Bali Hotspot – Tegalalang Rice Terrace

There is one place in Bali that is literally coated in magic on lucky days. I’m talking about a spot that you must have seen in the last year on social media platforms, a spot that is just SO Bali, that it would likely be the go-to cover shot location for any magazine featuring a spread of the island. It has become one of the most popular spots on the island for visitors, especially since it is one of the wonders to be found in the nature that isn’t hard to access at all.

The location I’m talking about is Tegalalang Rice Terrace. It might not sound like anything crazy, but this place is a gorgeous display of agricultural mastery in all of its glory! It’s located just north of Ubud, and seems to be located perfectly for a little bit of sunrise magic sauce, as the climate here is just a bit colder and more humid than further south. The significance of this is that it is typically always coated in morning dew, and somehow when the sun comes up (on clear days) this dew evaporating leads to a phenomenal few minutes of light show.

Strolling along the terraces with golden light in the background

When the sun rises on the best days, tegalalang has the perfect mix of ingredients, for a nice display of sorcery, and when you see it in real life it’s hard to believe your own eyes. The rice fields are layered in such beautiful hierarchical form already and are gorgeous no matter what part of the harvest cycle it’s in. (However i do recommend visiting for sure if you’re there right before harvest as the sunlight will bounce beautifully off the grains and it looks like a field of gold!) All around the plantation, there are perfect palmtrees, and when that sun light comes out, it sheds so beautifully through the leaves and creates the most incredible view!

One thing that many people seem to forget or maybe not even be aware of, is that this is actually an agricultural business for the local farmers, but recently I’m fairly certain the tourism at the site has brought the farmers a higher salary than the agricultural practice ever did! Typically you will be charged 50k-150k IDR (3-10 USD) per person, all depending on the farmer, where you want to walk to take your photos, and how many people are around. Unfortunately also where you are from, so don’t say America as they will be more likely to charge you higher. That being said, I have been there well over 10 times, and gotten lucky with the light “only” 3 of those times, but I have paid every time because it is always worth it! The scent and sounds of that place alone are enough to make you feel at peace, but of course when you’re lucky enough to see the sunlight beam through the terraces, your mind will be blown!

Unless you are uncomfortable driving a scooter, I don’t recommend getting a driver here as they will want to be your tour guide too, which of course is great if you’re into that. Personally though, I like to see things my own way at my own pace so I would opt for the solo mission and really get lost in between the terraces to see everything!

As far as I’m concerned, there are 3 complete harvest cycles per year, but I might be wrong. This has just been my experience based on what I have seen on social media and heard estimated. I highly recommend going for sunrise as that’s when you’ll encounter the biggest mood, least amount of people, and also least amount of locals bugging you for money. Its not that you don’t want to pay them, its just more the fact that it really makes it feel like a tourist trap at that point which is a shame considering its natural beauty!