Discovering Temples, Jungle Treasures, and True Adventures in Ubud, Bali.
Written by Kaelie Piscitello
“I will arrive at your hotel around 5 am for your tour,” my driver for the day in Ubud wrote me on a Tuesday afternoon.
“That seems early. Since we’re the only ones, I think it makes sense for all of us to sleep in a little,” I wrote back.
“But if we don’t make it to the Gates of Heaven by 7, you will wait in line for three hours to take your photo,” he explained.
On Instagram, Bali appears like a fabulous paradise to many travelers looking for a tropical getaway, and it is. Ubud, in particular, is home to gorgeous jungle, adorable creatures, and adventurous activities, including white-water rafting and ATV rides.
However, many of the famous tourist attractions, including The Gates of Heaven and famous Tegalang Rice Terraces, gear toward people seeking the perfect Instagram photo opportunity. People spend hours in line waiting to take the famous picture of themselves between two gates and a stunning reflection.
Before coming to Bali, I thought only the Gates of Heaven had this type of structure. In reality, the gates serve as a central part of Balinese temples, and each worship site has them. In short, they are everywhere.
“Let’s skip that,” I wrote back to my driver. “Where do you recommend we go instead?”
Elephant Cave
Our first driver in Ubud took our requests to heart and made our experience fantastic by explaining the worth of theactivities we had chosen and other recommendations. When we asked about Elephant Cave, a recommendation I received from other travel bloggers, he told us we would like it, and we soon found ourselves in the midst of some phenomenal ruins.
Goa Gaja, also known as the Elephant Temple, was built in the 9th century and served as a religious sanctuary. The temple has become one with nature, with long, sturdy vines growing all over it and lush greenery surrounding every corner. The temple itself was gorgeous, and we entered through the wide, open mouth of a creature meant to ward off evil spirits. The creature guarding the shrine, dedicated to the Hindu gods Shiva and Ganesh, adds a lot of character to the temple and gives it an ancient feel.
As I wandered past the main opening attraction, I discovered the jungle and endless steps of stairs leading around the temple. It felt like stepping into another world, separate from the one I had just been in at Uluwatu. Light rain fell, but I didn’t care. The lush greenery beckoned to me and made me feel like I had come to the middle of nowhere in the best possible way.
Coffee Plantations
After visiting the Elephant Cave, my driver recommended that I attend a coffee tasting at one of Bali’s renowned coffee plantations. Bali has many of these located throughout the jungle, and they export coffee grown on the island all over the world. Some Balinese farmers make their coffee with the help of a lewack, a creature that eats the raw coffee beans and releases them from its digestive tract for coffee experts to grind and turn into a true delicacy.
The plantation I visited provided a tour of the grounds, showcasing their own cacao plants, banana trees, and other tropical crops. I loved sampling the sweet cacao beans and realizing they taste nothing like chocolate.
The Ubud coffee plantation tour highlight included the spread of teas and coffees laid out for me to sample. The Lewack coffee had high quality, but I liked the coconut coffee best. What a treat!
Delicious Eats
Ubud had many delicious places to sample classic Balinese dishes. I do not remember the names of most places, because our drivers dropped us off at ones they knew well, and most likely had a partnership with. However, they all provided us with delicious cocktails made to our liking and fabulous rice dishes paired with the meat of our choosing.
i enjoyed the chicken cooked in traditional turmeric spices over rice the most during my time in Bali. I also loved trying the traditional Balinese roast duck along with many other delicacies.
A True Jungle Adventure
My second day in Ubud started at 5 am. When I arrived at the white water rafting facility, I swallowed hard and strapped on my life vest and helmet. Next, an instructor provided everyone with a crash course on how to steer forward, back, and how to stop.
After a sketchy ride in the back of a pickup truck, my group and I descended several hundred stairs down to the river and took in the narrow body of water we would navigate over the next several hours. The guide paired my boyfriend and me with another American couple we’d become friendly with on the way over.
At first, the rocks made me think I was in for a rough time. The start was so bumpy we almost capsized twice! However, once we made it through the rough bit, the rest of our trip was smooth sailing with only a few rocks in our way to avoid. Since we avoided bumps the rest of the ride, my group and I oohed and aahed over the jungle around us.
We all loved pointing out the monkeys we could see in the trees and stopped at multiple waterfalls for photo opportunities. The scenery on this river rafting expedition provided the most beautiful scenery of the entire trip.
After a slight drop that reminded me a of a log flume at a water park, my group sighed with relief that we made it to the end. Then, we remembered our journey back up to the top. We all looked at each other, laughed in camaraderie, and began our ascent back up 400 stairs and into Ubud for lunch.
