Ubud is where Bali’s Hindu culture, traditional arts, and extraordinary landscape converge in a compact highland town that rewards walking in every direction. This bali ubud walking tour companion is paired with “[4K] Bali Tegallalang Rice Terrace Virtual Tour — Uma Ceking, Day Trip from Ubud” — a 4K walk through the famous Tegallalang rice terraces that demonstrates the subak cooperative irrigation system that has sculpted these hillsides for over a millennium.
About This Walking Tour
This 4K virtual walk covers the Tegallalang rice terraces near Uma Ceking, located approximately 9 kilometres north of Ubud centre — one of the most visually dramatic examples of Bali’s subak irrigation landscape. The video shows the cascading green terraces carved into steep hillsides above a river valley, with the characteristic Balinese combination of rice paddies, coconut palms, and religious shrines creating a landscape that is simultaneously agricultural and ceremonially organised.
The broader Ubud walking experience includes the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary — a forest temple complex housing around 700 long-tailed macaques and three Hindu temples — the Ubud Royal Palace (Puri Saren Agung) where nightly traditional dance performances take place in the outer courtyard, the Campuhan Ridge Walk above the confluence of two rivers, and the traditional art market opposite the palace. Ubud is compact enough that all these can be covered on foot from any central accommodation.
The Tegallalang terraces require a short bicycle or motorbike ride from central Ubud, or can be included in a longer cycling tour of the rice fields in the surrounding highlands.
Highlights of Ubud
The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary on Monkey Forest Road is both a nature reserve and a sacred site — three temples within the forest (Pura Dalem Agung, Pura Beji, and Pura Prajapati) make it an active place of worship while the macaque population, protected as sacred animals, moves freely through the trees and paths. The forest’s dense canopy creates a remarkable environment within walking distance of central Ubud.
Ubud Palace, where the royal family of Ubud still resides in the inner courtyard, hosts nightly Legong and Kecak dance performances in the outer courtyard against a backdrop of carved stone demons and flame torches. The Kecak fire dance developed in the 1930s uses the chanting of around 50 male performers as its only music, accompanying scenes from the Ramayana.
The Tegallalang rice terraces at Uma Ceking are part of the subak landscape recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Cultural Landscape in 2012. The subak system is a cooperative irrigation management structure that has coordinated water distribution among rice farmers for over 1,000 years, guided by the water temple network managed by Hindu priests.
A Brief History of Ubud
Ubud became the cultural centre of Bali in the 1930s when the German artist Walter Spies settled there and attracted a community of international painters and writers — including the Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias and the Dutch artist Rudolf Bonnet — who worked alongside Balinese artists and helped develop the distinctively detailed style of Balinese painting. The Pita Maha arts association founded in 1936 professionalised Balinese art production and established Ubud’s international reputation as an arts centre.
Balinese Hinduism — a unique form that blends Indian Hindu traditions with indigenous animism and elements of Buddhism — remains vibrantly practised in Ubud, with daily temple offerings, regular cremation ceremonies, and a calendar of religious festivals that interrupts and enriches everyday life throughout the year. The island was the last stronghold of Hindu culture in Indonesia after Islam spread through the rest of the archipelago from the 15th century.
Practical Tips
Ngurah Rai International Airport (Denpasar) is approximately 60 kilometres from Ubud; the journey takes 60–90 minutes by taxi or Grab. Ubud itself is compact and walkable; bicycle rental and scooter hire are widely available for the surrounding countryside. Indonesia uses the rupiah. The Monkey Forest charges approximately 80,000 IDR admission. Ubud Palace dance performances start at 7:30pm and tickets are sold at the gate (around 100,000 IDR). Tegallalang rice terraces charge a small entrance fee. Dress modestly when visiting temples — sarongs are available to hire.
Best Time to Visit
April through October is the dry season and the best time for walking in the rice fields. May–June and September are the optimal months for balancing dry weather with manageable visitor numbers. The rice terraces are most visually spectacular when the paddies are filled with young green rice shoots — the planting cycle varies but typically produces the most striking green in the wet season months as well.
Watch & Explore More
The full 4K Tegallalang rice terrace walk is embedded above. Visit the @walkingtoursvideoscom channel for more Asia content. Related posts: Singapore’s Chinatown to Marina Bay walk and Kuala Lumpur’s Brickfields to Petronas Towers walk.