North Bali from Canggu: Jatiluwih, Ulun Danu Beratan, Handara Gate and a Waterfall in One Day

North of Canggu the road climbs through Tabanan to the central highlands, and a day up there strings together four or five stops that sit within an hour of each other. Jatiluwih, the largest rice terrace on Bali and the centrepiece of the UNESCO subak listing, comes first because it is lowest and clearest in the morning. Then the road climbs to Bedugul, 1,200 metres up, where Ulun Danu Beratan temple stands on the shore of Lake Bratan. The Handara Gate is a few minutes on, the Wanagiri viewpoints and swings above the twin lakes a few minutes beyond, and a waterfall, Banyumala or Leke Leke, is the afternoon.

The drive back down to Canggu is about two hours, so it is a nine to ten hour day, and it is the best-value single day out of the south.

Cloud. The highlands are clear in the morning and misty by early afternoon most days of the year, and Ulun Danu Beratan on a misty day is a temple you cannot see across the lake. Jatiluwih at 8:30 has the light across the terraces and the walking paths to yourself; the temple by 11:00 gets the shrines against the water before the cloud; and the waterfall after lunch does not care about cloud. Tours that run the loop the other way, because the waterfall is closer to the coast, deliver a temple in fog.

Jatiluwih is worth an hour on the paths; the entry fee is modest and there is no queue. Ulun Danu Beratan is a working temple in landscaped gardens, busy but not crowded, and takes forty minutes. The Handara Gate is a split gate at the entrance road of a golf resort; it photographs beautifully with the hills behind and there is a fee and a short queue for the picture, and that is all it is. The Wanagiri swings are the same idea as the Ubud ones with a lake view. Banyumala is a wide twin fall with a swimmable pool at the end of a steep twenty-minute path; Leke Leke is a single tall fall reached by a flatter walk. Sekumpul, the biggest, is another hour north and does not fit.

Bring a layer: Bedugul is cold by Bali standards and it rains up there more than on the coast. Sarongs for the temple are provided. Lunch is usually at a restaurant near the lake or at a strawberry farm on the road. A private driver is the right format for the loop because the order and the pace matter; group tours run it too but cannot skip the fog. For the other big days out, see the day trips from Canggu guide and the Tanah Lot guide, which can be added on the way home if the tide is right.