Jatiluwih Rice Terrace

Located near Mt. Batukaru in the middle of Bali, Jatiluwih Rice Terrace comprises of over 600 hectares of rice fields - a massive number as compared to the popular Tegalalang Rice Terrace in Ubud. It was nominated as one of UNESCO World Heritage Site, and this massive rice terrace is a must-visit place if you are in Bali.

To head there, we set off at about 7.30am from our villa in Ubud, and the journey took us around one and half hour because the traffic was light in the morning. I was really glad that we headed out early because for the first time ever, we did not encounter any tourists when we reached, and we could take our time to relax and enjoy the silence. 

Prior to entering the compound, we were required to pay entrance fee as followed:

Foreigner: Rp. 40,000 (~S$4)

Indonesian: Rp. 15,000 (~S$1.5)

Parking Fee: Rp. 5,000 (~S$0.5)

We paid a total of $55,000 (~S$5.5) to get into the compound, which was more expensive than just visiting Tegalalang, but it was money worth spending as the area was much, much bigger.

Our driver stopped us at this viewpoint that overlooks the rice terrace with the mountain as the backdrop. This was not the start of the trail yet, and just a random spot with really gorgeous view.

Another 5-10 minutes drive, we reached the start of the walking trail. Our driver parked his car, and we began our walk along the rice terrace. There were no tourist and no one trying to get us to buy/do anything, which was a change from the tourists hotspots in Bali.

Did you notice something wrong with the picture? Towards the left? Yep, smoke. One of the biggest gripes I had during my visit was the way they clear the leftover paddy plants. After they harvest the rice, the farmers will cast the paddy plants aside and burn them, causing various hotspots across the field. This happened everyday during the harvesting season, which was around December when I visited. There's no proper recycling, no proper way of disposing, and as a result, the air quality is very terrible, affecting everyone around the area.

Jatiluwih is a beautiful, beautiful place, but the way it's treated is upsetting. Local government should be more wary of this and take actions to prevent farmers from burning the trash and protect the air quality in order to improve the overall health of the people staying around the area. The locals are so used to this burning process that they did not seem bothered by it, but I would not want to imagine how inhaling this toxic air everyday will affect their health. Granted, burning the trash seems like the easiest and cheapest way, but this clearly is not a sustainable long-term solution. 

Just see how hazy this place was! It was disappointing to see that nature was taken for granted and nothing was done to protect it. 

Nonetheless, the air was slightly better as we walked along the pathway. By then, the rain cloud was already rolling in and we were not able to catch the blue sky anymore. Still, the view was magnificent as we slowly began to see the grandeur of Jatiluwih.