Sidemen is Bali green at its best! Rolling rice fields, rice terraces, rushing rivers, epic waterfalls and total village vibes. It is a spot for nature lovers, people wanting to get away from the crowds and people wanting to experience the real village life of the Bali of old. Sidemen Valley is located at Karangasem regency in East Bali. You can find many tourist attractions in this area such as Mount Agung, the highest mountain in Bali, Telaga Waja river where you can go water rafting in East Bali, the charming beach town of Candidasa, the ancient village of Tenganan – one of the most unique villages in Bali, the famous Tirta Gangga Water Palace and many more. Sidemen Valley is one of Bali’s secret spots where you’ll find many hidden gems but not so many tourists. Other than gorgeous rice fields and agricultural crops, you’ll also find here colourful markets, traditional weaving techniques and a sense of community and family that we haven’t found elsewhere. Just imagine to yourself green fields as far as the eyes can see, dotted by the occasional colourful flower field, strolling around this rural area you’ll see farmers working in the fields, women will greet you on their way to the local temple with the daily offerings, children wearing their school uniform will wave and laugh as they pass you by on their motorbikes and the majestic Mount Agung can be seen from afar covered by the morning mists. There’s a relaxed atmosphere in the air and friendliness that is hard to find in our modern world.
Grab a bite at a local warung
There are many local warungs to stop and grab a bite at on your adventures. We ate at a cute little spot called Sweet Warung – it was delicious local fare, served by a very excited local family to have some tourists dining in. Our meals were authentically delicious and super affordable.
Explore Sidemen’s stunning waterfalls
If you are a waterfall lover, you are spoiled for choice in Sidemen. We explored two waterfalls during our stay and at each, we were the only visitors. The first waterfall we visited was Jagasatru Waterfall. This waterfall is located in Salak Village which is about a 20 minute. This lessor-known waterfall has big plans, but if you are lucky enough to visit soon you may get it all to yourself like us!
There is a HUGE new golden statue that has been built here, with stairs leading up to it. At the top, you have a view right out to Padang Bai. The development plans for this area are on display, but at the moment just the statue and lookout have been completed. When we visited there wasn’t even someone there to pay the donation for entry.
There are around 100 steps leading down to the waterfall, some are quite deep (if you have bad knees, perhaps this is not the best waterfall to visit). At the bottom, you can swim in the small lagoon at the base of the waterfall. There is also a Holy Water area you can bathe in too. The vegetation is quite diverse leading down. You can see Salak (otherwise known as snake fruit) growing, along with Mangosteen trees and many other plants (and animals). At the moment there are no little stores open in this waterfall, so bring some water (and maybe snacks) with you! Gembleng Waterfall has for sure become one of my favourite Bali waterfalls after this visit. You pay a donation to go in (they don’t specify any amount, we paid 20k each). The waterfall is not huge, but the highlight is the small rock pools you can plunge in at the top. These pools have the most epic view of jungle, rice fields, and even the ocean. This waterfall you actually walk UP to (unlike most Bali waterfalls which walk down to). The stairs are shallow & easy and there are only around 60 of them. At the top, there is a little Warung selling drinks, snacks, beers and in true Bali style, even Arak! To get to the rock pools you need to climb over some rocks, these can be quite slippery, but it is not a far way. We loved plunging in the fresh water and taking in the gorgeous views!
Sidemen’s own yellow bridge
Sidemen also has its own version of the Yellow Bridge. Unlike the new Lembongan/Cenigan yellow bridge, this one is not really made for riding over on motorbikes (even though you’ll see quite a few people doing this). It’s quite rickety but provides a gorgeous view of the river below (don’t be surprised to see local villagers bathing naked in this river though)
Go hiking through the Sidemen rice fields
Beside motorbike tours the resort also offers guided hikes through the rice fields and down to the river. We didn’t get to do this during our stay but plan to do it next visit. The guide will take you right through the rice terraces and down to the river, explaining the local area to you.