Things to do in Bali Ubud that aren't overly touristy

Bali is such a well-travelled place and there are so many things to do there! Tons of people would recommend various cafes, waterfalls, activities that you should try. After scanning through many different blogs, I've curated a list of things that I did in Ubud that were highly accessible, superbly good, yet enjoyable because there were less tourists there!

1. Campuhan Ridge Walk
It's a linear walk along the ridge that showcases rice terraces, forests and greenery on either side of it. It's an easy trail that isn't very long (2km one way) so anyone can do it at their own pace! It's also possible to run along the trail. If you do it in the evening and hit the golden hour, the photos will turn out really pretty too!

At the end of the walk before u-turning back

How to get to Campuhan ridge walk:

- Plot "Warwick Ibah Luxury Villas and Spa" on your GPS. When you see that sign, turn in. There will be a fork in the road immediately after that. Take a left (there will be a sign that shows "Going to the hill" with an arrow. After that, you can see some parking area and that's where we got off. 

2. Kanto Lampo Waterfall

It's not a big waterfall and there's an entrance fee of 10k rupiah per person (about 1 SGD) but it's not as touristy as Tegenungan waterfall and it's also rather photogenic! The waterfall flows over rocks so you can actually climb on them to take your photos (at your own risk of course).

How to get to Kanto Lampo Waterfall:

The google maps location is slightly off, so I suggest you plot this into your GPS instead. There are signs around the area to direct you as well. Trust the signs rather than google maps! The locals know better (:

3. Tukad Cepung Waterfall

This waterfall flows over the cliff so the water goes straight down and it's slightly different from the Kanto Lampo waterfall. Also, you'll need to walk in a little from the main entrance in order to see the waterfall so make sure you wear slippers/sandals if you don't feel like getting wet but still want a picture of the waterfall!

How to get to Tukad Cepung waterfall:

The google maps location for this is rather accurate so you can follow it and then follow the detailed signs when you get there. It's not too far from the main road! Either get a car hire or rent a scooter.

4. Watercress Cafe

It's one of those pretty, instagrammable cafes that serve really good food at affordable prices! It's so good we went back another time during our short stay there and the waitress recognised us!

 

Ordered some smoothies (this berry smoothie is 50k rupiah, the smaller size)

Angus burger with baby potatoes on the side (110k rupiah). Highly recommended!

5. Warung Biah Biah

This is by far the best indonesian food I've ever had in my life and it's also the cheapest! Everything there is less than 5 SGD and the portions are reasonably large! I highly recommend you to try this at least once during your stay in Bali. Have an early dinner or late lunch to avoid the crowd, or you will be queuing for half an hour at least.

Nasi Campur (28k rupiah). My favourite meal throughout the trip!

6.  Bali Swings - Smiling Coffee

The Bali Swing has become extremely popular, but I didn't want to pay 30 USD to play on swings for the whole day (it does come with a lunch though), so I gave up on the swing idea, until I chanced upon another one on the way to the Tegelalang rice terraces. If you want to try the swing, I would recommend the one at Smiling Coffee Plantation. It's 100k rupiah for an unlimited number of swings. The guys there are really nice, they will swing you until you've gotten the perfect picture, tried everything you wanted to try and have enough of swinging. Why is this important? Because there are others who charge more for only 10 pushes on the swing!

It's rather thrilling! I found it worth the 100k rupiah

If you're more adventurous you could tilt back (you'll feel like you're about to flip)

7. Tegelalang Rice Terrace

I wanted to try the other rice terraces, but this was the most accessible via a scooter from Ubud since the rest would take more than an hour's journey, which is rather tiring on the scooter. I personally found it alright even though it's touristy but you'll need to know that they will make you pay 5/10k rupiah donations in order to access the rice terrace!

How to get to Tegelalang Rice Terrace:

There are various entrances, but I entered in from the one at Smiling Coffee, which is where I found the swings too! 

Entrance to the Rice Terrace on the left of Smiling Coffee

You will see the above entrance sign once you've cleared the flight of steps down. Turn the other direction when you encounter this because the view is much better on the other side and you don't have to waste money paying to enter this zone, which isn't that pretty at all.


Well, there are many other random padi fields that are really pretty all over Bali because their rice culture is strong there! These are just some views from right outside my Airbnb!

I hope this helps, and enjoy your stay in Bali! You can also try going to the islands like Nusa Lembongan or Nusa Penida. I'll blog about my experience in Nusa Lembongan in another post because I went there to dive!