Bali Day Tour: Rice Terraces, Coffee and Waterfalls

Theres so much to see in Bali but difficult to get around. My solution was booking a private custom tour with a company called Bali Hire Driver. They picked us up at our hotel in Ubud and we stopped at Tegallang Rice Terraces, Bali Cat Poo Chino Coffee Planation, Tirta Empul Temple, Tibumana Waterfall and Kampo Lanto Waterfall.

The rice terraces were beautiful but would recommend getting there early in the morning before the big tour buses come. As you walk along the path you can see farmers working and get a glimpse of the simplicity and beauty of Bali before tourism boomed.

tea and coffee tasting

Next we stopped at a Bali Cat Poo Chino, which is a coffee planation that specializes in kopi luwak coffee. Kopi luwak coffee is the most expensive coffee in the world and is harvested from the coffee beans that are digested through the luwak animal, washed and then roasted. The staff explained how they make the coffee and showed us how they roast it. They also gave us a wonderful coffee and tea tasting with some of the best tea I've ever had like saffron, lemongrass, mangosteen and ginger tea.

luwak

We then went to Tirta Empul Temple, which is a Balinese Hindu holy water temple where people come to get blessed. Before you go in you are required to wear a sarong which the temple offers for free. Followers step into the purification pool and make prayers under each water spout.

Tirta Empul

Our last two stops were Tibumana Waterfall and Kampo Lanto Waterfall which both had an admission of 15000 Rubiah or US$1. Tibumana has a nice pool where you can swim and take lots of pictures. Kampo Lanto was pretty but not at dramatic as Tibumana and has a difficult and slippery path to get down to the falls.

Tibumana

Kampo Lanto Waterfall

To complete the tour, our guide took us to a Babi Guling lunch and then drove us to our accomadtion in Canggu. Babi Guling or suckingly pig is a famous balinese dish where you can only get at eateries that specialize in it. The dish is is usually served with minced pork, crispy pork skin and small pieces of the roast pork over rice and a bowl of broth on the side. The pork is cooked with a mix of spices involving turmeric, coriander seeds, lemongrass, black pepper and garlic, and traditionally spit-roasted.

Babi Guling