After the dramatic landscapes of Ijen, a short drive and ferry ride brings you over to the mainland in West Bali, from where you will be met and transferred to Ubud.
Set off after breakfast the next day on a full tour exploring Bali’s scenic interior. Drive along small winding roads and up into the hills, prepare to enjoy fantastic panoramas over the lush rice fields and landscapes.
Stop at the town of Tampaksiring and visit Gunung Kawi – 11th-century temples with 10 rock-cut Candi (shrines) carved into the cliff face. Take a closer look at the shrines while your guide explains their Buddhist and Hindu attributes. Continue along these scenic countryside roads to Tirta Empul, a sacred water temple where local devotees come to be ‘cleansed’ in the temple’s pools.
Around midday you’ll arrive in Kintamani, a volcanic region home to majestic Mount Batur. Inside the caldera of the once giant Batur Volcano is a calm, clear lake in which a new, active volcanic cone was formed. After lunch at a nearby restaurant, your tour continues to Penglipuran, a traditional countryside village with typical Balinese entrance gates. Then it is on to the last stop: the sacred Kehen Temple. Explore the site’s eight terraces, its massive Banyan tree, and detailed religious inscriptions, gaining insight into the Hindu faith of the deeply spiritual Balinese people as you go.
Stay: Three nights in a One Bedroom Club Suite at Tanah Gajah – including breakfast