Sunrises & Summits in Bali

Stretch those flight-weary legs – you’ve landed in Denpasar, Bali’s capital. From here you’ll take an air-conditioned transfer to the peaceful Ubud Wana Resort in the Nyuh Kuning area of Ubud. If you arrive after 2 pm, you can check straight in for your four-night stay. The rest of the day is yours. Adjust to your new time zone (a swim in one of the three, palm-fringed swimming pools could be just the ticket). Tonight, you have the option to join the group at Hujan Locale (at your own expense). This restaurant serves street-food inspired dishes created from ingredients sourced from local farmers and the restaurant’s kitchen garden.   

Make sure those phone notifications are switched off before joining a yoga class to get into a Balinese frame of mind. Later in the morning, you’ll travel to Campuhan Ridge and begin to explore Bali’s exquisite countryside on foot. You’ll follow a half-hour path through rice terraces to reach a picturesque vantage point. Then you’ll have the option to visit Jungle Fish, famed for its lively, open-air restaurant and pool bar. You can choose to have a light lunch here, before taking a swim in the infinity pool. Tonight, you’ll take a vintage Vespa ride for dinner with a local family. As you feast on local dishes, there’ll be a Legong Balinese traditional dance performance.

You’ll make an early start this morning, heading out to a local produce market. You’ll buy spices, meats, seafood and vegetables before heading to a cooking school surrounded by rice paddies. Need a caffeine boost? Coffee will be waiting for you, alongside a spread of cakes and fruits before you head to the open-air kitchen for your class and gobble your creations for lunch. The early afternoon is yours to spend as you choose, before joining your group again later for a tour of the John Hardy showroom and workshop. This artisan jeweller has firm eco-principles and has adopted ancient techniques to craft high-end pieces from the 400-acre design centre. You may want to turn in early tonight – an adventure awaits tomorrow.

You’ll rise well before dawn this morning and travel for around 90-minutes to the base of Gunung Batur, an active volcano. After a safety briefing, you’ll ascend a rocky path for a couple of hours, guided by flashlight, to the top of the main crater. Your efforts are rewarded with an epic sunrise over Mount Abang and Mount Agung while you devour a 'champagne' breakfast. You’ll take the western slope downhill, stopping at craters and smoking cones. There’s time to see the lava field that surrounds the volcano, before trekking across the black lava sand. There’s a holy hot spring at the base of the mountain where you can soothe your muscles. Volcano conquered; the rest of the day is yours.

After breakfast, you’ll check out of Ubud Wana. Head to Jatiluwih for a gentle, 15km bike ride through the UNESCO-listed rice terraces, learning about their unique irrigation system and traditional growing techniques as you go. A picnic lunch is served in picturesque surroundings. Later, you’ll dress in Balinese attire for a blessing ceremony performed by a priest at a sacred temple. Then you’ll leave Jatiluwih behind for a 90-minute journey to the highlands of Munduk where you’ll check into the eco-luxury resort of Munduk Moding Plantation Nature Resort & Spa. Make the most of the infinity pool, an architectural illusion which appears to float among the clouds.

There’s breakfast with a view this morning – the hotel’s enviable hilltop position affords it sweeping views over the Balinese countryside. Fed and caffeinated, you’ll take a walking tour to learn about the hotel’s very own coffee plantation, before discovering a hidden waterfall. Then it’s time to pack up and head off to Jimbaran Beach, about two and a half hours away, where you’ll check into Anja Jimbaran for the final four nights of your trip.

Take the fast boat for around two hours bound for Nusa Lembongan, a surfer’s paradise island. Here you’ll stretch out on white-sand beaches, shaded by palms and lapped with clear waters. Don a snorkel and explore the coral reefs offshore. The beach vibes continue with a BBQ today, before setting off back to the mainland in the mid-afternoon. Hit Seminyak’s beach club scene at the W Bali Resort’s Woobar, where you’ll take an hour-long mixology class in decadent surroundings.

You’ll head to Legian Beach this morning, ready to take to the ocean on a two hour SUP lesson. Afterwards, there’s time to explore Legian. Tonight you’ll drive for an hour or so to Canggu for dinner at the rustic La Brisa, an oceanfront club on Echo Beach.

Enjoy a lazy morning, spending time around the hotel and on Jimbaran Beach. In the mid-afternoon, you’ll get a transfer to Uluwatu Temple, majestically perched on a cliff. Here you’ll watch a Kecak dance as the sun goes down. Later you’ll feast on a four-course dinner extravaganza, in a secret cave set back from a white-sand beach overlooking the ocean - a memorable and fitting way to wrap up your adventure in Bali.

It’s check-out day today, and you’ll be collected by a driver to take you the short distance to Denpasar airport for your flight home.