Campuhan Ridge Walk

About two kilometres each way along the ridge before the path reaches settlements again, so an hour out and back at a slow pace. There is no loop — you turn around wherever suits, and most walkers turn at the first warungs at the far end. Two hours is realistic if you stop for a drink before heading back.

First light, and the reason is not the crowds. The ridge is open grass with essentially no shade anywhere along it, and by mid-morning it is genuinely hot with nowhere to get out of the sun. Early also gives you the mist in the two river valleys either side, which is the thing people remember about it.

Below the Campuhan bridge on Jalan Raya Ubud, west of the palace, where the path drops off the road beside Pura Gunung Lebah in the river junction. It is about fifteen minutes on foot from the centre of town, and the trailhead is easy to miss from the road even though it is unmistakable once you are on it.

The surface is paved and the gradient is gentle, so it is easier than it looks in photographs — the difficulty is heat rather than terrain. It is slippery after rain, and there is a drop either side of the path in places, so it wants care in the wet. Walk it early, carry water, and turn back whenever you like.