Bangli

Bangli is the regency between Ubud and the volcano, and the quietest way to spend a morning in central Bali. It has no coast, no beach clubs and no nightlife. What it has is a village people queue to photograph, a waterfall inside a cave, an old temple almost nobody stops at, and the road that climbs to the Kintamani crater rim. Penglipuran is about 45 minutes from Ubud and two to two and a half hours from the south, so from the beaches it is a long drive for a small place.

Penglipuran is a Balinese village laid out as a single walled lane running uphill, with matched gateways on both sides and a bamboo forest behind it. Entry is IDR 50,000 for foreign adults and IDR 30,000 for foreign children, against IDR 25,000 and IDR 15,000 for Indonesians, paid in cash or by QRIS; cards are not taken. Parking is IDR 2,000 for a scooter and IDR 5,000 for a car. It opens at eight and the ticket desk closes about half six. An hour is enough for the lane itself, two if you walk the bamboo. Go between eight and ten or after four, because the middle of the day is when the tour cars stack up. It is also one of the sites where staff ask to see the Bali tourist levy voucher, so have the QR code on your phone. We have been to Penglipuran, and we would treat it as a forty-minute stop rather than a morning.

Tukad Cepung is the other reason to come. The waterfall falls into a slot canyon, and between nine and eleven the sun drops through the gap in the rock and lights the spray. Entry is IDR 30,000, cash only, open seven to six. The walk down takes about twenty minutes and is harder coming back up, and the last stretch is a wade through ankle to shin-deep water, so bring shoes that can get wet. Skip it during or straight after heavy rain in the wet season, when the path turns slippery and the water rises. Tibumana, also in Bangli, is IDR 25,000 and quietest between eight and ten.

Bangli town itself is the regency seat, not a sight, but Pura Kehen on its edge is more than a thousand years old, climbs in terraces up a hillside behind a big banyan, and is far emptier than the famous temples. Entry is around IDR 50,000 for foreign adults, though one source quotes far less, so carry small notes. It opens nine to five.

Bangli is a half day, not a base. There is very little to sleep here for, and we would fold it into the drive up to Kintamani or back down to Ubud rather than give it a day of its own.