Things to do in  Ubud

Ubud is known as Bali’s art and cultural capital, home to galleries, museums, temples, craft shops, an art market, and a palace, as well as bars, cafés, restaurants, and yoga studios. Travelers flock to Ubud Monkey Forest, a temple on a river gorge full of macaques, as well as to Balinese dance performances.

Depending how long you have in Bali, Ubud is worth 2–5 days. A gallery, a temple, and a rice field hike are essential. Instagrammers love waterfalls such as Tibumana and Tegenungan; history buffs adore the 11th-century Gunung Kawi shrines; foodies won’t want to miss Locavore; while spiritual travelers will be transported.

Unusually for Bali, central Ubud is compact enough to navigate on foot, although many of the sights are outside walking distance. Rules-based driving can prove dangerous in Balinese traffic, there’s little public transport, and rideshares are banned, so the safest option for exploring further afield is to hire a driver or join a tour.

One popular Ubud adventure combines white-water rafting the grade II-III rapids on the Ayung River with an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) backcountry trip. Other options include Hidden Canyon, a scramble through water, rocks, and waterfalls, and the Bali Swing, an Instagram favorite that sends you soaring high above jungle and rice fields.

The Kura-Kura bus links Ubud with some south Bali destinations. Without hiring a driver, you can easily explore Ubud Monkey Forest and Ubud Palace, eat Indonesian food at one of many excellent restaurants, discover Balinese art at the ARMA, Puri Lukisan, or NEKA galleries, and stroll the Campuhan Ridge Walk.

The Ubud area includes dazzling rice terraces—Tegalalang are most famous—dramatic waterfalls, and the craft villages of Celuk and Mas. Besides Ubud Monkey Forest, cultural sights include Tirta Empul, with its sacred springs, Gunung Kawi, with its ancient shrines, and Goa Gajah, a cave carved with elephants. There are a wealth of art galleries.