Meeting service at Ngurah Rai International Airport and transfer to Hotel Tugu for two nights at Canggu Beach. Hotel Tugu is a small boutique hotel of great class and charm that embodies the spirit of Indonesian hospitality like no other. It is home to a vast private collection of Indonesian art and antiques and it is equally famous for its cuisine. Canggu is known for a couple of surf breaks but the beach is pleasantly quiet. Dinner at the hotel.

On the second day, we first take you into the Lake District: a region of great natural beauty in the central highlands. Our first destination is Lake Beratan, the largest of the three three volcanic lakes in the heart of Bali, about 50 km north of Denpasar. We visit Pura Ulun, the temple on the western shore that is devoted to the goddess of the lake, Ida Batara Dewi Ulun Danu. It was built in 1633. Our second highlight for the day is the Jatiluwih Valley which offers one of the most astonishing examples of terraced agriculture in the world. In Jatiluwih, the landscape is a sculpture that was meticulously perfected over some five hundred years by many generations of farmers who collectively created an intricate infrastructure of dams, canals, and aqueducts to irrigate their individual rice fields very efficiently. Last year, Jatiluwih was added to the UNESCO's World Heritage List as a site of outstanding universal value to humanity. When you walk through the terraces, the gentle song of water that continuously trickles down from one rice paddy into the next will not fail to mesmerize. From Jatiluwih, we drive to Wongaya Gede for lunch at Prana Dewi Mountain Resort.
After lunch we visit nearby Pura Luhur Batukaru: a temple complex originally created in the 12th century in the middle of the rainforest on the southern slope of Mount Batukaru, Bali's second-highest peak. Pura Batukaru is one of nine cardinal temples meant to protect Bali from evil spirits, an extremely sacred site for the Hindu population. When we return to Canggu there is plenty of time to go for a memorable beach walk and hopefully a glorious sunset. Dinner at Tugu.

After breakfast we check out from Tugu and  move from the Western beach to the Eastern foothills. We follow a route of secondary roads and stop first at the Bali Bird Park: a wonderful natural sanctuary with more than 2000 tropical plants and trees that provides a safe haven to almost 1000 birds of 250 different species. It is a caring home for birds and an unforgettable experience for visitors of all ages.

The second highlight for the day is Ubud. Although over the past two decades the town has developed into a major tourist center where green rice terraces have given way to bookshops, cafes and boutique shops, Ubud and the surrounding villages remain the undisputed cultural heartland of Bali and the growth has not ruined the splendid natural setting. The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful and what makes Ubud so unique is the fact that over the years this spectacular natural beauty has been recorded in large collections of timeless art, which can be found in the Agung Rai Museum of Art. After visiting ARMA we have lunch at Sari Organik or Caf des Artistes.

After lunch, we drive eastward with the option to make a stop at the 9th century bathing temple Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave), or the temple of the Bronze Age Moon of Pejeng the largest single-cast bronze kettle drum in the world. By mid afternoon we reach the green valley of Sidemen on the slopes of Mount Agung, in the Karangasem Regency. We check you in for a two night stay at Surya Shanti: an intimate boutique complex of only ten private villas. You still have enough time to explore the immediate surroundings and breathe in the atmosphere of one the most enchanting parts of rural Bali. This is where the legendary painter Walter Spies moved in order to seek peace and inspiration when he felt that Ubud was getting too crowded in the late nineteen thirties. Dinner at the hotel.

After an early breakfast, we first go for a short drive, having already discovered how nice it is to step out of the vehicle. Without the hum of an engine and air-conditioners, we go on a wonderful hike to hear the birdsong and smell the scents of the real world. After an hour and a half, you will find that our first destination is very special and unique: the 700-year-old walled village of Tenganan. This is home to a community of Bali Aga people who are descendants of the earliest aboriginal Balinese who settled the island before all others. The women of the village weave a rare double ikat cloth, which is supposed to have magical powers to protect the wearer, and is greatly sought after for cremation ceremonies. The process is known only in this village and weaving a single cloth can take up to five years.

After our historic visit, we drive to Amlapura, the capital of what is now the Regency and used to be the Kingdom of Karangasem. Five kilometers south of Amlapura near the fishing village of Ujung, we first visit Taman Ujung, the Garden Residence of the Royal family as it was completed in 1921. The architecture of Taman Ujung is a mixture of Balinese, Dutch and Chinese influences. We lunch at the Bali Asli Restaurant.

Then, we proceed to the third highlight of the day, the Tirta Gangga Water Palace, on the main road five kilometers north of Amlapura. The architect of Taman Ujung, King Ketut Karangasem was already in his sixties when he decided to create this final masterpiece. He started the work on a one hectare complex in 1946 and it was finished just before he abdicated in 1950. Tirta Gangga, which literally means  water from the Ganges turned out to be the pinnacle of his career as a landscape architect and designer of water gardens. Go for a swim in one of two large swimming pools! You will find it is pure magic to be able to chill out in such an alluring atmosphere of bygone days. Dinner at Surya Shanti.

While having breakfast, you may start wishing you could stay longer. Yet, depending on your further program, or your ongoing flight, we can take you back at anytime you like.