Ubud Sometimes Panders and Sometimes Sings

Ubud is a town in central Bali known as the island’s cultural center. While the entire Ubud area has less than 100,000 residents and the downtown has less than 15,000, it’s an essential stop on any Bali itinerary - so it brings in millions of tourists a year. The result is that the economy centers around (and often panders) to tourists - in addition to its few roads now having a stand-still traffic jam all-day every day.

Ubud is famous for its rice paddies, ancient temples, and cultural heritage (including local medicine men) - long making it a go-to destination for those seeking a spiritual retreat. As its notoriety as a backpacker’s destination increased, the city became full of yoga studios, meditation centers, wellness business, Balinese massage spas, art galleries, and handicraft shops. For anyone looking to relax, recuperate, and re-center themselves, Ubud most likely has a wellness option for you.

Explore Downtown

I think the most important thing to do in Ubud is to walk through its small downtown - which is full of yoga studios, cafes, wellness businesses, art galleries, and small Hindu temples. It’s hard to say what in the town will call to any given tourist. For some, its a meditation retreat - for others yoga - others a healing ceremony. For many, it’s Yoga Barn. For me, it was an all vegan boutique movie theater named Paradiso.

Walk The Nature Trails of Ubud

To be honest, the traffic in Ubud overwhelmed me (and also confused me). Because of it, my favorite thing I did in Ubud was leave its main roads and explore the lush nature on its outskirts. I walked the entire way up the Campuhan Ridge Walk - a walking path that overlooks the two rivers of Ubud on either side. I then walked back along the Ubud Rice Fields Walk - a back path along the town’s rice fields that cuts into a historic neighborhood that seems undiluted by tourism. Not only were these routes absolutely stunning - but I left with a taste of what made people first fall in love with Ubud many years ago, before tourism fundamentally shifted the town’s economy.

Take a Day Trip

I continued my stay-in-place Bali strategy while I was in Ubud and didn’t take any day trips. I was satisfied with the nature walks on the town’s outskirts and enjoyed the opportunity to relax. I was a rare case, though, as Ubud is usually a jumping off point for excursions. If you’re an experienced motorbike driver, you can rent one and take yourself around. If not, you can hire a private driver or join one of the many (many) tour companies scattered throughout the city.

The most famous trip is to head north to the Tegalalang Rice Terrace, which has stunning vistas of terraced rice paddies. Think Julia Roberts riding a bike in Eat, Pray Love. The other most common nature excursion is to go waterfall hopping as there are a lot of them near Ubud. Two of the most popular are Kanto Lampo and Tibumana Waterfall - but if you do a little searching you’ll find enough to fill days of travel.

If you want to explore Bali’s spiritual heritage, there are also several famous nearby temples. The most popular is The Holy Spring Water of Pura Tirta Empul, which has two purification pools where you clean yourself at 30 stations. The next two most famous are Pura Gunung Kawi and Goa Gajah (the Elephant Cave).

Other Things to Do

If just wandering around Ubud isn’t your thing, here are some of the most common in-town activities:

• Shop at Ubud Art Market: Ubud has a charming market of the type you’ll find at all backpacker hotspots. It’s atmospheric - but I suspect most of the goods are imported from China and are the exact same ones you’d buy in a place like Chiang Mai.

• Go Gallery Hopping: If you take the main road of Ubud (Jalan A. A. Gede Rai) south of the city, you’ll bump into dozens of art galleries. If you want to explore the work of local artists, grab a motorbike and explore the many galleries.

• Spend Time with Monkeys: In central Ubud, you can walk through the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary - which is home to over 700 macaques and has several traditional Hindu temples. Unless you’ve never really spent time around monkeys, I don’t think the price of entrance is worth it.

• Watch Traditional Balinese Dance: To learn more about local culture, you can head to the Ubud Palace and purchase tickets for one of the nightly dance shows.

• Enjoy the Lotus Pond at Ubud Water Palace: The most popular temple in Ubud itself, Saraswati Temple is, I think, most noteworthy for the lotus flowers that fill the area in its front.

Overall, though, I think the true charm of Ubud is in its atmosphere and its energy. If you treat it like a place to just sightsee, I think it’d be harder to soak up all the things there are to love about the city, especially because you’ll find yourself trapped in the sections that pander most to tourists. I strongly recommend just wandering and finding what calls to you.