Best Things to Do in Bali

Social media has made a handful of Bali's sights far busier than they deserve, and left others almost to themselves. This list mixes both. Pick a few from each half and group them by area, because crossing the island for a single stop rarely pays off.

1. Uluwatu Temple at sunset. A sea temple on a cliff edge at the island's southern tip, followed by a Kecak performance: a circle of men chanting "cak-cak-cak" in place of instruments while the sun drops into the ocean behind them. Hold on to your sunglasses. The monkeys here steal them to trade for food.
2. A rice field walk around Ubud. Skip the crowded viewpoints and walk the paths north of town, past irrigation channels and small shrines at the corner of each field. Our Ubud guide has a route.
3. Jatiluwih. Rolling terraces in the western highlands, part of the UNESCO-listed subak landscape (subak is the centuries-old system that shares water between farmers through temples). Bigger and calmer than Tegallalang.
4. Tirta Empul. A spring-fed water temple near Tampaksiring where Balinese Hindus bathe under a line of carved spouts. Visitors can watch from the side or join in, wearing a sarong.
5. Mount Batur at sunrise. A pre-dawn climb to the rim of an active volcano, with Lake Batur below and Mount Agung on the horizon. Steep and loose in places, busy every morning, and done with a local guide.
6. An evening dance in Ubud. Legong (precise finger and eye movements), Barong (a lion-like protector battling a witch) or Kecak. Performances run most nights in temple courtyards and at the palace.
7. Sidemen. A green valley in the east with terraces, songket weaving workshops and views of Mount Agung. Very few tour buses make it this far.
8. Snorkelling at Amed. Black-sand bays with coral a few strokes from shore. Nearby Tulamben has the wreck of the USAT Liberty, a Second World War cargo ship you can snorkel over from the beach.
9. Nusa Penida. Kelingking's T-Rex-shaped headland looks exactly like the photographs. The roads are rough and the day trip is long, so a night on the island makes it much more pleasant.
10. A cooking class. Usually a morning market visit, then pounding spice paste (base genep) in a stone mortar and a long lunch. A useful key to what's in the warung counters.
11. Tanah Lot. A temple on a rock in the surf, walkable at low tide. Spectacular setting, huge car park, lots of company at sunset.

Two we'd happily leave out. The "Gates of Heaven" photo at Lempuyang involves a long queue for a reflection created with a mirror under the phone, and the jungle swings around Ubud are mostly a photo prop. Our temples guide explains how to visit Lempuyang for the temple instead.