What is it about lush sceneries that we, travelers or not, could not get enough of? Even if I’m a self-proclaimed beach person, any form of greenery never fails to put me in such a calming mood. Although I’ve been living in the Philippines and I have seen a few rice terraces before, Tegalalang was non-negotiable for me. It’s almost like an unspoken rule of visiting Bali. You just can’t afford to skip this wonder. Others even argue that you didn’t really see Bali unless you’ve seen the countryside.
We almost missed out on Tegalalang due to our tour guides well-executed attempt to half ass his job. He was actually doing really well as a guide, but I suppose he thought he could get away with skipping out on one of our destination agreed on. We actually had him for two days, so imagine my dismay when he decided to bring us to a mediocre rice field in Ubud. Thinking that was what’s included in our tour, we want back to the hotel dissatisfied. Later on, I found out that he not only skipped out on Tegalalang, but he also fed us at a crappy restaurant where we went white water rafting, instead of a buffet overlooking the volcano. I did email a complaint to the company, and they sent him to us to apologize with $10 back for the food, and two souvenir t-shirts. At that point I didn’t really care for it anymore, but the apology was nice.
Anyhow, learning that we almost missed out on the rice terraces, we decided to hire a driver to take us to the other spots I wanted to visit. The good news is, we contracted a good one for a good price, but the bad news is that our last full day to explore falls on the Balinese new year, which would limit our time because of the festivities and traffic. But this was non-negotiable so we decided to start early in the morning. Coming from Elephant Cave, we made a beeline to Tegalalang. I had to skip out on other stuff in our itinerary for this, but it was well worth it.
Located north of Ubud, Tegalalang Rice Terraces lies 600m above sea level. Despite that, it was still pretty hot and humid. But upon reaching the site, we were greeted with a stunning view of the rice terraces. Lush, green, and all natural. It was definitely a treat to the eyes. It was everything I imagined the countryside of Bali would be. The best part was that there weren’t much tourist in sight, just a few who has braved the inevitable traffic just like us. Since it was a new year, most of the restaurants and establishments were closed, except to a few souvenir stalls on the main road. That was quite alright since we didn’t really have time to linger too long. We were on a crunch because we weren’t trying to get stranded from the road blocks.
I adored the rustic charm of the village. The quaintness and peacefulness was unlike what I’ve seen even in the Philippines. I wish we had more time to explore the rest of the village, but I was still pretty satisfied to at least have my eyes laid on such a stunning view. There are many more rice terraces I plan to visit, and I’m glad I was able to finally check Tegalalang off. Viewing remarkable rice terraces was a pretty incredible way to start off the Balinese new year. We still have a long day ahead.
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Very beautiful pictures. I enjoyed your post – thanks for sharing!
Michelle – heylittlefighter.com – a special needs parenting blog
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Thank you so much. I’m glad you liked it.
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Which company did you rent/hire the car with? We’d like to visit the areas of Ubud that way too!!
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Beautiful place and pictures!!! So much bright colors!
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Definitely. I loved every shade and aspect of it!
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OOh these pictures take me back. I need to go back!
Thanks for sharing x
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Ahhhh maybe I’ll meet you there!
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I love rice terraces! I never been to once, and I missed out one in South Korea! It must be really breathtaking to visit than just looking at the photos 🙂 Sorry to hear about the awful service from that tour guide! Glad that you got an apology and some money back, and that you still went ahead despite the traffic due to new year festivity!
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Thanks Stacey! I didn’t know they had some in South Korea too. I’d love to visit those as well!
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What gorgeous photos! I will definitely get to Bali, hopefully sooner rather than later. I’ll be sure to see these rices fields and explore Bali’s countryside. Thanks for sharing!
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The wait will be worth! It’s such an amazing island to explore.
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I would love to see those rice terraces for myself. They are amazing! I hope they preserve it for as long as they can.
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I hope so too. I’m sure they will. Balinese people value their culture and heritage so much!
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I’m sure they will. Balinese people value their culture and heritage a lot.
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That is stunning! Bali is a dream vacay for me. I’ll definitely make sure I get to see Tegalalang when we go.
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Good thing Bali is only a few hours flight away from Manila!
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I’m sure it was a great visit, Rice Terraces is perfect for travelling when you want nature adventure. love the images.
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Thank you. It was quite an adventure!
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ive never heard of places like these before. it looks beautiful! i would love to visit
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I hope you get to go, it was amazing!
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Bali was in my mind when I was in Jogja. But thank you for this post! Have more reasons now to visit Bali (will definitely include Tegalalang Rice Terraces in my list).
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I’d love to visit other islands of Indonesia as well!
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I haven’t even seen our own Banawe rice terraces but comparing the picture of that to the ones of Tegalalang shows a big difference. The one in Bali does look way better.
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I haven’t been to Banawe but I have seen some in Sagada. Maybe I should go see Banawe for myself.
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The green environment speaks for this place to be “heaven on earth.” What a wonderful rice terraces with green all over.
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Heaven on Earth indeed!
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The place is so refreshing. That last picture can really be a romantic movie poster. I love to see the greens, which is why I love doing trails and trekking mountains.
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Thank you! Maybe I’ll make that my official honeymoon photo, heh.
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I love to visit rice terraces. Once, my girlfriends and I sat down at a restaurant for a relaxing lunch and enjoyed unobstructed views of the rice terrace ahead of us in Ubud. It was a calming way to enjoy our meal 😀
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I did that too and it was one of the most relaxing lunch I’ve ever had in my life 🙂
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Which is more thrilling to visit and see between Tegalalang rice terraces in Bali and Banawe rice terraces in the Mountain Province of the Philippines? I have not heard about this rice terraces in Tegalalang. And this is the first time I come across with this one. – Gil Camporazo
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I haven’t seen Banawe yet, only the ones in Sagada! I think it’s time I see Banawe, huh?
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These rice terraces are looking so beautiful and breathtaking view. I have not been to any rice terraces but have experienced going to coffee and tea farms.
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I love coffee and tea farms!
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This looks spectacular but not as much as the rice terraces in the Philippines though 🙂 Will not miss this view when I get to visit Bali.
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I still have to see Banawe and Batad! I’d like to go to Sapa, Vietnam as well because that looks otherworldly!
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Those rice terraces look simply amazing. I’d love to see them one day!
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Great photos. Shame about the tour guide but glad you made it there in the end. Looks like a beautiful place. The thing that amazes me about these rice terraces is just how green they are!
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I’ve been to Banaue Rice Terraces and , the place is great. This Tegalalang offers great scenery as well. Nice photos to compliment a good post.
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That blue hat looks super nice! ^^ This looks like the Banaue Rice Terraces of the Philippines although I haven’t been to that place yet. Just saw it in the photos and in TV. That view of Tegalalang Rice Terraces is just breathtaking!
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Thanks! I specifically looked hot this decorated hat when I got to Bali!
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Your boyfriend fits right in with his shirt 😀 Cool article, nice place but I’m really fond of Bali to be honest. It’s probably because I spent to much time at Kuta….avoid that area if you go!
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What a lovely and pretty photos of you guys. ❤ I've been into Benguet but wasn't able to have a close up picture of Rice Terraces 🙂
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Thank you.
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Lush is really the perfect word to describe these rice terraces. I have seen Banawe and the Sagada rice terraces, and they did not look as green as these. – Fred
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Even Banaue? Wow I was not aware of that!
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One of the most beautiful and photographed spots in Bali and for good reason. I spent a lot of time here and it gets even more gorgeous once everyone leaves.
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This is so sweet. I have visited the rice terraces in my country before. The view and surrounding was serene, love it there.
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I’m sure that was amazing too!
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