Gravel Bali, Indonesia

Today we leave the beach and head upwards to ride on the lower slopes of Gunung Batukaru, Bali’s second-highest mountain at 2,276 m. 

The first part of the ride heads Westwards to sample more of the gently rolling paddy fields, after a Westward loop we start to head Northwards and cross the main Denpasar-Gillimanuk Road, from here the terrain gets more challenging as we head to our picnic lunch stop at the Telaga Tunjung Dam. You will now have sampled a few of the “kicker” climbs, a feature of Bali’s terrain when traversing across the Island. After lunch, we head Northwards sampling some cobbled trails between the paddy fields before we traverse Westwards and then finally climb to the Bali Palms hotel our home for the next two nights.

Don’t be fooled by the 50km distance with plenty of climbing and kickers in the mix, you will feel like you’ve ridden a lot more than the listed distance, and you will be rewarded with spectacular scenery as there is an Instagram shot around every corner on this route. 

Today we ride mostly concrete tracks, gravel, and broken sealed roads. Leaving our hotel, we descend through jungle patches before traversing across some spectacular terraced paddy fields, we then head upwards and Northwards for a steady 8 kms of climbing. At the highest point of the route, we start traversing the canyon on a nice concrete “roller coaster” section before we turn South and descend to our lunch stop south of Rejasa village, whilst enjoying lunch we can enjoy amazing views of the Indian Ocean and the Southeast coast of Bali.

More descending follows lunch before turning Westwards into the cooler shaded areas of jungle, we then head to the Tibu Sampi waterfall trail, a stunning trail where nature really makes its present felt.

After being refreshed at the waterfall we head back to the Bali Palms Hotel for that much-deserved traditional Balinese massage.

We start the ride by heading Northwards and upwards with a gentle climb towards Mount Batukaru we then traverse across the Mountain before heading Southeast towards Jatiluwih, a UNESCO-listed area. After climbing to the top of the Jatiluwih paddy fields we descend through the famous picture postcard area to our picnic lunch stop at the foot of Luhur Besikalung Temple.

After lunch we head down and Eastwards, winding through undisturbed villages, before turning Northwards and starting the 20km of steady climbing to our hotel. 

You can then enjoy spa treatments with fantastic unobscured views of Gunung Adeng’s peak (1,826 meters).

Day 5 allows for a very well-deserved big breakfast, as we mainly descend for 27km for the first part of the ride, and after crossing a couple of Canyons we head into the Bandung region. 

Some lovely, cobbled trails then lead us into the beautiful Bongkasa village. From here we then head to Ubud, known as the arts and culture centre, and this is where we take our lunch.

After lunch it’s onwards and upwards, as we’re now steadily climbing for 12km, with a final challenge of a “Grand kicker” in the last 2km, a warm Balinese welcome will be awaiting you at the Nandini jungle resort Hotel.

The final challenge of the week is a ride up the side caldera of the active Volcano Gunung Batur! With over 30kms of climbing to an altitude of 1460 metres, the legs will be feeling it when we crest the top.

We leave the beautiful Nandini hotel, and our legs will be woken up with a few “kickers” before we settle in for the long climb to Kintamani village, you need to save some energy for the final part of the climb as the gradients ramp up on the calderas edge.

For our efforts we are rewarded with breath-taking views of Gunung Batur as we take our lunch at the Paperhills restaurant which is perched right on the edge of the caldera.

Following lunch, our ride is nearly all downhill, as we descend past Ubud to our final stop at Pura Dalem Agung Kemenuh.

From here will be a short transfer to our final hotel, The Segara Village, located in Sanur, we can enjoy the relaxed vibe of Bali’s oldest resort village before getting ready for the journey home.

Unfortunately, your trip across the real Bali has come to an end.

Our shuttle will drop you off at Dempassar Airport.