Sidemen is such a beautiful area of Bali. The small town is surrounded by lush green forests, expansive rice fields and towering mountains, with views of the imposing Mount Agung in the distance. Unlike Ubud, few make it out to this area of eastern Bali, making your outdoor explorations more pleasant and solitary. One of the best things to do in the region is to explore the various rice fields, including the official Sidemen Rice Field Trek trail. To help you get your bearings while in the area, we put together this hiking guide on the best rice fields to explore while in Sidemen.
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You might also be interested in these pages (coming soon):
Best Things to See and Do in Bali
Best Things to See and Do in the Gili Islands
The Perfect Three-Week Bali Itinerary
Everything You Need to Know About Visiting Bali
Sidemen Rice Field Trek – Location & Map
Sidemen is a small town located in Bali’s Karangasem regency, in eastern Bali (link to Google Maps).
How To Get to Sidemen
Drive times from elsewhere in Bali can be highly variable depending on the traffic conditions.
Distance from Ubud: 35 km // Average Drive Time: 1h15 – 1h30 minutes
Distance from Kuta: 55 km // Average Drive Time: 1h40 – 2h
Distance from Canggu: 50 km // Average Drive Time: 1h40 – 2h
Distance from Sanur: 45 km // Average Drive Time: 1h15 – 1h30
In our opinion, the three best transport options to reach Sidmen are: renting a scooter (moped), joining a group tour that hits several nearby attractions within a day or a half-day, or hiring a car and driver (which really isn’t as expensive as it sounds).
You can also use Bali ride-hailing apps such as Gojek or Grab, and make use of local taxis, but these options will typically cost more, especially if you plan on visiting several sites and attractions on the same day. Also, Gojek or Grab are not authorized to pick up people in certain locations where local taxi unions limit their services, including Canggu, Sanur, and Ubud. For more information on getting around the island and the different available options, check out our guide on How to Best Get Around Bali.
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Getting to Sidemen by Scooter: Once you get to Bali, you’ll quickly realize that scooter rental operators are everywhere. Although most street-side vendors will regularly be the cheapest option, they come short in several other aspects compared with more reliable and established vendors. For instance, most won’t offer roadside assistance or insurance that covers theft, nor do they regularly sanitize the helmets or have their scooters undergo regular maintenance. For this reason, we highly recommend using Bikago for your scooter rentals. Renting from them might be slightly more expensive (but still can be rented for as low as 12-15 US$/€ per day) but you get great peace of mind as among many other perks, all scooters undergo extensive quality checks.
What you get with your Bikago rental:
-Helmets
-Full tank of petrol and unlimited mileage
-Free Delivery and Collection at your Hotel
-24/7 Roadside Assistance and First Aid Medical Kit
-Charging Mobile Phone Holder
By Car and Driver hire: Hiring a car and driver to explore Bali can be a practical and cost-efficient way to experience a full day of sightseeing. Although this option is more expensive than renting a scooter (typically 40-60 US$/€ per day), you don’t have to worry about navigating the Bali roads and traffic, Also, most cars are modern and air-conditioned, which is welcome in Bali’s humid heat, and the local drivers always know the best routes to take and can optimize your ideal itinerary. Here are some of the best options to choose from:
Sidemen Rice Fields
Sidemen is surrounded by beautiful rice fields. Most hotels and accommodations in the area also offer spectacular views of them. We highly recommend staying in the area if possible as it was one of our favorite places to stay in Bali (we suggest a few fantastic hotel options further below). Many of the rice fields can easily be explored by walking along various small rural roads with little traffic, or by cutting through the rice fields themselves along narrow walking paths. We will present some of those places further below, but first, we will start with Sidemen’s main attraction, its incredibly scenic and official rice field trek trail.
How to get to the Sidemen Rice Field Trek
The trailhead for Sidemen Rice Field Trek is located just outside of town on Jalan Sidemen – Sangkan Gn road (link to Google Maps). There’s ample parking for scooters and several spots for cars as well by the trailhead, around and across from the trail ticket stand.
If you are staying in Sidemen and don’t have your own transport, you can easily walk there from several of the hotels and resorts in the area, most of which are within a 30-to-40-minute walk along scenic rural roads with little traffic. And by scenic, we mean really scenic, particularly along this last stretch of road (link to Google Maps) just before reaching the Sidemen trek ticket stand. The views are stunning, and on clear days you can admire Bali’s tallest volcano, Mount Agung.
We should point out that most roads in the Sidemen area don’t have sidewalks, meaning that you will have to walk with care along the side of the road. That being said, the road leading to the rice field trek trail doesn’t get much traffic, at least compared with the busy streets of Ubud. We walked several times up and down these roads and felt safe each and every time. Outside of the main north-south road through Sidemen, most other roads around town see little traffic.
Sidemen Rice Field Trek – Cost and Opening Hours
Hours: The trail through the rice fields is typically open from 6 am to 6 pm. There are usually one or two locals operating the ticket stand.
Cost: There is a 25,000 IDR entrance fee (2025) to access the trail (which roughly corresponds to 1.50 US$/€).
You also have the option to take a guided hike (with one of the locals around the ticket stand). Local guides charge 150,000 IDR per person.
We don’t think hiring a guide here is necessary as the trail is well-marked and somewhat easy to follow. Also, the trail to follow is available on the AllTrails app (more on this below).
Guides can be useful, however, to explore other rice fields in the area that aren’t well-marked and without specific trails to follow.
Sidemen Rice Field Trek – Trail Details
Trail Distance: Just under 3 km. It is recommended to walk the loop trail in the counter-clockwise direction. The ticket stand’s location on the western side of the loop junction makes it natural to follow the loop in that direction.
Trail Difficulty: The trail is relatively easy, as there is little elevation gain. The path itself is mostly easy to walk on and flat. There are a few steps that you’ll have to go down around the midway point of the loop, but nothing that will be too challenging for most people.
Hike duration: Given the short distance and easy nature of the difficulty, most people will complete the loop within 45-to-60 minutes.
Trail Map
*For some reason the AllTrails indicates that the start/finish point is further up the road. The actual start/finish point is where the loop section begins/ends. This is where you’ll also find the car park and the ticket stand.
Not an AllTrails member yet? We highly recommend signing up for either their free or paid membership plans. The free plan allows you to find new trails and plan routes but it can only be used while hiking if you have access to mobile data. The paid membership plan (AllTrails+) allows you to download trail maps for offline use and provides live progress updates and off-route notifications.
If you are still uncertain – you should know that the All Trails mobile application was voted the 2023 iPhone App of the Year by Apple.
Sidemen Rice Field Trek – What to Expect
The scenery is spectacular from the get-go. Beautiful gently sloping rice fields surrounded by dramatic mountains all around. On a clear day, you see the towering Mount Agung in the distance (Bali’s tallest peak). While it was clearly visible during our walk to the trailhead (see pictures above), it progressively got covered with clouds as we started the official Sidemen Rice Field Trek trail.
The first half of the trail follows a narrow elevated concrete path that runs parallel to a narrow creek.
You’ll not doubt notice some luxurious rental villas along the way, such as the beautiful properties of Villa Uma Dewi Sri and NUMA Bali Hotel.
In between both villa properties, you’ll come across a sign indicating a photo spot and a short staircase leading up to the road west of the rice fields. We highly recommend that you take this short 2-minute detour, as the stairs will take you to a large wooden viewing platform that provides fantastic views of the rice fields from above. There’s always a giant swing near the viewing platform.
Shortly thereafter, the walking path will turn east and then north (follow the signs) away from the creek and you will descend several short staircases leading towards a second creek that’s dug into a ravine, where you will also walk along a small scenic waterfall under a lush cover of dense vegetation.
As you emerge from the dense vegetation a few hundred meters or so later, you’ll be surrounded by more rice fields, farmer’s shacks, and maybe several farmers working the fields.
Best Time to do the Sidemen Rice Field Trek
Best Time of the Year
Although we walked the trail during the dry season, there’s no bad time of year to do the Sidemen Rice Field Trek. There’s a higher risk of rain during the wet season (November-April), and there’s also likely to be more mosquitoes. On the plus side, however, there are likely to be fewer other tourists around.
Consider off-peak months like May-June or September-October for a more personal experience with fewer crowds.
Best Time of Day
The best time to visit is definitely in the early morning when it’s cooler and when there are far fewer other people along the path; we recommend starting somewhere between 730 am and 9 am. You will be able to enjoy a much more relaxed atmosphere with some beautiful golden morning light. This trail doesn’t get overly busy unlike those around Ubud, so even if you come later in the day you are unlikely to find many other people along the trail.
Sidemen Rice Field Trek – What to Bring and What to Wear?
Although the path is for the most part relatively flat, we still recommend appropriate footwear, as some sections can be a bit slippery if wet and the path can be quite narrow in some places.
Apart from a short section, there is very little shade to be found along the trail, so applying sunscreen and/or wearing a hat is a good idea. Bringing some bottled water (or some other form of hydration) with you is also a good idea.
Also, be aware that rice paddies are often full of water and are ideal breeding grounds for mosquitos. We didn’t notice any during our walks here (toward the end of the dry season in September), but we still used insect repellant not wanting to take unnecessary risks with mosquito-borne illnesses.
Sidemen Rice Field Trek – Is it Worth It?
We definitely think so! Even though it’s short, it was one of our favorite trails to do in Bali. We loved it so much that we actually did it twice! Apart from the beautiful scenery, what really sets it apart from other Balinese rice fields is the low number of other visitors you’ll encounter here. At times we definitely felt like we had the place to ourselves.
We also had a blast exploring several of the other rice fields around Sidemen along non-official trails (see next section below).
Other Rice Fields to Explore in Sidemen
The Rice Fields between Warung Tirta Unda and the Yellow Bridge
Not too far from the rice field trek described above, there are other beautiful rice fields that you can explore on your own. Although there isn’t a specific itinerary to follow, there are several narrow walking paths that allow you to explore the rice fields. A good place to start is along Jalan Sidemen-Sangkan Gn road, roughly across from Warung Tirta Unda (link to Google Maps) — you will pass in front of this location on your way from town to the official trekking trail. From here, you’ll want to make your way north-northeast, toward Mount Agung. Don’t worry, there are various obvious paths you can take between the rice fields to head in that direction.
Once you’ve crossed the rice field, you’ll end up near the Yellow Bridge (link to Google Maps) and the nearby village of Dukuh.
Although there aren’t any particular sites of interest in the village (other than several silver smiths offering jewelry-making classes), it’s a pleasant and tranquil place to walk. You are unlikely to see many other tourists here.
Walking between the village and the yellow bridge will provide you with more beautiful views of the local rice fields.
It’s about a 1 km walk through the rice fields between the Yellow Bridge and Warung Tirta Unda (2km including the return leg).
An alternate entry/exit point into these rice fields is next to Villa Shantiasa (link to Google Maps) along Jalan Raya Sangkan Gunung-Sidemen road. Just walk along the path that runs along the side of the villa, it will lead to a short staircase that will take you into the rice fields.
The Rice Fields Along Jalan Raya Tebola
This road (link to Google Maps) is one of the quietest in the area as it finishes at a dead end, meaning that there’s no through traffic here making it a pleasant street to walk along even if there isn’t any sidewalk. This is also where you’ll find a good concentration of the best resorts, villas, and restaurants in Sidemen. You will also get fantastic views of the surrounding rice fields and mountain scenery.
Some of the best views to be had are in the large car park below Pura Dalam Cepik temple. When looking west, you’ll enjoy distant views of the official Sidemen Rice Field Trek trail.
Hiking With a Guide
Outside of the official Sidemen Rice Field Trek, all other trails in the area don’t have a specifically outlined itinerary, so you have to wander along somewhat random paths that you feel comfortable undertaking. If you would rather explore the area’s rice fields with local experts, several offer their services as rice field trekking guides, and they can take you to places that you can’t really explore on your own. Another reason to explore with a guide is that you will get the opportunity to learn a lot about Balinese life and culture, and the history of rice farming in the area.
If you are interested, you can pre-book a guided Sidemen Rice Field Trek here:
Where to Stay Near the Sidemen Rice Field Trek
In our opinion, the best place to stay in the area is in Sidemen, whose location makes it a great base from which to explore East Bali’s waterfalls and temples. These are two of the best mid-range hotel accommodations that are set in a beautiful location amongst the rice fields:
If you are looking to splurge, Wapa di Ume Sidemen is simply fantastic and is located on the same street as the other two accommodation options above:
Planning a Trip to Bali?
You might be interested in these pages: (coming soon)
Best Things to See and Do in Bali
Best Things to See and Do in the Gili Islands
The Perfect Three-Week Bali Itinerary
Everything You Need to Know About Visiting Bali
We also highly recommend these guidebooks:
Bali: The Solo Girl’s Travel Guide
Lonely Planet Bali, Lombok & Nusa Tenggara
Photography Gear
If you like our photography, you might be interested in some of the gear we use to shoot our travel and hiking destinations.
Camera Body – Nikon Z 6ii Fx-series Mirrorless Body
Main Lens – NIKON 24-120mm F/4G ED VR AF-S
Zoom Lens – Sigma 745-306 150-600mm f/5-6.3
Polarizing filters – Urth Circular Polarizing (CPL)
Camera Tripod – K&F Concept 64-inch Camera Tripod
Mini-tripod – Lammcou Flexible Camera Tripod
Camera/hiking backpack – Vanguard Alta Rise 48 Backpack
Universal Travel Adapter – VYLEE Universal International Power Travel Plug
Other Travel Essentials
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Car Rentals
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Transfer from Airport
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Kiwitaxi is another private transfer service – we haven’t tried it yet, but it’s currently available in a few more countries (102 as of 2024).
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Well, that wraps it up! We hope you enjoyed our Sidemen Rice Field Trek guide and that it will prove useful for planning your trip.
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