Most things written about Uluwatu are about the surf. Most of what we love about Uluwatu happens between sessions, at a bench in a warung, in the back of a wood-carver's workshop, on a path you'd only find if someone showed you it.
We've been travelling to this corner of the Bukit peninsula for nearly a decade. In that time, the landscape has changed. New villas, new restaurants, new faces and, inevitably, a beach club or three. Bingin itself has changed more than most. And yet, the southern Bukit has a stubbornness about it. The surf still dictates the rhythm of the day. Small warungs hidden alongside places that didn't exist a few years ago. And the temple at the cliff edge still stops everyone, every time. This is the short list we share with guests who want to see a little more of the place we love.
Three breaks, by mood
Most visitors come for one of the famous waves. We'd encourage you to find your mood first.
Suluban, when you want it to feel like a film
The access is through a cave. The light, in the afternoon, comes down through the rocks in shafts. It is also the wave that put Uluwatu on the map, so it is rarely empty. We go at first light, when the cave is cool and the wave is half its size, and you can hear it from the path.
Bingin, when you want company
Shorter walk, shallower reef. The cliff is lined with small warungs that have been there as long as the wave has, and the people who run them know everyone. Order the nasi campur. Eat it with your feet still wet.
Padang Padang Right, when you want something gentler
The quieter sibling of the famous Padang Padang Left, at least in temperament, if not always in numbers. Known locally as Baby Padang, it's a softer reef break on smaller days, popular with longboarders, learners and those who don't need Bali's most famous barrel to have a good morning.
Five places to eat that we won't keep secret
- Warung Local, Padang Padang. Nasi campur, no menu, no English. Ask Ibu Sri for "yang biasa" (the usual). She will laugh, then feed you very well.
- Drifter Cafe, Single Fin Road. A surf café that takes its coffee seriously. The avocado on toast is the best on the Bukit. We are not joking.
- La Brisa, Echo Beach (it's worth the drive). Stop on the way back from the airport, never on the way south.
- Mana, for a slow, ceremonial dinner on a special night. Plant-based, ten courses, ocean views.
- Bukit Cafe, for the morning the coffee at home isn't enough. Pancakes. A long bench. A view.
The makers
Bali has always been a place of makers. Most of the carvings, baskets and textiles in our villas were made within an hour of where you'll be staying.
We are still a place where things are made by hand. If you slow down enough, you can meet the hands.
Sri's textile cooperative, Sukawati
A small group of weavers working ikat and double-ikat by hand. Pieces take months. The weavers will show you their looms if you arrive without an agenda.
The basket-maker at Padang Padang market
No sign. Sunday mornings only. He sits to the right of the fishmonger. Bring rupiah.
The temple, the cliff, the kecak
Pura Luhur Uluwatu sits where the land ends. Go at golden hour, watch the kecak fire dance just before sunset, and try to leave before everyone else does, there's a small lookout north of the main temple that almost no-one finds, and it has the better view.