Tegalalang Rice Terrace (Sawah Terasering Tegalalang)

The Tegalalang Rice Terrace, an agricultural icon on the cliffs of a traditional Balinese village, make for an ideal place to spend a morning or afternoon absorbing the natural peace of remote island life. Many guided day tours from Ubud include a visit to the rice terrace along with stops at the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, Ubud Palace, Balinese temples, the Ubud craft villages, Sekumpul Waterfall, a coffee plantation, or the active volcanic landscape of Kintamani.

• The Tegalalang Rice Terrace is a must-see for photographers and first-time visitors to Bali.

• Don’t forget to bring sunglasses, sunscreen, a hat, and plenty of water—Bali can get quite hot and humid.

• A full-day tour that visits a number of sites from Ubud can last upwards of 10 hours.

If not visiting the terraces with a tour guide, one of the best ways to get there is by scooter. It is about a 25-minute drive from Ubud, and parking can be found right on the edge of the fields.

If you want to snap some photos of the rice paddies without other visitors getting in the way, plan to visit first thing in the morning. The terraces are often at their most beautiful just after planting, when the small green shoots are just emerging from the glassy pools.

Near Tegalalang you will find a small café and several souvenir shops, including villagers selling hats made from woven coconut leaves. You can purchase wooden carvings from the nearby village of Pakudui.

Yes, the Tegalalang Rice Terrace is worth visiting. The subak (water management) system that the rice terraces use is part of the UNESCO-listed Cultural Landscape of Bali. Surrounded by palm trees and lush vegetation, the emerald-green rice terraces are very photogenic.

At Tegalalang Rice Terrace, you can hike around the terraces using the pathways and stairs, ride the Sky Bike (a bicycle suspended in mid-air by two cables), and soar over the terraces in a swing. Nearby, sample some of the world's most expensive coffee at a luwak (civet) coffee plantation.

Yes, you need to pay an entrance fee of 10-15K rupiah to walk the rice terraces. Activities such as the Sky Bike and the swing cost extra; five minutes on the swing cost around 100K rupiah. You can offer local farmers a donation as you walk through their rice fields.

The best time to visit Tegalalang Rice Terrace is at sunrise before the crowds and the midday heat arrive. It’s unlikely there’ll be anyone waiting to collect an entrance fee then. To see the terraces at their greenest, visit after the wet season, right before harvest in April or October.

Yes, you can explore Tegalalang Rice Terrace independently or as part of a Bali sightseeing tour. Many excursions visit the rice terraces, along with other top Bali attractions such as the Ubud Monkey Forest (Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary) and the Tirta Empul Temple (Pura Tirta Empul), a sacred spring.

When visiting Tegalalang Rice Terrace, you should wear footwear with a good grip, as some pathways can be slippery, especially after rain. Avoid wearing long skirts as these can get muddy. The terraces have very little shade, so bring a sunhat and sunscreen.