The Paths of the Gods: Bali Differently

Airport reception at Denpasar and transfer to Ubud, a city located on the hills north of Denpasar, in a hilly landscape of lush rice fields and ravines. Ubud is renowned for its painting school.

Despite the exponential tourist development it has experienced in recent years, the city has managed to preserve its tranquility and beauty.

In the morning, transfer to Belimbing, a small village set in the middle of stunning rice fields. During the journey, you cross some of Bali's most extraordinary terraced rice paddies.

After checking in at the hotel, you begin a wonderful nature discovery walk of the surrounding area.

3 hours of walking

Morning transfer to Pemuteran, a small coastal resort located on the northwest coast of Bali, far from tourist crowds.

The rest of the day is free to enjoy the fine sandy beach at your leisure. A genuine colorful aquarium awaits you in these coral reefs! Possibility to rent a boat to observe the underwater depths around Menjangan Island, where all of Bali's richest fauna seems to have gathered. It is here, for example, that the rare Bali starling has found refuge.

Short transfer to Munduk, located in a region of Bali steeped in history, considered the cradle of Balinese culture. The old Dutch colonists loved to stay there for leisure, from the former colonial capital of Singaraja (on the north coast).

In the early afternoon, you stroll around the village to discover the beauty of the surrounding nature. The surroundings of Munduk indeed form a picturesque scene with its coffee and clove plantations near forests and waterfalls.

Your trek today takes you to Candi Kuning, along the Buyan and Tamblingan Lakes and Buyan. These two lakes were once a single body of water until the massive landslide of 1818 permanently separated them. This magnificent hike offers an opportunity to discover the local agricultural and cultural life, as you walk along and cross the island's beautiful tropical forests.

You visit the superb Hindu-Buddhist temple Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, one of Bali's wonders. This place is enchanting, with its enormous banyan tree at the entrance and its superb gardens. One of the temples is situated on a small island, and its 11-level roof is elegantly reflected in the waters of the lake.

During the afternoon, you take in the atmosphere of the picturesque Bedugul market, before heading back to your nearby hotel.

This morning, you take the road to the Mt Batur caldera (1725m), through a region renowned for its coffee plantations. From Penelokan, you enjoy an exceptional view of the caldera, measuring 14 km long. This imposing size testifies to the volcano's tumultuous past and a size that once must have exceeded that of the current Agung. At your feet, you discover the cone of Mount Batur in the middle of a vast caldera occupied halfway by Bali's largest lake and covered on its other half by plantations and lava fields, residues from the 1917 and 1926 eruptions. You then descend into the caldera to get a closer look at the lava flows.

Near the lake where you can rest in preparation for the early morning wake-up the following morning, you enjoy the pleasant hot spring waters at the lake's edge.

Late at night, you begin the ascent of Mount Batur. Just before sunrise, you first reach the summit of the oldest crater, then begin your descent by skirting the adjacent craters and pausing near (but at a safe distance from) the most recent and most active crater.

Elevation gain (positive & negative): +600m / -600m

Continuation of the day with a visit to the Pura Kehen temple in Bangli. This temple is one of the most venerated in Bali. Its vegetable garden and its temple with eleven "meru" make it a place filled with spirituality and traditions.

Transfer to the royal baths of Tirtagangga (whose exact translation means "The waters of the Ganges"), on the south-east slopes of Agung. Officially known as Tirta Ayu, this complex of fresh water pools was one of many aquatic palaces built by a king of Karangasem. This place surrounded by magnificent terraced rice field landscapes is the ideal place to relax after your hours of hiking.

The morning is devoted to a Balinese walk, through fields and rice paddies, towards the Bali Aga village of Tenganan which has preserved Balinese culture prior to the Javanese influence of the Hindu Majapahit dynasty.

To preserve their village from the harmful effects of intrusion by those not initiated into the cult of Batara Indra, every visitor is welcomed from noon until nightfall, after which everyone is asked to continue on their way. There was a time when the villagers of Tenganan even swept away the footprints of their visitors to completely erase their visit.

4 hours of walking

Transfer to Sidemen, one of Bali's most beautiful valleys (numerous rice fields, salak plantations and weaving workshop-houses of the famous ikats...)

You continue your journey to Sanur where you arrive in the afternoon. Check-in at the hotel and free evening.

Free morning until transfer to the airport.