Sidemen

Sidemen is a valley of terraced rice fields on the south-western flank of Mount Agung, about 37 km from Ubud and an hour and a half by road. From the airport allow around two hours for the 60 km, though sources range from an hour and a half to two and a half depending on where you start. There is no coast, no strip and no nightlife. The valley floor is working farmland, the villages sit along the ridges above it, and the roads between them are usually empty.

Walking is what you do in Sidemen. Most of the terraces are free to wander and the paths follow the irrigation channels between the paddies; the marked walking loop, about 3 km and a little over an hour, has a roadside booth charging IDR 25,000 in cash. A guide for a longer route costs roughly IDR 100,000 to 300,000 a person for one to three hours. The paddies are private farmland, so stay on the paths, and the clay turns slick after rain.

The view of Mount Agung is a morning view before it is a seasonal one. Cloud builds over the summit after midday all year round, so sunrise to about nine is the window. The season matters as well: April to October is the dry half, with May, June and September usually picked out as the best of it, while from November to March the mountain can stay hidden for days. Agung is an active volcano with no serious eruption since 2017. The roads in and out are steep, winding and slippery after rain, which is the real hazard on a scooter.

Weaving is the valley's other trade, and it is worth knowing what handwork costs before you walk into a workshop. A hand-woven songket sarong from Sidemen is quoted at around IDR 2,000,000 to 2,200,000 and takes weeks on the loom; plainer endek cloth starts nearer IDR 200,000 to 500,000. The village weaving cooperatives are generally free to walk into, with a donation expected. If the songket price is more than you want to spend, buy something small rather than haggle a weaver down.

Sidemen works as a base for the east. Tirta Gangga and Taman Ujung water palaces are quoted between about IDR 50,000 and 100,000 each, the newer sources sitting at the top of that range, and Gembleng waterfall runs on a donation of around IDR 20,000 to 25,000. Amed and the coast are roughly 35 minutes beyond Tirta Gangga.

Sidemen suits people who want to walk, read and go to bed early, and it is wrong for anyone who wants a beach, a choice of restaurants or a night out. Two nights is the sensible minimum, because one of them is eaten by the drive, and three or four if you are using it for the east. As a day trip from Ubud it barely works: three hours in the car to look at a valley whose whole point is that you stay in it.