Off the Beaten Track: Bali’s Hidden Highlights

Be driven to the harbour to board a luxury chartered yacht, and cruise out to the islands of Lembongan, Penida and Ceningan. Spend the day exploring the waters and stopping off in private moorings to snorkel in stunning bays, look out for dolphins, try your hand at fishing, stand up paddle board or laze about on a pontoon raft. The yacht is comfortable and fast with an open deck at the bow and rear and a rooftop level for lazing in the sun.

Your guide will meet you at your hotel and take you on a 4-wheel Jeep ride on the back roads to Munduk, with views of the mountains, rice terraces, plantations and villages on the way. Travel via Kintamani to see Batur Volcano and then through Plaga village for lunch at Agro Plaga Resort where they grow their own vegetables. The final stop before Munduk is Bedugul, where you can visit the Water Temple.

Your guide will take you on a walk through the dense rainforest on the north bank of Tamblingan Lake, a small crater-like lake on the edge of the Bedugul caldera. Trek through the forest and see a variety of trees, some of which are 300 years old. The walk leads you to the southern part of the lake where you will take a canoe ride to the other shore. There you will hop into a dugout wooden canoe and paddle around the lake with the volcanoes as a backdrop. Heading to the west bank you will visit a sacred spring and then continue canoeing to Gubug village. Once there, you will be driven back to your resort.

The Buddhist monastery, Brahmavihara Arama, was built in the late 20th century, and is located on a hill in Banjar Village overlooking Bali’s North Sea. After exploring the monastery, you will visit the sacred hot springs of Banjar, known as Air Panas. The springs are set in the midst of the jungle in a beautifully landscaped tropical garden. The sulphuric water flows from a natural volcanic source, giving a very pleasant temperature of around 37°C.

You will be provided with snorkelling gear, towels and a picnic lunch. The uninhabited island Pulau Menjangan (Deer Island) off the Pemuteran coast is only accessible by boat and is surrounded by a beautiful coral garden. On the reef drop-off, you will find angelfish, clownfish and other creatures living in and around the coral. This spot rates as one of the most beautiful snorkelling locations in Indonesia. You will also have the opportunity to go onshore to visit Segara Giri Dharma Kencana Temple with its towering seaward-facing Ganesh statue.