We hire a car and driver to take us from Ubud to Munduk in the Central Mountains about 20km from the north Bali coast. It is a journey of 85 kms and we have agreed a number of sight-seeing stops along the way with the intention of arriving at the homestay in Munduk by 3pm. Total cost is a very reasonable 325,000rp or £20. Our intention is to stop a couple of nights in Munduk, do some trekking and then move on to Pemuteran on the north-west coast for a few days on the beach.
Our first stop is at the Pura Taman Ayun at Mengwi to the west of Ubud. It is a rather lovely and well-maintained temple with a surrounding moat set in neat gardens beside the river. It follows the layout of most Balinese temples with three connecting courtyards: the Nistra Mandala (the humblest); the Madia Mandala (the middle) and; the Ulama Mandala (the highest). Only the first two are open to the public and are little more than lawned areas surrounded by low walls. The Ulama Mandala can be viewed only from outside the encompassing walls. This is the most interesting area of the temple containing a several Meru, the multi-thatch roofed shrines that are typical of Balinese temples. There is a lovely bell tower in one corner of the Madia Mandala with very narrow, steep steps leading up to the belfry which houses two wooden bells and provides a good view of the whole temple complex.
From Mengwi we start the gentle climb up into the mountains and stop to enjoy some lovely views of the tiered rice paddies that cascade down the steep mountain sides. We stop for a break and drinks at a hotel which has a veranda restaurant, a swimming pool and accommodation in some very attractive thatched cottages all overlooking the paddies. Further on the road runs along a narrow mountain ridge with views down into the paddy fields on to left and right giving rise to restaurants on either side of the road. Our driver chooses Saranam Eco Resort which has a veranda restaurant from where we can see villagers threshing and winnowing the rice in the paddy fields far below. A little bamboo funicular takes guests down to resort’s thatched bungalows which sit amidst immaculately tended gardens. The land, no doubt, reaping much greater income as an ‘eco’ resort than it ever did as paddy fields.
We continue by twists and turns to ascend into the much cooler and damper mountains. The centre of Bali is mostly volcanoes, some dormant some active, which divide the lush and fertile area to the south from the more arid northern coastal strip. Around Bedugal there is a complex of volcanic crater lakes and we stop briefly at Danau Bratan, a large mist-shrouded lake set against the backdrop of the Gunung Catur volcano. Mist shrouds the lake and low cloud obscures the volcano’s summit and anything beyond the surrounding caldera rim, giving the lake a rather Arthurian quality. The small temple of Ulun Danau Braton sits in a pleasant little park on the water edge, but isn’t open to the public. This, not surprisingly, is a popular spot with day-trippers. The road continues to wind its way up onto the rim of Danau Bayan and alongside the smaller Danau Tramblingan. There are wonderful views on both sides of the road particularly looking back towards Danau Bayan. By now time is running on and we are concerned to get to Munduk by 3pm to ensure we don’t lose our room. The roads are surprisingly congested approaching Munduk, which we later discover is largely due to celebrations that are taking place in the temple a little further down the street from where we are staying at the Guru Ratna Homestay. But our driver gets us there on time and is amply rewarded when Andy over-pays him by 100,000rp, which sounds a lot but fortunately only amounted to £6 and more than wipes out the discount we had negotiated on the originally quoted price. C’est la vie!
Our first stop is at the Pura Taman Ayun at Mengwi to the west of Ubud. It is a rather lovely and well-maintained temple with a surrounding moat set in neat gardens beside the river. It follows the layout of most Balinese temples with three connecting courtyards: the Nistra Mandala (the humblest); the Madia Mandala (the middle) and; the Ulama Mandala (the highest). Only the first two are open to the public and are little more than lawned areas surrounded by low walls. The Ulama Mandala can be viewed only from outside the encompassing walls. This is the most interesting area of the temple containing a several Meru, the multi-thatch roofed shrines that are typical of Balinese temples. There is a lovely bell tower in one corner of the Madia Mandala with very narrow, steep steps leading up to the belfry which houses two wooden bells and provides a good view of the whole temple complex.
From Mengwi we start the gentle climb up into the mountains and stop to enjoy some lovely views of the tiered rice paddies that cascade down the steep mountain sides. We stop for a break and drinks at a hotel which has a veranda restaurant, a swimming pool and accommodation in some very attractive thatched cottages all overlooking the paddies. Further on the road runs along a narrow mountain ridge with views down into the paddy fields on to left and right giving rise to restaurants on either side of the road. Our driver chooses Saranam Eco Resort which has a veranda restaurant from where we can see villagers threshing and winnowing the rice in the paddy fields far below. A little bamboo funicular takes guests down to resort’s thatched bungalows which sit amidst immaculately tended gardens. The land, no doubt, reaping much greater income as an ‘eco’ resort than it ever did as paddy fields.
We continue by twists and turns to ascend into the much cooler and damper mountains. The centre of Bali is mostly volcanoes, some dormant some active, which divide the lush and fertile area to the south from the more arid northern coastal strip. Around Bedugal there is a complex of volcanic crater lakes and we stop briefly at Danau Bratan, a large mist-shrouded lake set against the backdrop of the Gunung Catur volcano. Mist shrouds the lake and low cloud obscures the volcano’s summit and anything beyond the surrounding caldera rim, giving the lake a rather Arthurian quality. The small temple of Ulun Danau Braton sits in a pleasant little park on the water edge, but isn’t open to the public. This, not surprisingly, is a popular spot with day-trippers. The road continues to wind its way up onto the rim of Danau Bayan and alongside the smaller Danau Tramblingan. There are wonderful views on both sides of the road particularly looking back towards Danau Bayan. By now time is running on and we are concerned to get to Munduk by 3pm to ensure we don’t lose our room. The roads are surprisingly congested approaching Munduk, which we later discover is largely due to celebrations that are taking place in the temple a little further down the street from where we are staying at the Guru Ratna Homestay. But our driver gets us there on time and is amply rewarded when Andy over-pays him by 100,000rp, which sounds a lot but fortunately only amounted to £6 and more than wipes out the discount we had negotiated on the originally quoted price. C’est la vie!