Tirta Empul that is known for the belief that its water has healing powers. It is very popular for the locals to go there, in the pools, to clean themselves. If you would like to join in with this important purification ritual, the entrance fee to the temple is 50k IDR and you will be more than welcome over there.
A less popular/less crowded option is Pura Gunung Kawi Sebatu. That is where I went, and I saw people cleansing in the pools too.
Visit the waterfalls
There are so many beautiful waterfalls you can explore in Ubud. The list was way too long for me to do them all in the time I had in Ubud. Maybe when I go back to Bali I can give you a better review. For now, I can show you, Gembleng Waterfall, this one is definitely my favorite from the ones I have explored.
Ubud Water Palace
Lying in the center of Ubud’s town, this beautiful palace will captivate you with its beauty. It is also known as the Saraswati Temple. Explore the grounds and bring your camera.
Mount Batur – Volcano Hike
Hiking to the top of this sleeping volcano is a really fun activity to do in Ubud. Most people like to go for the sunrise, which means you need to be there really early. To do this hike, it is required to hire a local guide. I highly suggest you book your tour in advance since there are a lot of different packages for different needs and desires. Reaching the top takes roughly two hours. I am telling you this is not an easy hike, so don’t be late, or you won’t make it in time.
Ride up to the top: If you don’t think you can make it in time, bikes are passing by and offering to bring you to the top for a fee. It depends on who is offering, the price can vary a lot, but I would say around 400k only to go up.
Temperature: The level of humidity in this area is really high, so there is a chance that you won’t be lucky and all you will see up there is fog. That is sadly what happened to me and my friends. We still loved the experience. If this happens to you, try to chill as long as you can and the sky might clear out. We didn’t stay up for long and when we were coming down we realized the sky was clearing out. We could have had much nicer pictures. Try being more patient than me 🙂
What to bring/wear: You will hike in the dark, so it can be freezing if you’re only wearing shorts and a little top. Wear some good shoes for a start. Bring your day backpack in which you can put a lot of water, some food for energy, a vest and might as well bring toilet paper since the toilets available during this 4-hour hike are really not the best.
Shop at the Ubud Art Market
This can be a really nice place for you to get a souvenir for your home. If you don’t plan on buying anything, it can still be a lot of fun simply taking a good look at the art.
