3-Day Sidemen Itinerary
Hidden Gem for Bali Backpackers
If you’re looking for lush green rice terraces and peaceful serene beauty, Sidemen is where you should head to in your Bali travels.
Sidemen is a village in the East of Bali in Indonesia, surrounded by beautiful scenery with rice fields, jungle, mountains and rivers – if you like nature it’s the place for you. We spent 3 days unwinding and relaxing in this magical place, and would highly recommend adding a stop here if you have the time.
You can easily head to Sidemen from Ubud, and it could be a great stop off if you’re on your way to or from Amed, or the Nusa islands. If you head there from South Bali it will take a bit longer – we went from Canggu and the drive took about 4 hours.
Day 1 – Sidemen Rice Terraces
Depending on where you’re coming from, especially if its South Bali, you probably won’t arrive into Sidemen until midday or early afternoon. By the time you’ve checked into your accommodation the best thing to do would be to enjoy the unmatched scenery, and go for a walk through the famous Sidemen Rice Terraces.
📍GCJP+77P, Jl. Sidemen – Sangkan Gn., Sangkan Gn., Kec. Sidemen, Kabupaten Karangasem, Bali 80864, Indonesia
There is an official start point with an entry fee of IDR25,000 per person (bring cash) and then you are free to wander around the rice terraces for as long as you like. The whole loop takes around an hour, and you’ll be interested to find more than rice growing amongst the terraces, with the local farmers growing crops from herbs to chillis, and even potatoes, in the same area. The farmers actively tend the fields, so stay on the path and leave them to it as you walk around.
After that, it’ll be time to find a lovely place to eat or drink and watch the sunset from – our homestay was actually in the rice terraces so I’d recommend there for an evening meal, and we also ate at Warung Ume Anyar which was a walk up the hill, giving a gorgeous view over the countryside and occasionally Mt Agung from behind the clouds. It’s a small local warung, but you can have either Balinese or Thai food, and it did have a couple of veggie options as well. Bring bug spray though, especially if you’re there for the sunset, and it’s cash only. We were a little out of town so this was perfect for us, but if you’re in the town you could try Warung Tirta Unda or Nana’s Pool and Bar, both of these have great reviews.
Day 2 – Gembleng Waterfall
Hopefully you’re well rested after your peaceful evening in the rice fields, because Day 2 is an early start! One of the jewels of Sidemen is the Gembleng Waterfall, which has natural ‘infinity pools’ that you can bathe at along your climb to the top.
This is a very popular destination in Sidemen among foreign and local tourists alike, so get there as early as you can to beat the crowds (we literally found ourselves queuing to walk through some of the pools, and it felt a bit uncomfortable to go for a dip with rows of people traipsing through them). Your shoes will get wet so wear waterproof sandals if you have them, and it’s a fair few steps up so going in the morning also beats the heat.
At the top you’ll find a warung and a viewpoint, so you can spend the morning enjoying the waterfall, and then grab a bite to eat or a drink there.
If you’re planning to self-drive I would really only recommend this if you’re confident – our homestay gave us lifts on their bikes and we were relieved as it ends with a very narrow track up into the jungle.
There is no fixed entry fee for the waterfall, but they do ask for a donation so make sure your bring enough cash for about IDR20 – 50,000. Once you’re there, there’s also not anywhere to leave valuables so if you’re swimming bear that in mind. Even if you don’t swim it’s a beautiful waterfall to visit, and the panoramic view from the deck at the top out over the jungle is incredible.
Day 3 – Activity Day (we did a cooking class)
Day 3 leaves you open to do an activity from the range of options on offer around Sidemen. There are classes like yoga, silver jewellery making, and cooking, and there are also some luxury spas if you fancy a pamper day. There are more rice terraces, and you can even hike Mt Agung if you’re up for a challenge (not for beginner hikers) or go rafting on the Telaga Waja River.
We opted for a cooking class at Anandinii Organic Kitchen and Garden and it was absolutely brilliant. We booked it online directly with them here, and they came to collect us from our accommodation on bikes, and dropped us back at the end too.
They have a kitchen garden at the restaurant, so the first part of the experience is a tour of their gardens, and picking your own fresh fruit and veg to make for dinner. Then you go to an open air kitchen area where you prep the dinner. The ladies running it honestly made the class, they were so funny and kind – it was 2 hours of non-stop laughing. They showed us how to cook using traditional Balinese methods and everyone got a turn to make a bit of everything.
Once dinner is made you are seated in the actual restaurant where you get to eat all your hard work, which consists of 4 courses of delicious Indonesian cuisine (but all vegan).
The class cost IDR650,000 (~£30) which honestly is quite steep compared to other cookery classes in Bali, but it was one of my favourite experiences of our entire 3 month Indonesia trip so I do think it was worth it! Make sure you take a picture of the recipe card so you can make the food again when you’re back home dreaming of Bali.
If you don’t fancy a cookery class, there were quite a few silver jewellery making places – we didn’t do this in Sidemen, but did make our own silver rings in Ubud and it’s a lovely way to get a nice keepsake from your trip.
Your accommodation may have other recommendations for activities you can join in on as well, or you could rent scooters and explore the surrounding area and nearby villages.
Where to stay in Sidemen
We stayed at Khailash Warung And Homestay, and if you’re travelling as a couple or a small group (or solo and just want some time to yourself) I’d highly recommend it. It’s right in the middle of Sidemen Rice Terraces, has a small onsite restaurant where you can get food (including breakfast) inexpensively, and you can rent scooters to get around. The family running it were some of the kindest people I’ve met. In the mornings they invited us up to a little tower at the back of the homestay and brought us coffees overlooking the panoramic rice fields, and they were really helpful with planning our activities during our stay.
It’s not actually in the town, so if you’re travelling solo and would like to meet people you might not find the social vibe you’re after (it’s only got a couple of rooms), or alternatively if you don’t want to rent bikes, you could always stay more centrally in the town centre. Sidemen is not yet super popular on the backpacking trail so there aren’t any hostels, but there are plenty of homestays to base yourself at for your stay if you’re on a budget. All the more reason to visit now while it’s still not too touristy! If you fancy treating yourself there are some luxury hotels as well.
All in all I would say 3 days was the perfect amount of time to spend in this serene Balinese town, and Sidemen offers a lovely contrast to some of the busier areas like Canggu and Ubud. If you have the time it’s definitely worth adding to your travel plans.
Hi, I’m CJ and I’ve been backpacking New Zealand and South East Asia for the last 2 years. Welcome to my brand new blog! I’ve written travel guides for my favourite places to help you plan your next trip abroad 🌍
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