We had a packed itinerary for our second day in Ubud. We decided it would be best to get a guide, as it was reasonably cheap and the best way to quickly explore the surrounding area. We met our guide Ketut, who picked us up from our accommodation at 8am.
The first stop on our trip was Tegenungan waterfall, an incredible waterfall in a tropical valley.
From the waterfall, we headed to Tirta Empul temple, which is one of the most sacred and visited water temples in Bali.
It is known for its holy spring water, where Balinese Hindus go for ritual purification.
We had to wear a sarong, which were given to us at the entrance…
There are a series of purification pools in the temple where people bathe and pray in a specific order for spiritual cleansing.
There is a clear fresh spring which feeds the pools, which naturally comes from the ground.
In Balinese Hindu, the God Indra created the spring to revive his poisoned troops during a battle with the demon king Mayadanawa.
Priests now collect the holy water from the spring for ceremonies, blessings and purification rituals across Bali.
After the temple, it was time to head to the next stop, which was a coffee plantation.
Bali is known for its coffee plantations, mostly in the central and northern areas, where the volcanic soil and cooler climate are ideal conditions for growing coffee.
The coffee plantation was really interesting as we got to see how Balinese coffee is made.
The plantation then prepared some samples for us to try, including ginger and vanilla flavoured coffee.
From the coffee plantation, Ketut then took us to Tegallang rice terrace, famous for its layered rice paddies which are carved into the hillside.
We were then shown the rice growing process.
The last stop of the day was Monkey Forest. This was definitely the busiest site of the day and felt very touristy.
It was good to see the monkeys though and they are clearly very well looked after – we went during feeding time, where they were getting fresh corn and coconuts!
There are some pretty strict rules about engaging with the monkeys, you’re not meant to look them directly in the eye, or try to feed them or take their food!
On the whole they seemed quite well behaved, although there were a few which went for peoples bags!
We were then dropped back at our guesthouse in the centre of Ubud. This was overall a really good day and was enjoyable getting out around Ubud.
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