March 19, 2025, 6:39 a.m. | Reading time: 8 minutes
One of the most beautiful and at the same time fascinating places in Bali lies in the green heart of the island. Where the earth is particularly fertile and water sources are numerous, the people on the rice terraces of Jatiluwih still practice agriculture like their forefathers once did. This is mainly due to a sophisticated irrigation system that has existed since the 9th century and is now even recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our author had a magical afternoon here.
Unchanged for over a thousand yearsRegular rituals for fruitful harvests
Regular rituals for fruitful harvests
Explore the terraces on foot or by bike. The longest circular route takes four hours
The longest circular route takes four hours
Peace and relaxationVarious stands offer refreshments
Various stands offer refreshments
Tegallalang is a tourist trap
A wonderfully mild, early afternoon in Bali. As if hypnotized, I put one foot in front of the other, very slowly, and am amazed. The view extends into a seemingly endless green expanse of fields, wrested from nature from the dense jungle all around. Thick clouds drift along the horizon and sometimes get stuck on the numerous volcanic cones. Thanks to this, the earth here is more fertile than anywhere else on the island. Every few minutes a bird squawks somewhere, and in the background the few other visitors are only visible as little splashes of color. Otherwise it is incredibly quiet around me. Yes, there is a sound that accompanies me like a mantra every step of my hike through the rice terraces of Jatiluwih. The sound of the water.
Thanks to our driver Adi, I arrived at one of the most fascinating places in Bali. The rice terraces of Jatiluwihe are not only an original, approximately 600 hectare area where you can take uniquely beautiful walks that can sometimes last for hours. They also bear witness to an amazing achievement that dates back to the 9th century and thanks to which rice can still be grown here without any artificial fertilizers or pesticides. The so-called Subak system, a name that could be roughly translated as “irrigation community”. This in turn goes back to an ancient philosophy called Tri Hita Karana, which emerged around 2000 years ago.
Unchanged for over a thousand years
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As I learn on site, it describes the Holy Trinity of the spiritual world with that of nature and people. According to UNESCO, there are still around 1,200 of these subaks in Bali today. These are water collectives that have between 50 and 400 members. The Jatiluwih rice terraces, named after the village of the same name, are the largest of their kind on the entire island. The water they use flows from rivers and springs in the higher regions to the lower areas via a sophisticated system of canals and tunnels. This means that the community can always direct it exactly where it is most urgently needed, depending on its needs. This process is always voted on democratically.
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Regular rituals for fruitful harvests
The central interfaces or origins of these Subaks are the numerous water temples in Bali. They are built in certain places because the water either originates here or has to pass through the systems on the way to the people. There, priests called Pemangku regularly perform rituals that are intended to appease the gods and ensure a rich rice harvest. The Balinese consider the crater lake Lake Batur to be the source of every spring and river on the island, which is why it is revered as particularly sacred. The Royal Water Temple Pura Taman Ayun is also of paramount importance among the numerous facilities on the island. The Subaks have been functioning unchanged for over a thousand years now and regularly provide the people of Bali with high yields. This is also the case on the rice terraces of Jatiluwih.
Explore the terraces on foot or by bike
To explore this unique UNESCO World Heritage Site, which it has been since 2012, there are several paths of different lengths. On them you move along the rice terraces of Jatiluwih on narrow, sometimes steep paths that lead you right into the green heart of this wonderful landscape. And in fact, everywhere here small and large rivulets flow steadily and happily gurgling over the fields, some of which are ankle-deep in water. These are exactly the conditions rice needs to grow. And while my girlfriend and I do more photography than actually walking, we can even watch as numerous workers put the young seedlings in the ground.
The longest circular route takes four hours
At a breathtaking rate, they plant row after row of small shoots, each of which will eventually become a full-grown plant. In less than ten minutes, two people filled a small field, bending low over the clayey, water-saturated soil all day long. One cannot really imagine how long it might take until the entire rice terraces of Jatiluwih are planted. The hilly area is so vast that the longest circular route on foot can take a good four hours. Some visitors even prefer to rent bicycles to explore the landscape.
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Peace and relaxation
We are lucky to have come to the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces in the off-season. Because normally, according to our driver Adi, this place is bursting at the seams with its beauty. During our visit, however, we rarely meet other tourists and can enjoy the incredible sights all to ourselves and at our own pace. With every step, different, beautiful perspectives and of course photo opportunities open up, so that our cell phone cameras no longer stand still. At the same time, the silence and authenticity of nature creates a wonderful sense of peace and relaxation like a warm blanket over body and mind.
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Various stands offer refreshments
The rice terraces of Jatiluwih are so extensive that you can always find small stands along the way where you can fortify yourself. We enjoy a fresh coconut for the equivalent of a good 50 cents with the best view of the landscape, as well as an impromptu conversation with hands and feet with the two friendly saleswomen. At some point we actually only return because we don't want to keep our driver waiting unnecessarily long. The 50,000 rupees entrance fee, a good 2.80 euros, that we as tourists had to pay for the ride was definitely more than worth it.
Tegallalang is a tourist trap
By the way, during a holiday in Bali you can not only visit the rice terraces of Jatiluwih, but also others of their kind. Perhaps the best known and most popular, especially with young travelers, are the rice fields of Tegallalang near Ubud. However, while you can still see a piece of real Bali in Jatiluwih, the latter are actually quite a tourist trap. The landscape is also very beautiful, but the harmony here is destroyed by the sheer masses that pour over the place even in the off-season.
The area then looks more like a Balinese Disneyland. You can ride various ziplines, ride the famous Bali Swings, and even rent impressively flowing dresses for a short photo shoot for particularly Instagram-worthy pictures. Some people apparently like to wait in line for half an hour for this. All of these attractions are centered around the entrance, you are literally intercepted. I also ended up bringing home some great nature pictures from Tegallalang, there’s no denying that. But if you would rather experience an authentic insight into a real UNESCO World Heritage Site, where people still practice agriculture as they did more than a thousand years ago, you should definitely visit the rice terraces of Jatiluwih.
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The Jatiluwih rice terraces were the highlight of my Bali trip
My Bali vacation was characterized by one thing above all: lots of people. Especially in the popular hotspots like Canggu, you were always one of many, and the entire place seemed designed to best fulfill the tourists' wishes. However, between all the breakfast cafés, boutiques and yoga studios, little of the breathtaking nature that actually characterizes Bali remained noticeable. The Jatiluwih rice terraces were all the more impressive - for me the absolute highlight of our trip. For the first time we were almost alone, which may have been because we were traveling in the low season. The fields stretched endlessly, a sea of brilliant green that was hard to get enough of. It was one of the few places that still seemed largely untouched by mass tourism - and that's exactly what made it so special. My tip: It's best to book your driver directly for the return journey, because after a certain time it can be difficult to find someone to pick you up again.
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