Ubud, Bali: Rice Terraces, Temples and How to Slow Down

The first thing you notice in Ubud is the small things on the ground. Every morning, women set palm leaf trays of flowers, rice and a stick of incense on doorsteps, shrines and pavement corners, and by mid morning the scooters have nudged half of them aside. These are canang sari, daily offerings, and they tell you more about the place than any list of things to do in Ubud. This is a town that runs on ritual and rhythm. Rush it and it feels like traffic and souvenir shops. Give it four or five days and it opens up.

Ubud sits in the hills of central Bali, about an hour or more from the airport depending on the roads, which are rarely kind. It has been the island's centre of painting, dance and craft for generations. The air is cooler and wetter than the coast, and the green is relentless.

The rice terraces, and when to see them

Tegallalang is the famous one, a steep valley of terraces about twenty minutes north of town. It is beautiful and it is busy, with swings, cafés and photo platforms along the rim. Go at first light, before the tour vans arrive, and walk down into the terraces rather than staying at the top. Small donation boxes sit at the paths that cross private fields. Drop something in; the farmers keep the place looking the way it does.

For something quieter, drive the extra hour or so west to Jatiluwih in Tabanan. The terraces there spread across a whole hillside under the slopes of Mount Batukaru, and they are part of the Cultural Landscape of Bali Province that UNESCO listed in 2012. That listing is about the subak, the cooperative system of canals and water temples that has shared water between farmers for centuries. Walking the marked trails, you hear the channels running under your feet.

Closer to town, the Campuhan Ridge Walk starts near the Ibah area at the bottom of Jalan Raya Ubud and follows a grassy spine between two river valleys. Do it at sunrise. By nine it is hot and exposed. Keep going past the end of the paved path and you reach small rice fields and warungs where nobody is in a hurry.

Temples worth your morning

Bali has thousands of temples, and around Ubud a handful stand out. You will need a sarong and sash at all of them. Most lend or rent one at the entrance, but carrying your own is easier and more respectful.

• Tirta Empul, near Tampaksiring, is a water temple built around a holy spring. Balinese come to bathe under its row of spouts in a purification ritual. Visitors can take part, but watch first, follow the order of the spouts, and ask a local guide to explain what each one is for.
• Goa Gajah, the Elephant Cave, has a carved demon mouth for a doorway and old bathing pools out front. Go down the steps behind it to the stream and the ruins in the trees.
• Gunung Kawi has shrines carved straight into the cliff face of a river gorge. It is a long staircase down and a longer one back up, which keeps the crowds thin.
• Pura Taman Saraswati, right in town, sits behind a pond of lotus flowers. Come back in the evening when it hosts dance performances.

Signs at temple entrances sometimes list who should not enter, including people who are bleeding or women who are menstruating. These are religious rules, not suggestions, and it is best to follow them quietly.

Evenings: dance, gamelan and the palace

Ubud's evenings belong to the gamelan. Most nights there is a performance somewhere in town, Legong at the palace, Kecak with a circle of chanting men, Barong with its lion-like protector creature. The Ubud Palace, Puri Saren Agung, on the main crossroads, hosts many of them in its courtyard under carved gates. Tickets are sold on the street during the day. Sit near the front. The detail is in the dancers' eyes and fingers, and you lose it from the back.

Ubud does not get better the more you see. It gets better the less you try to.

What to eat

Balinese food is spicier and more pork-forward than people expect. Babi guling, spit-roast suckling pig with crackling and spiced rice, is the dish to find, usually at lunch and usually until it sells out. Bebek betutu is duck rubbed with a spice paste and slow cooked until it falls apart. For an everyday plate, order nasi campur at a local warung, rice with whatever small dishes the kitchen has that day.

Ubud also does very good coffee and very good vegetarian food. Spend a morning working your way along Jalan Goutama, a narrow lane of small cafés that feels a world away from the main road a few steps over.

How to actually slow down here

The mistake most people make is treating Ubud as a base for day trips, out at seven, back at dark, every day. Pick a stay a little outside the centre, in Penestanan, Sayan or along a river valley, where the night sounds are frogs and the morning view is a field. Then plan one thing a day. A temple, a walk, a cooking class. Leave the afternoon for rain, which usually arrives on cue in the wet season, and for a book on the veranda.

Learn a few words. Suksma means thank you. Om swastiastu is a respectful greeting. People notice.

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Good to know

• Seasons: the drier months run roughly from April to October; the wet season brings heavy afternoon showers but greener fields and fewer people.
• Nyepi, the Balinese Day of Silence in March, shuts the whole island for a day, including the airport. Check the date before you plan.
• Tourism levy: Bali charges foreign visitors a levy on arrival. Check the current rules with official sources before you travel.
• Monkeys at the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary grab sunglasses, phones and anything that rustles. Keep bags zipped and food out of sight.
• Getting around: traffic is slow. A local driver for the day is the calmest way to reach Jatiluwih or the water temples.
• Offerings: step around them on the pavement. Never pick one up.

Ubud has changed a lot and it is not quiet in the middle of the day. But the old town is still there, in the dawn walk, the evening gamelan and the woman placing flowers on your step. Slow down enough to see it.