Bali's sacred beauty, without the crowds

The UNESCO-protected terraces step down from the volcanic highlands in waves of green. Arrive at 06:30 and walk the footpaths as mist clears from the Batukaru mountain.

The holy spring temple allows visitors to participate in melukat — ritual purification in sacred water. Your guide arranges the appropriate offerings and explains the ceremony.

The 16th-century sea temple sits on a rocky outcrop cut off at high tide. At sunset with a cold Bintang, it is one of the iconic images of Bali — and genuinely beautiful.

Kecak (fire dance), Legong and Barong performances use ancient Mahabharata stories retold through hypnotic movement. The weekly schedule changes — your guide times the best performance.

Celuk is the centre of Bali's silver industry. A half-day workshop with a master silversmith produces a piece to take home — rings, earrings or pendants made to your design.

Market visit at 08:00 followed by five Balinese dishes — lawar, bebek betutu, satay lilit and black rice pudding — prepared in a traditional kitchen with a fire and clay pots.

A gentle 2-hour hike (guide required) to the rim of the active caldera at 1,717m. Sunrise over the crater lake and Agung volcano behind you — a two-hour descent before the heat rises.

The eastern valley below Mount Agung sees almost no tourists. A guided bicycle tour through rice fields, village temples and a weaving cooperative is the real Bali.

Bali has some of Asia's finest day spas — traditional Balinese massage, coffee scrub, flower bath and four-hand treatment at a hilltop retreat above the Ayung River.

The west coast's Menjangan Island has some of Bali's best coral reefs and is easily reached by boat from Pemuteran. Slow drift diving with manta rays is possible October–April.