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On the first day in Ubud – not without reason called the cultural capital of Bali – we visited the city’s greatest tourist attractions. We started the day with a visit to the Saraswati temple located by a charming pond. Then we went to meet the macaques living in the Monkey Forest, and in the afternoon we went for a walk along the picturesque hills and rice fields along the Campuhan Ridge Walk. What else did we see in Ubud? You will learn this and much more in this post.

Saraswati Temple, Monkey Forest & Campuhan Ridge - Explore The Top-Rated Tourist Attractions In Ubud, Bali
Campuhan Ridge, Ubud, Bali

Ubud at glance

After a tasty, although not very filling breakfast at Ketut’s Place and minor problems with our room (dark, downstairs room we exchanged for a room in a traditional Balinese bungalow), we finally left the hotel and started sightseeing in the city.

The history of Ubud dates back to the late nineteenth century, when a certain prince Cokord V Gede Agung Sukawati as a result of an alliance with neighboring kingdoms, significantly expanded the range of its territories. This ruler turned out to be a great lover of art who willingly supports the work of local artists. Thanks to his initiatives, the city quickly turned into an important artistic center of the island and over time began to attract well-known painters. One of them was the German artist Walter Spies, who liked the atmosphere of this place so much that he decided to live here. In the wake of their mentor, other foreign painters settled in Ubud, who contributed significantly to the revival of Balinese art. To this day, there are plenty of galleries with avant-garde paintings in the town, and in the evenings there are numerous music and dance performances.

Unfortunately, the impact of mass tourism did not spare the city and Ubud at first sight disappointed us. The ranks of expensive boutiques, loud traffic, ubiquitous intrusive taxi drivers (taxi, madame?), tightly packed hotels, as well as dozens of white tourists have made us start to miss the less crowded north of the island. Fortunately, over time we managed to get used to the commercial aspect of the city, and as we gradually moved away from the center, we began to see its advantages.

Saraswati temple

First, we went to the Pura Taman Saraswati temple, erected in the second half of the 20th century. This object is dedicated to the Hindu goddess of knowledge, art and words, and its facade is located on a green pond overgrown with lotus flowers. Although admission to the sanctuary is free, in order to be able to cross its thresholds, it is necessary, as in the case of a visit to any other Balinese temple, to wear a proper sarong. The courtyard of the shrine is decorated with beautiful architectural elements and numerous bas-reliefs. The most important shrine, called padmasana, dedicated to the highest god in the Balinese pantheon, Acintyi, is located in the north-eastern part of the complex. Our attention was drawn by the impressive size of the demon Jero Gede Mecaling, the sculpture of the goddess Saraswati and barong, a figure of the mythical semi-lion, which the locals use during traditional dance rituals. To be a witness of a regular performance performed here (the so-called kecak dance), on Tuesdays and Thursdays around 7.30 pm it is worth going for dinner to the opposite cafe-restaurant Cafe Lotus, from which is the most magnificent view of the temple scene.

Ubud Monkey Forest

After visiting the temple of Saraswati, we went to the Ubud Monkey Forest in the village of Padangtegal. In this park there are three 14th-century Hindu temples, such as Pura Dalem Agung, Pura Beji and Pura Prajapati, which play an important role in the spiritual life of the local community. However, the main reason why this place is visited by tens of thousands of tourists a month (Ubud itself has less than thirty thousand inhabitants) is a group of macaques living here. According to data from 2016, it is estimated that the population of these animals (not without reason also called Balinese long-tailed monkeys) in the reserve has about 680 individuals. Monkeys are divided into six groups, each of which lives in separate territories of the park: one of the groups occupies the area in front of the main temple (i.e. Pura Dalem Agung), the second occupies the Michelin region, the third lives in the eastern area of the park, the fourth is in the central part of the reserve, the fifth in New Forest, while the last one settled near the cemetery.

Macaques exhibit the greatest activity during the day, so that visitors can closely watch them during everyday activities, such as fighting, grooming, or care for the young. Although they usually ignore people, there are occasional attacks on tourists (most often when tourists try to hide food from them or when they do not feed them fast enough). To avoid this, be careful not to provoke monkeys while staying in the reserve. It’s best to avoid eye contact with macaques at all, unless you want them to jump us 😉

Opening hours

The Ubud Monkey Forest is open every day from 8.30 am to 6.00 pm (ticket offices are closed for half an hour before closing time). The ticket price for adults is 50 000 rupees, and for children 40 000 rupees. Before entering the park, it is worth giving away all of your belongings for storage to the reserve staff (monkeys like to steal from tourists).

Where to eat cheaply in Ubud?

After visiting Monkey Forest, it was time for a traditional Balinese dinner. To this end, we went to the small but charming restaurant Puspa’s Warung, located at Jalan Goutama Selatan. The restaurant is known for serving delicious Indonesian food prepared exclusively on the basis of healthy ingredients. The fact that you can eat well here is confirmed by the fact that it is usually difficult to find a free table here. The menu includes both meat dishes (with chicken or fish) and those dedicated to vegetarians. Lovers of healthy cuisine will not be disappointed. After crossing the threshold, we knew that we hit the right place 🙂 We ordered mie goreng, curry and balls of raw chocolate which melted in the mouth, thus getting to the top of the dishes we had the opportunity to try during our Indonesia trip. In addition, each of the dishes cost us just over 25 000 rupees. We definitely recommend it!

Campuhan Ridge Walk

After a delicious culinary experience in Puspa’s Warung, we decided to go for an afternoon walk along Campuhan Ridge, a hill protruding above the valley that the Wos River flows through. Due to its secluded location and captivating views, this trail is a favorite place for hiking both among tourists and locals. Almost 8.5-kilometer route leads along green hills covered with lush tropical greenery and surrounding rice fields, which allows you to discover a more natural side of the city.

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Karsa Kafe

To get to the beginning of the trail, we headed for the Warwick Ibah Luxury Villas and Spa hotel, then just after the “Going to the hill” sign we turned left. When we got to the bridge over the river, we went down the stairs to his right, looking at the signs all the time. In this way, we came to the walls of the impressive temple Pura Gunung Lebah. From there, we followed the straight concrete path to the north and spread the climb to the ridge of the hill. After about an hour of pleasant walk in the beautiful natural setting, we came to Karsa Kafe, situated among the picturesque rice fields. We left cafe and went further north. When we got to the nearby village of Bangkiang Sidem, it got so late that we decided to come back. It was time to find the perfect place for dinner!

Warung Sopa

After some searching, we decided to visit located a bit off the beaten Warung Sopa restaurant. Due to the fact that the pub offers 100% vegetarian food, it is very often visited by local yogis. From a rich menu we chose Chinese dumplings, vegetable spring rolls, tofu nuggets, natural ginger beer and mint lemonade. We must admit that despite the lack of meat, all the dishes were very tasty. Definitely a nice end to this intense day!

Have you been to Ubud in Bali? What do you think about this city? Let me know in the comments!

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