Just back from the streets of Ubud, barely a ten minute walk from the town’s centre, a whole host of rice paddies line the hills. Spend a few hours wandering through the paddies, enjoying the morning or afternoon sun and the beautiful surrounds.

Enjoy the best of Bali with a whitewater rafting adventure on the spectacular Ayung River- an unforgettable journey through lush jungle scenery and deep river gorges led by Indonesia’s top rafting professional The fast-flowing Ayung River carves its way through soft volcanic rock to produce a narrow, deep-sided thrilling course. You will journey through vine-hung gorges, tranquil rice-paddies and stunning jungle scenery while observing rural Balinese life from the river.

Challenge yourself and experience the solo thrill of kayaking down the Ayung River in a state-of-the-art, two-person inflatable kayak. A guide in a separate vessel, leads kayakers through 27 sets of challenging and fun-filled rapids. Trained experts give full tuition so even first-timers can enjoy this thrilling river adventure. .

Take in the glorious mountain scenery of Bali with a cycling expedition. Using new mountain bikes and safety equipment, and with cold towels and lunch included, our cycling trips offer a relaxed, restful way to see this beautiful island.

Acclaimed as the World’s Best Elephant Park, facilities include a full Reception and Information Centre, a comprehensive Museum, with a large collection of elephant memorabilia and the only Mammoth Skeleton in South East Asia. A visit to the Elephant Safari Park is a must for any visitor to Bali. Get up close and personal with these incredible animals in a beautiful tropical park setting. Elephants can be seen immersing themselves in the park lake, in between riding, painting or other activities. Hand feed them, touch them, take photos with them, then learn more about the elephants ancestry and diversity at the Park’s historical and graphic displays.

Known as the “Mother Temple of Bali”, the sanctuary of Besakih on the slopes of Mt. Agung is the biggest and holiest of all Balinese temples. Over a thousand years old, steps ascend through split gates to the main courtyard where the Trinity shrines are wrapped in cloth and decorated with flower offerings.

Shopping in Ubud is fantastic, and extremely varied. The main shopping areas are Jalan Raya, Jalan Hanoman and Jalan Dewi Sita. These three streets are interconnecting and can be walked in a day, one after the other. You can find all kinds of things; ancient antiques, the latest designs, cheap souvenirs, modern masterpieces of art, useful objects and whimsical trinkets.

Ubud is incredibly well supplied with fine restaurants, cafes and foodstalls of almost every variety, from Mexican to Japanese to German to Italian and so on ad infinitum. Standards of hygiene are generally excellent in all restaurants, and even in the foodstalls, so don’t worry too much, just dive right in and eat whatever and whenever you feel like it.

From the late 19th century to the mid-1940s; this was the seat for the local ruler. It’s a series of elegant and well-preserved pavilions, many of them decorated incongruously with colonial-era European furniture. Visitors are welcome to stroll around, though there are no signs indicating what you are looking at, so it palls quickly. Evening dance performances are held in the courtyard, and it is by far the best and most dramatic setting for these in Ubud.

The lifestyle of Balinese people is expressed in their dance. The very essence of the Balinese culture is dance and drama, which is performed during temple festivals and in ceremonies. Balinese dance goes as far back as Balinese written history, with much of the heritage originating from Java.

Throughout the Ubud area, you can pick up inexpensive small paintings which make excellent decorative accents back home. Other crafts in the towns surrounding Ubud include weaving (Gianyar area), stone carving (Batubulan), basket making (Bona), bamboo and rattan work (Sakah and Bona), jewellery (Celuk), bone and coconut carving (Tampaksiring), batik, furniture making, bronze casting, and, decorative metalwork.