Kintamani and Penglipuran from Ubud: The Caldera Viewpoint, the Bamboo Village, and the Coffee Stops

Kintamani is the district along the rim of the Batur caldera, the huge crater left by an eruption around 28,000 years ago, inside which the younger cone of Mount Batur and Lake Batur now sit. The viewpoint at Penelokan, at about 1,500 metres, looks straight down at the volcano, the black lava field of the 1968 eruption on its flank, and the lake curving away to Trunyan village on the far shore. It is one of the great views on Bali and it costs a small entry fee and a jacket; the rim is windy and ten degrees colder than Ubud.

The restaurants along the rim sell a buffet lunch with the view, which is fine for the view. Batur is usually clear until late morning and wrapped in cloud by early afternoon, so lunch here is for the earlier arrivals.

Penglipuran, in Bangli on the road up, is a village that has kept its traditional layout under its own rules: one straight stone-paved lane running uphill to the village temple, with family compounds on both sides, each entered through a gate of the same design, roofs of bamboo shingle, and no motor vehicles on the lane. It is not a museum; families live in every compound and will show you their kitchen and the family shrine if you ask. Behind the village is a bamboo forest with a walking path.

Go in the morning before the coaches. It is genuinely one of the cleanest villages in Indonesia, the local rule on litter is strict, and the residents ask the same of visitors.

The road from Ubud to Kintamani is lined with agro-tourism stops calling themselves coffee plantations: a walk past coffee, cocoa, vanilla and cinnamon plants, then a tasting tray of a dozen flavoured teas and coffees, free, with a shop at the end. The product they push is kopi luwak, coffee cherries eaten and passed by the palm civet, sold by the cup at a high price. Some of these stops keep civets in small cages to show visitors, which is the part to ask about; the answer tells you what kind of place it is. A ten-minute tasting is a pleasant break on the road. It is not a plantation visit.

The usual order from Ubud is Penglipuran first, at about 9:00, then Kintamani for the view while Batur is clear, lunch on the rim, and a stop at Tegallalang or a coffee garden on the way down. The day pairs well with a Bangli waterfall on the way up; see the waterfalls guide. Anyone doing the Batur sunrise trek has already been in the caldera and can skip the viewpoint. For the eastern alternative, the Lempuyang guide covers the other big day out.