T e Travel Guide - brought to you by APL Media • Wednesday 17 September 2025


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T e balance of nature


A hike through the rice paddies and forests of Bali off ers a meaningful way to experience Indonesia’s ‘Island of the Gods’ without the crowds. Words: Sarah Reid EMERALD RICE PADDIES/FERNANDO CORTES


Inside


BALI Discover the trail off ering travellers a fresh perspective Page 03


AUSTRIA Hike the hills that come alive with the sound of music Page 04


HASTINGS Famous for the battle of 1066, this town off ers a lot more than history Page 04


T


he cacophony of the town slowly fades as my taxi heads away from the busy traveller


hub of Canggu and climbs up towards Bali’s central highlands. The motley crew of concrete buildings eventually give way to terraced emerald rice paddies, and slick cafes are replaced by warungs — simple roadside restaurants selling heaped portions of nasi campur (rice with side dishes). By the time I arrive in the rural village of Tua, about 1,500 feet above sea level, I feel like I’ve travelled back to the Bali of the early 2000s, before mass tourism hit. Encouraging people to slow down


and connect with nature is central to the ethos of the Astungkara Way, an 85-mile hike south to north across the mountainous island, which I’m here to sample. The name translates as an expression of hope in Balinese, which is exactly what the trail’s founders aim to bring to locals along the route. To complete the whole trail is a challenging 10- day commitment, but it can also be tackled in bite-sized chunks, such as the three-day, 22-mile section I’m walking to get to the central northern highlands of Tamblingan.


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ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE It isn’t long before I’m on a meander through a patchwork of rice paddies, plots of chillies and green beans. I’m with a small group of hikers — all solo travellers from diff erent countries — and two guides. At the junction of two neon-


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green rice farms, our main guide Rustaman Abdul Salam — a former English teacher — bids us to pause beside a concrete canal separating the paddies, so that


GRATING COCONUT/FERNANDO CORTES


WALKING THE ASTUNGKARA WAY/FERNANDO CORTES


he can explain subak, the island’s traditional irrigation network. “The local banjar, Bali’s smallest form of government, will get together at the beginning of the season to discuss the water management for the entire subak, which might include 200 farmers,” he says. He goes on to explain that the system dates from the ninth century and is now listed by UNESCO as part of Bali’s unique cultural landscape. Educating travellers about


the island’s ecosystems and environmental challenges is an important part of the Astungkara Way’s mission.


FAMILY AFFAIR We’ve been walking for less than three miles when we arrive at the Balinese family compound where we’ll be spending the night. It’s a village within a village; behind high walls, the compound is made up of small houses, shrines and communal buildings belonging to the family of Putu Karthika Chandra, our host for the evening.


As he shows us around the


compound, he delivers a crash course in Hindu-Balinese culture. “Babies cry when they are born, because they are sad about being reincarnated in the human world, rather than among the gods,” Putu says, only half-jokingly, as we approach the sanggah (family temple), where his family’s ancestors are honoured with daily off erings. Karma, he says, shapes Balinese life.


INTO THE JUNGLE The next morning, we face another several hours of hiking that leaves us drenched in sweat, before our route leads to the entrance of the Batukaru nature reserve. Here, we’re joined by park ranger


Putu Dedik Setiawan, known as Dedik. He leads us down a network of unmarked pathways through the lush reserve he patrols regularly for illegal hunters. “They come for luwak,” he says sadly, referring to the native cat-like civet that props up the kopi luwak (civet poo coff ee) industry in Bali. It’s been


described as cruel by animal welfare organisations because of the way civet cats are kept captive on Bali and overfed coff ee cherries to make them excrete the core ingredient for the brew. The rainforest trail spits us out


into a fi eld of blue hydrangeas in the cool, misty highlands of Tamblingan, around 3,500 feet above sea level. It’s an area where waterfalls plunge into moss-covered ravines. Aſt er 30 more minutes, we arrive at the farm that marks the end of our journey, and it isn’t long before I’m on the long drive back to Canggu. As the rice paddies morph back into concrete, I consider what the Astungkara Way means for the island. It’s undoubtedly a giſt for travellers wanting to connect with the real Bali, but perhaps the biggest giſt is the benefi t it brings to the communities who live here.


This article fi rst appeared in the October 2024 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK). nationalgeographic.com/travel


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