Short answer: Sidemen is a green river valley about 1.5 hours from Ubud with rice terraces, walking trails and almost no tourism. Munduk is a cool highland village 2–2.5 hours away with waterfalls, coffee farms and evenings you need a layer for. Both cost a fraction of the south, both deserve two nights, and neither is a place to work from.
These are the two areas where you find what people mean when they say Bali used to be different.
Last checked: 13 August 2026. Prices in Indonesian rupiah.
Getting there
| Route | By car | Private driver, one way |
|---|---|---|
| Ubud → Sidemen | 1.25–1.75 hr | 500,000–750,000 IDR |
| Canggu → Sidemen | 2–2.5 hr | 700,000–900,000 IDR |
| Ubud → Munduk | 2–2.5 hr | 700,000–950,000 IDR |
| Canggu → Munduk | 2.5–3 hr | 800,000–1,000,000 IDR |
| Sidemen → Amed | 1.5–2 hr | 400,000–600,000 IDR |
| Munduk → Sekumpul waterfall area | 45–60 min | — |
Mapping apps underestimate these roads badly — they are winding, single-lane in places, and slow. Add 30% to whatever your phone says. See getting around Bali.
Riding there is a genuine mountain ride. Rewarding if you are confident, and not a first long ride in Bali.
Sidemen
What it is: a river valley in east Bali, terraced with rice and covered in palms, with Mount Agung above it when the cloud clears. A handful of guesthouses and small resorts, a few warungs, and almost nothing else.
What you do there:
- Walk. This is the point. Trails run through the terraces and along the river between villages, and you can walk for hours without meeting a tour group.
- Ride the loop roads through Iseh and Duda — some of the best scooter riding in Bali.
- Visit a tuak or arak maker. Palm wine and distilling are traditional here and several families will show you the process.
- Weaving. Sidemen has a genuine songket weaving tradition, and workshops are working workshops rather than gift shops.
- Use it as a base for east Bali — Besakih temple, Amed, Padang Bai and the Nusa ferry are all reachable.
Accommodation: 250,000–1,200,000 IDR a night for guesthouses and small resorts, many with valley views that would cost five times that in Ubud.
Munduk and the highlands
What it is: a village at altitude in the north-central mountains, surrounded by coffee and clove plantations, waterfalls and two crater lakes. Colonial-era Dutch buildings, mist in the mornings, and air that is genuinely cool.
What you do there:
- Waterfalls. Munduk, Golden Valley, Melanting and others are within walking or short riding distance, and they run at full volume — this is the wet side of the island.
- Coffee and clove farms. Smallholder operations you can actually visit, which is the honest alternative to the roadside luwak tourist stops. See Bali coffee guide.
- The twin lakes viewpoint over Buyan and Tamblingan, and Ulun Danu Beratan temple on the water.
- Jatiluwih rice terraces, roughly an hour away — UNESCO-listed, far larger and less staged than Tegallalang.
- Sekumpul and Banyumala waterfalls, 45–60 minutes east, which are the best in Bali. See 5 waterfalls worth the ride.
Accommodation: 250,000–1,500,000 IDR a night, and the mid-range places here have views over the valley to the coast.
Bring a layer. People arrive from Canggu in shorts and a singlet and are cold by 7pm. That is not a complaint — after six weeks at 30°C it is the whole appeal.
What it costs
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Guesthouse, per night | 250,000–600,000 IDR |
| Small resort with a view, per night | 600,000–1,500,000 IDR |
| Warung meal | 25,000–50,000 IDR |
| Restaurant main (limited options) | 70,000–150,000 IDR |
| Scooter rental, per day | 70,000–120,000 IDR |
| Local guide for a valley walk | 150,000–400,000 IDR |
| Waterfall entry | 20,000–50,000 IDR each |
| Coffee farm visit | Free–100,000 IDR |
| Two people, two nights, all in | ~1,500,000–3,000,000 IDR |
Everything is cheaper than the south, including things that are identical.
Two nights each, sensibly
Sidemen. Arrive afternoon. Walk the terraces at 6:30am the next morning while the mist is still in the valley, warung breakfast, ride the Iseh loop in the afternoon. Second morning: a weaving or arak workshop, then move on to Amed or back.
Munduk. Arrive afternoon, walk to a waterfall before dark. Full day: Sekumpul plus Banyumala if you want the big waterfall day, or the twin lakes and a coffee farm if you want a slower one. Second morning: another waterfall, then out.
Good for / skip if
Go if: you want the Bali in the photographs without the crowds in them, you like walking, you want cool air, or you are burnt out on Canggu and need three days of nothing.
Skip it if: you need internet — this is the honest dealbreaker — you want restaurants and variety, you cannot ride and do not want to hire a driver, or you only have a few days in Bali total.
The honest negatives
- Internet is patchy and power cuts are more common. Do not schedule client calls. This is a few days off, not a working base.
- Very limited food options. Warungs and your guesthouse, and both close early.
- Nothing to do at night. That is the product.
- Rain. Both areas are on the wet side of the island and get considerably more of it than the south, year-round. Waterfalls are better for it; your walking plans are not.
- Leeches on some jungle trails after rain. Not dangerous, memorable.
- Winding roads and motion sickness on the way up.
- Limited medical facilities. Anything serious means driving to Denpasar.
- ATMs are scarce. Bring cash. See money in Bali.
Combining them
The sensible east and north loop, if you have four to six nights:
Ubud → Sidemen (2 nights) → Amed (2 nights) → back via Tulamben and the north coast, or Ubud → Munduk (2 nights) → Sekumpul waterfalls → back via Jatiluwih
Doing Sidemen and Munduk in the same trip means crossing the island's spine, which is possible but a long driving day. Pick one per trip unless you have a week.
Where the money leaks
Book accommodation directly rather than through a platform — these are small family-run places and the difference is often 20–30%, plus they will hold a room on a WhatsApp message. Drivers arranged directly rather than through a hotel save the usual 30–50% markup, and a return trip negotiated as one job beats two one-ways. Guides for valley walks are cheaper arranged in the village than pre-booked.
The wider pattern applies wherever you base in Bali: spa slots in the empty 1–4pm window at 30–50% off, gyms and studios pricing weekly passes below drop-ins, and accommodation negotiated in person and for longer stays well below the listed rate.
Last Call Bali tracks what venues across Canggu, Pererenan, Ubud, Seminyak, Uluwatu and Sanur are discounting right now, with a direct WhatsApp line to the venue. No commission, no booking fee, no card details.
See what's discounted near you today →
Related
- 5 waterfalls in Bali worth the ride — Sekumpul and Banyumala are near Munduk
- Day trips from Ubud — the Jatiluwih and Kintamani routes
- Amed and east Bali — pairs with Sidemen
- Bali coffee guide — the real farms are up here
- Getting around Bali
- Best time to visit Bali
How this page is verified
Drive times are measured on the ground rather than taken from a mapping app, which underestimates these mountain roads by a wide margin. Accommodation and activity prices come from contacting guesthouses and local guides directly and cross-checking with recent visitors, re-verified quarterly.
We deliberately do not name individual guesthouses or guides in these areas. They are small family operations, capacity is tiny, and sending a large volume of readers to one place changes it — which is the opposite of why you would go to Sidemen or Munduk in the first place. Ask when you arrive; the village will tell you.
