Featured Story on Bali Hotel Guides: Settling Your Soul in Sidemen Valley
I was recently approached by Bali Hotel Guides and asked if I would consider sharing my Bali travel stories with their audience. I’m obsessed with Bali, so naturally, my answer was “when do I start?!” If you’re planning a trip to Bali in the near future, you can look forward to regular updates. Here’s my first post with some additions and personal anecdotes:
Settling Your Soul in Sidemen Valley
Sometimes you need a little peace in quiet, and despite the bustling crowds that pour into places like Kuta, Seminyak, the Bukit and the city center of Ubud, there are still pockets of serene oases where travelers can truly connect with Bali’s spiritual aura. Once the home to the Sidemen Royal Family, Sidemen is one of the most idyllic landscapes you’ll ever set eyes on. Carpeted with lush, vibrant green rice terraces, dotted with beautiful Balinese villages and laden with warm, friendly faces, this Eastern region of Bali is one that often gets overlooked, yet provides an authentic window into the beauty of rural Balinese life.
Easily accessible by what has often been deemed one of the most beautiful drives in the world, Sidemen Valley offers visitors to touch, taste and explore one of the most beautiful parts of the island. Upon first descending down into the valley, one can’t help but notice Mt. Agung, the highest mountain in Bali, looming in the distance. Sidemen Village is home to a modest population of 7,000, most of which make their living off the land. Balinese farmers who tend to the the rice paddy terraces enveloping the region employ Subak, the traditional Balinese method of water irrigation for rice.
The village itself spills out onto three separate river valleys, and including those outer villages, the entire area has a population of 27,000. Lolling hills, winding country roads and lush fauna breaks the land up effortlessly, keeping with the theme of tranquility, it is impossible to feel crowded.
Sidemen’s simpler way of life is intoxicating, and the perfect place to escape booming music, surf crowds and the dizzying hustle and bustle of resort life. The accommodations found out here are simpler, and committed to incorporating Sidemen’s exquisite natural setting into their construction. If you’ve never stayed at a homestay, this is the perfect place to experience one for the first time. My travel party stayed at the beautiful Villa Uma Agung. At night, sleep came easy with the gentle symphony of night crickets just outside my teak door, and in the mornings, we sipped mild tea and watched the mists of Mt. Agung spill across the vibrant green rice patties.
Inspired by the surreal dreamscape before them, many an artist from around the world has come set up their easel, put pen to paper, or step behind the lens, all in hopes of taking a piece of Sidemen with them. As a writer, I too was inspired. But why just sit and marvel, when you can throw on your hiking shoes and step into this painting come to life? Unfortunately, I was ill with a relentless respiratory infection, and wasn’t well enough to go trekking through the rice patties. The flip side of that was being able to rest and recuperate in one of the most beautiful places I had ever set eyes on.
If you venture out, snag yourself a history lesson from any number of the regional local guides. I took a mountain biking excursion from Mt. Agung, down into one of the villages. Learn all about the Royal family, find why it is that Sidemen has birthed so many of Bali’s literary and theological masters, and after you’ve spoken with local farmers, you’ll soon why Sidemen is not just merely a paradise for the weary traveler, but one of the most essential agricultural regions for the entire island.
