East Bali: Sidemen, Amed & Beyond

East Bali is where the island shows its truest face. While the south coast builds another beach club and Ubud absorbs another wave of yoga retreats, the eastern regions remain deeply traditional, spectacularly beautiful, and refreshingly quiet. Mount Agung, Bali’s highest and most sacred volcano, dominates the landscape here, and everything — the agriculture, the temples, the daily rhythms of village life — orients around it.

This guide covers the two main areas worth exploring in East Bali: the Sidemen Valley and the Amed coast, plus the essential stops in between.

The Sidemen Valley

Sidemen is what people imagine when they picture Bali before tourism: a lush river valley carpeted with rice terraces, backed by the dramatic silhouette of Mount Agung, dotted with traditional villages where ikat weaving and subsistence farming remain the primary occupations.

There are no beach clubs here. No coworking spaces. No lines for brunch. Just staggering natural beauty and the kind of quiet that reminds you what travel is actually for.

Rice Terraces

The rice terraces of Sidemen are often compared to Tegallalang near Ubud, and they’re at least as beautiful — arguably more so, because you’ll have them largely to yourself. The terraces cascade down the valley walls in intricate patterns, fed by Bali’s ancient subak irrigation system (a UNESCO-recognized water management tradition dating back a thousand years).

The best way to experience them is on foot. Several walking routes wind through the paddies, ranging from easy 30-minute strolls to half-day treks that cross rivers and climb into the highlands. Most guesthouses can point you to the trailheads, or you can arrange a guided walk through Chill Bali Trips for the full experience.

Trekking

Sidemen is the primary base for treks on Mount Agung, Bali’s highest peak at 3,031 meters. The full summit trek is a serious undertaking — 6-8 hours of climbing starting around midnight, with steep and exposed sections near the top. But the reward is a sunrise view from the roof of Bali that extends across the entire island to the volcanoes of Lombok and Java.

A less extreme option is the trek to Pura Pasar Agung temple, roughly halfway up the mountain. This takes about 3-4 hours and still offers extraordinary views without the full summit commitment.

For a gentler option, the Mount Batur sunrise trek is less physically demanding and equally memorable.

Ikat Weaving

Sidemen is one of Bali’s centers for traditional ikat weaving — a complex textile art where threads are individually dyed before being woven on hand looms. Several families in the valley still practice this craft, and visiting a weaving workshop is a genuinely fascinating cultural experience. You’ll see the entire process from dyeing to finished fabric, and you can purchase textiles directly from the weavers at fair prices.

Where to Stay in Sidemen

The accommodation in Sidemen is modest but full of character:

Budget: Simple homestays with rice field views for $15-25 per night, often including breakfast with produce grown on the property.
Mid-range: Boutique guesthouses and eco-lodges for $40-80 per night. Many are designed to frame the Mount Agung view from your bed.
Luxury: A small number of premium resorts have opened in recent years, offering pool villas with panoramic valley views for $150-300 per night.

Food in Sidemen

Dining options are limited compared to the south — this is a feature, not a bug. Most guesthouses serve excellent home-cooked Balinese food, and a few standalone restaurants along the main road offer simple Indonesian meals. Expect to pay $2-5 for a meal. The ingredients are fresh, often harvested from nearby gardens that morning.

The Road from Sidemen to Amed

The drive from Sidemen to Amed (about 2 hours) passes through some of East Bali’s most important cultural and natural sites. With a private driver, you can turn the transfer into a full day of exploration.

Besakih (Mother Temple)

Bali’s largest and most important temple complex sits on the slopes of Mount Agung about 30 minutes from Sidemen. Besakih is a massive complex of 23 separate temples spread across the mountainside, and it has been the spiritual center of Balinese Hinduism for over a thousand years.

The site is grand and awe-inspiring, though the experience can be complicated by aggressive touts and self-appointed guides at the entrance. Visiting with Gede or another trusted local guide eliminates this hassle and gives you genuine cultural context for what you’re seeing.

Entry: ~$5 per person (sarong required) Best time: Early morning for fewer crowds and the best chance of clear mountain views

Tirta Gangga Water Palace

A beautiful royal water palace built in 1946 by the last king of Karangasem. Ornamental pools, stone fountains, tiered gardens, and a series of stepping stones over fish-filled ponds make this one of East Bali’s most photogenic stops. You can swim in the upper pools — the water comes from a natural spring and is refreshingly cool.

Entry: ~$3 per person Duration: 30-60 minutes

Taman Ujung Water Palace

The larger and more dramatic of Karangasem’s two water palaces. Taman Ujung sits on the coast with mountain views behind and ocean views ahead. The palace was heavily damaged by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions but has been extensively restored. The combination of Balinese, Chinese, and European architectural styles reflects the cosmopolitan tastes of the Karangasem royalty.

Lempuyang Temple (Gates of Heaven)

The famous “Gates of Heaven” shot — a temple gate framing Mount Agung in the distance — comes from Pura Lempuyang. The temple complex sits on a mountain ridge and involves a climb of roughly 1,700 steps (or a shorter route to the main gate). The Instagram-famous reflection shot is created using a mirror held by attendants, but the views are genuinely spectacular on clear days.

Note: Clear views of Mount Agung are most likely in the early morning during dry season. Cloud cover is common by midday.

Amed

Amed is a string of small fishing villages along East Bali’s northeast coast, backed by dry volcanic hills and fronted by a calm, reef-rich sea. The atmosphere here is the polar opposite of southern Bali — slow, quiet, salt-scented, and wonderfully unpretentious.

Snorkeling and Diving

This is the main draw. Amed has some of the best accessible snorkeling and diving in all of Bali, with healthy coral reefs starting right off the beach in several spots.

Key sites:

Jemeluk Bay — The most popular spot, with a coral garden accessible by swimming from the beach. Visibility is often excellent, and you’ll see a wide variety of tropical fish, sea turtles, and occasionally reef sharks.
Japanese Shipwreck — A small WWII-era shipwreck in shallow water (5-12 meters), accessible to both snorkelers and divers. The wreck is covered in coral and attracts schools of fish.
Lipah Bay — Quieter than Jemeluk, with good coral and fewer people in the water.
Tulamben (USAT Liberty) — About 20 minutes north of Amed, the USAT Liberty is Bali’s most famous dive site. This WWII cargo ship sits in 3-30 meters of water, encrusted with coral and swarming with marine life. Snorkelers can see parts of the wreck from the surface.

Snorkeling gear rental runs about $3-5 per day along the Amed strip. Guided snorkeling trips are $10-15 per person. Diving starts around $50-70 for two fun dives with equipment.

Fishing Village Life

Amed’s coastline is dotted with traditional salt farms — shallow ponds where seawater evaporates to produce salt using methods that haven’t changed in centuries. Walking through the salt pans early in the morning, watching fishermen haul in nets and repair their brightly colored jukung boats, is one of those experiences that feels like a window into a different era.

Sunrise

Amed faces northeast, which means it gets some of the best sunrises in Bali. Mount Agung looms behind you, the sun rises over the Lombok Strait, and the traditional fishing boats create perfect silhouettes. Set an alarm.

Beaches

Amed’s beaches are pebbly volcanic rock rather than soft sand — not ideal for sunbathing but perfect for snorkel access. The water is calm and clear, a stark contrast to the pounding surf on the south coast. Jemeluk Bay has the nicest beach with a mix of sand and small stones.

Food in Amed

The restaurant scene is simple and seafood-focused. Fresh-caught fish grilled on the beach is the specialty, and several beachfront restaurants along the Amed strip serve excellent versions for $5-10. Indonesian staples from local warungs run $2-3 per plate.

Warung Enak — Popular spot with reliable Indonesian and Western food.
Galanga — Slightly more upscale, with a good cocktail list and fresh seafood.
The beachfront warungs at Jemeluk — Simple fish and rice with your feet in the pebbles and the reef right in front of you.

Where to Stay in Amed

Budget: Basic beachfront bungalows and guesthouses for $10-20 per night. Some of the most charming budget accommodation in Bali.
Mid-range: Boutique hotels with pools and ocean views for $30-70 per night. Excellent value for what you get.
Luxury: A handful of resorts offer premium experiences for $100-200 per night.

Beyond Sidemen and Amed

East Bali has several other spots worth exploring if you have extra time.

Tenganan Village

One of Bali’s few remaining Bali Aga villages — communities that predate the Majapahit Hindu influence and maintain distinct cultural traditions. Tenganan is known for its double-ikat textile weaving (geringsing), an extremely rare and time-consuming process found in only a few places in the world. The village is open to respectful visitors.

Candidasa

A small coastal town between Padang Bai and Amed. Candidasa itself is modest, but it makes a good base for exploring the nearby islands of Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan (fast boats depart from Padang Bai, 15 minutes south).

Padang Bai

A working port town and the departure point for ferries to Lombok and fast boats to the Gili Islands. Blue Lagoon and Bias Tugal are two small beaches near Padang Bai with good snorkeling.

Getting to East Bali

East Bali is 2-3 hours from the airport or southern Bali, depending on your specific destination. The drive is scenic but the roads are winding, particularly between the coast and the highlands.

A private driver is strongly recommended. Public transport is minimal in East Bali, and having a driver lets you combine stops (temples, water palaces, viewpoints) along the way.

From Ubud, Sidemen is about 90 minutes and Amed about 2.5 hours.

How Long to Spend

Sidemen: Two to three nights is ideal. Enough time for rice field walks, a temple visit, and either a Mount Agung trek or a weaving workshop.
Amed: Two to three nights allows for serious snorkeling or diving, a Tulamben trip, and time to simply decompress in one of Bali’s most relaxed settings.
Combined Sidemen + Amed loop: Five to six nights, with the drive between them serving as a sightseeing day.

Let Gede Build Your East Bali Adventure

East Bali rewards planning. The distances between sites, the early morning starts for temples (before the clouds roll in), the tide timing for snorkeling, the availability of local guides for Mount Agung — getting these details right makes the difference between a good trip and an extraordinary one.

Gede knows East Bali intimately and can build an itinerary that connects Sidemen, the highland temples, and Amed into a seamless journey with no wasted time and no missed opportunities.

Get your free personalized East Bali itinerary and experience the side of the island that most travelers never reach.