In the mountains of Bali

After two great days in Kuta, we set off for the inland. With a private driver, we first went to the Pura Luhur Batukau Temple. A very well-preserved temple in the middle of the rainforest. The temple complex belongs to the Hindu religion and is still used today. At the time of our visit, a ceremony was taking place. We then continued to the famous Jatiluwih rice terraces. Both are located north of Kuta at Mount Batukau (2276m above sea level). The very impressive rice terraces stretch over a huge area. The slopes have a somewhat picturesque appearance with their curved terraces. As the third and final stop of the day, we visited the Pura Ulun Danu Bratan Temple. This temple is located directly on the lake and is very well-known, as it is depicted on the 50,000 banknote in Indonesia. After collecting all these impressions, we went to Munduk (700m above sea level), where we arranged a homestay. We decided to spend two nights there and then continue traveling west. On the second day in Munduk, we took a short hike through the rainforest to two beautiful waterfalls. Not only the waterfalls impressed us, but also the entire nature of the island. Along the way, we saw different plants such as pineapple plants, cloves trees, pepper trees, coffee trees, and of course coconut palm trees. Unfortunately, we had some bad luck with the weather and it started pouring rain on the way back. Because of the heavy rain, we had to take shelter in a small hut, where a small dog sweetened our time a bit.

With a pre-arranged transportation, we then returned to the coastal region the next day, specifically to Pemuteran in the northwest of the island. We spent a total of two nights there. We enjoyed our time on the coast with lots of beach. We also took a day to explore the underwater world at Menjangan Island. Tomorrow, we will travel back to the inland, to Ubud. There we will spend our last days in Bali before Laura and I continue to Taiwan.