As promised, I´m back with things to do in Bali that make you feel like you are in Indonesia, rather than in a tropical version of Europe 😉 Have you read my blog with places to work from in Canggu? So now, time to read all about chasing waterfalls in the off-the beaten track Northern and Central parts of Bali.
Some people had been telling me already about the northern parts of Bali, how they are rather far away from the more touristy south and how not that many people manage to get there.
I had also read about a bunch of waterfalls around there. So, time to explore by myself. Since my Granada surf buddy Jose was also in Bali we decided to go on exploration together and share a scooter. With some waterfalls marked in Google maps we went on route.
First of all, bring a jacket! I was stupid enough to think that Bali is all tropical, but there is actually quite some mountainous parts around, and when you go through the mist and uphill, it’s not that warm really. Lesson learnt!
Also, recommendation for any of the waterfalls, make sure you wear clothes that are ok to get wet and have a set of dry clothes with you. Wear proper footwear (no Havaianas or the likes, as things can get slippery) and have a waterproof bag for your camera gear if you want to get close.
Pura Ulun Danu Bratan temple
We decided to hit the highest waterfall of Bali first, the Sekumpul waterfall. However, as we went across the island we passed by a temple I had read about, de Pura Ulun Danu Bratan (the source temple of Lake Beratan) almost seems to be floating on the lake, with misty mountains as a backdrop. This all sounds super idyllic, but now add about 350 (mostly Asian) tourists, a Sponge Bob statue (no idea, maybe Sponge Bob had something to do with the source), and about 5 million selfies. It took the magic away a bit, but ok.. you have the accept the situation as is. So far the ´less touristy parts of Bali´, and I was getting a little scared of really just having no way of being able to avoid the tourists!!
Sekumpul Waterfall
So we continued to this mighty waterfall. The turn-off was rather confusing as it´s a little road off the main road, without a super clear sign really. And this for the most impressive waterfall of Bali? This was starting to look good!! We passed some ´registrasi kantor´(registration offices) on the way and were a littke confused about what we should do. So we stopped at one, and were told that here you could get the tickets and a guide. They also told us that a local guide was obligatory. Now this is the part where you wish you had looked up a little bit of info before leaving, was this true? or not? Either way, the entrance and the guide was around 6,- each so we decided to go for it, and at least be supporting the local youth.
By the way, we looked it up afterwards and indeed, the regulations have changed lately and each visitor to Sekumpul waterfall is now required to hire a guide for the duration of their visit. This is in part to for visitor safety, but also to support the local economy, maintain infrastructure, and respect local customs. In our case these registration points ended up charging us the same as the one and only official one, totally at the end of the road at the car park. Now that you know this though, just go directly to the real one at the end and avoid being in doubt like we were.
We opted for the ´medium trekking´ option (which again, we found out later that there was different possibilities, you could also just go and see the Sekumpul waterfal which is a bit cheaper. However, it was totally worth it to see the other waterfalls around as well, so if you have 3-4 hours spare!)
After this little registration we continued on our motorcycles for another 30 minutes with roads definitely becoming close to non-existing. Until we got to a final stop and from there on it was climbing down the stairs. The first stop you get to see the waterfall from above, already crashing down I was amazed by its power. From there on we continued (sometimes a bit slippery) stairs down until we arrived all the way at the bottom. Now this is where I was expecting to see many tourists, but it wasn’t actually too bad at all!! Maybe we were around 6 at a time. So plenty of opportunities to take all the photos you want, swim in the little pool, try the waterfall crashing on your head and everything else!
Our guide was also going a little wild with taking photos of us (not entirely asked for, but ok in the end they ended up quite nice haha!).
After this, we continued to the other ´hidden´ waterfalls as they call it, where even less people were around. The whole environment is just majestic, Jurassic park-like with green forest and lush flowers, while waterfalls are creating mist everywhere. Of course I know that all those steps we went down, we now had to go up again.
And so, up we went 😉 It took about 20 minutes to get back up again, after which we thanked our guide and continued our route. By then it had actually gotten dark already (we often got confused by it getting dark so early around the equator, and you´d think that after 9 years in South America I´d gotten used to it). So quite a little chilly, we continued the last part to the village of Munduk, where we were planning on finding a place to sleep for the night. The road went up and down and definitely became rather curvy, and luckily also a bit warmer again. Munduk turned out to be a nice village with enough cheap accomodation and even better food! All we needed after a day of scootering and hiking around waterfalls!
Munduk
The next day I woke up to beautiful sunrise mountain views, a nice cup of coffee and people on the street on their way to leave their offerings in the close-by temples. It all felt so peaceful and quiet!
I had marked more waterfalls of course, the first one was one we had gotten recommended by the hostel we were staying and was just around the corner.
Air Terjun Munduk and Melanting
This little hike just outside of Munduk takes you to three different waterfalls. Since it´s quite easily reachable it was a little bit busier, but definitely not more than 15 people at a time, which is still nothing compared to other places we´ve been to. Though the drop is not as spectacular as Sekumpul and there is no place to swim here, the hike is really beautiful and quite well maintained.
Twin lake
This is a piece of very touristy Bali again.. all around the lake there are ´selfie points´ with hearts, swans and swings where you can take your selfie with the lake as your backdrop. We sat there for a while as we were having some nice Nasi Goreng (Nasi Goreng every day, yeay!) and were quite amazed about how many people just seem to love to take a picture there. (nope sorry, did not take one myself). From here on we continued to the Banyumala Twin waterfalls.
Banyumala Twin waterfalls
Again, a little side road (GPS is quite nice around here, there are signs but also quite easy to miss) we went down a little unpaved road until we got to a carpark. From here on we walked down and got to the most amazing waterfall with flowers and local kids jumping and swimming in the little lake. So absolutely beautiful and tropical! Of course we had a little swim ourselves as well, after which we decided it was time to return back to the southern side of the island.
Jatiluwih Rice fields
Finally we decided to drive back through the supposedly famous Jatiluwih rice fields
A UNESCO heritage site, I was expected some miracles. Granted, it was getting quite foggy and rainy already which probably took down the magic a bit. Though maybe it wasn’t as amazing as I had expected from UNESO, the drive-through was nice and we stopped at a little restaurant to get some coffee. There are some offices along the way that say you have to pay entrance fees, but we told them we are just on our way to Canggu and passing by, it’s a public road after all so hard to charge you.
I was so absolutely relieved after this weekend. Bali does have amazing parts where you can easily avoid the tourists. True, it’s a bit of a trip and even for one day I don´t think it would make much sense, but with patience, your own transportation and willingness to see something else, these waterfalls are easily one of the most impressive things I´ve seen in Bali!
