ACTIVITIES
There is plenty to do in the area, although it’s also perfect to simply do nothing and enjoy the serenity and peacefulness of the plantation and surroundings!
Note that we need advanced notice to arrange any of the below actitivies.
Countryside Jeep Tour
A must-do — make time!
Pupuan is well known for its high-quality coffee, grown throughout the region.
Join a private open-jeep tour and explore coffee plantations, organic farms, and rice fields on the slopes of Mount Batukaru. The tour includes a visit to a traditional coffee roaster, the Blamantung Waterfall, and possibly a Buddhist temple with a large sleeping Buddha statue.
This tour must be booked in advance.
This tour needs to be booked in advance.
Half day: IDR 600,000 / jeep.
Full day: IDR 950,000 / jeep.
(maximum 3 people per jeep)
Walk Around
Sanda and the wider Pupuan area offer some of Bali’s most authentic rural scenery and are a hiker’s paradise.
From our plantation, you can walk for as long as you like along quiet plantation roads and trails, enjoying views over rice fields, plantations, valleys, and Mount Batukaru. You might even find a nearby private waterfall for a refreshing dip.
If you venture off the concrete paths into the plantations, good hiking shoes are recommended, as trails can be slippery.
We can also arrange for one of our local farmer friends to guide you through the area and bring you to a private waterfall, for a swim and picnic lunch! A favorite trip for our guests!
Cost: IDR 250,000 (excluding lunch).
Climb Mount Batukaru
Mount Batukaru is an ancient volcano and Bali’s second highest mountain, at 2,276 meters. For the locals it’s more sacred than Mount Agung. The mountain is still covered with Bali’s last remaining undisturbed rain forest and is home to a large variety of flora and fauna, hard to find elsewhere in Bali.
A few good trails lead to the fairly flat and open summit, where you’ll also find a small sacred temple. On clear days the summit offers spectacular 360 degrees views across Bali, and sometimes even neighboring Java and Lombok can be seen as well.
We can organize a guide to accompany you. The climb to the summit takes about 3-4 hours, depending on your fitness. A guide needs to be booked in advance.
IDR 500,000 / person
Does not include transport to and from starting and end point, which is usually around IDR 700,000.
Waterfalls
Bali is covered with spectacular waterfalls in all sorts of shapes, heights and of course popularity. We have several waterfalls nearby, ranging from some of Bali’s most popular, to those completely unknown…
One of the most beautiful ones is the Blamantung waterfall, just 10 kilometers from us. It’s actual a series of 3 waterfalls, Blamantung being the highest and most spectacular one. Chances are you have the waterfall entirely for yourself, as not many tourists know about this place yet..!
Note: there are actually 2 waterfalls with almost an identical name on Google maps. The one to visit is the one north-east of Pujungan (not the one north-west).
You can also visit the waterfalls during our Coffee & Waterfall Tour, see above.
Bird Watching
The varied landscapes around us support a rich diversity of ecosystems and birdlife. Green Junglefowl are seen and heard almost daily, and the striking Javan Banded Pitta, Orange Headed Thrush, Forktails, and Kingfishers are especially common year-round.
The area includes open rice fields, dense plantations, natural river valleys, and Bali’s most intact forest on the slopes of Mount Batukaru.
Click below to view a selection of my bird photography, all taken in and around the plantation.
Our Bird Hides
We now have 3 Bird Hides in our plantation! We have built these when we realised a fairly rare bird had returned to our plantation, after many years of absence: the Orange-headed Thrush, very popular amongst bird watchers.
We feed the birds intermittently to make sure they stay wild, but most of the time the Thrush, Pitta, Forktail, Kingfisher, and other birds are now relative easy to see.
Photography
Our plantation and surroundings is the perfect place for landscape and night-scape photography. The scenery is spectacular and at night there is very little light pollution. On clear nights the Milky Way is easy to see!
As a fairly serious photographer myself I am happy to give you some tips and advice.
Click below for some of my photography taken in and around the plantation.
Lakes & Temples
Visit the lakes of Bali’s central highlands, Lake Tamblingan, Buyan and Beratan, and perhaps stop by at some waterfalls along the way.
You can do this either with your own transport, car or motorbike, or organized by us in an open-air jeep.
Pictured is Lake Tamblingan, my personal favorite lake. It’s only an hour’s drive from here, along a very scenic road!
Vihara Dharma Giri
Vihara Dharma Giri is a beautiful Buddhist temple in the nearby village of Pupuan. The temple is best known for its large, white sleeping Buddha statue.
The temple features a peaceful and pleasantly quiet ambiance, a place to really find a sense of zen.
The temple grounds offer great views over the surrounding plantations and rice fields.
Sokha Beach
Soka Beach has a beautiful natural scenery and is a great place for sunsets. It is a popular beach for the locals, who like to visit it in the afternoon during weekends or on public holidays.
According to some of Bali’s folk stories on this beach lies a large pot of rock and an old kitchen, which belonged to Kebo Iwa, meaning Buffalo Uncle, a giant and mighty hero.
Traditional Massage
We can arrange a traditional Balinese massage, outdoors right on the deck of your tent or wooden house. The lush green environment of our plantation and sounds of nature make for a unique and relaxing atmosphere.
Explore local Night Life
When the sun sets a new world awakens, sometimes loud and clear, sometimes in almost complete silence and only visible for some trained eyes.
Owls, bats, frogs, nocturnal snakes, and – though rare – even porcupine and civets appear on the scene, in search for food. Not to mention often spectacular insects and other smaller critters. Perhaps not everybody’s cup of tea, but not less memorable.
Camp fire
A private camp fire in the middle of our plantation, under a usually clear and star-filled sky. Not only that, you’ll often also be surrounded by fire flies..!