Golden Valley Waterfall is the easternmost waterfall in the group of four falls in Munduk (Melanting, Labuan Kebo, Red Coral and Golden Valley). Golden Valley’s location at the end of the line means most tourists skip this one. It’s a trek to get to Golden Valley, and many other hikers don’t have time or are simply too tired. Its seclusion and lack of tourists have many blogs calling Golden Valley Waterfalls a hidden gem.
Trail Entrance
We walked to Golden Valley Waterfalls directly from Red Coral Waterfall. At the Red Coral ticket booth, the path that slopes upward is the way to Golden Valley.
Hike to Golden Valley Waterfalls
It had been a long afternoon of hiking for us at this point, so we planned to go to the Golden Valley Eco Cafe that overlooks the falls. A hidden advantage of doing it this way is that we didn’t need to pay the entrance fee for the falls. I think the ticket price for Golden Valley Waterfalls is Rp. 20,000. We spent much more than that on drinks and food at the cafe, though. Going to the Eco Cafe is a slightly different route that bypasses the ticket booth completely.
The way to Golden Valley Waterfalls begins with an uphill climb, but it slopes down again shortly afterwards. After a couple of minutes, there is a sign on the right for “Enjoy Cafe 1.” Go up the stairs next to the sign. It’s about a 20-minute walk with a notable amount of uphill before arriving at the cafe.
After climbing the stairs, follow the “Golden Valley Waterfall and Trekking” sign. When the path forks, take the higher trail on the right. In a few minutes, it will split again, and you want to take the lower track on the left this time.
Signs for the cafe will periodically pop up along the trail, sometimes with how many more metres to go. However, the walk always seemed much further than the sign made it out to be. There are a lot of stairs before you get there, so keep pushing on!
Golden Valley Waterfall Eco Cafe
The Golden Valley Waterfall Eco Cafe is a simple, rustic shelter, but it’s comfortable enough. There was nobody else here at 4:30 pm. According to their opening hours, the cafe was supposed to close at 5 pm. We were fully expecting them to turn us away or tell us that the kitchen was closed, but they greeted us politely and stayed open after hours just for us.
Every table at the Eco Cafe has a great view of the Golden Valley Waterfalls. There are about half a dozen wooden tables inside the shelter. There are more tables down the steps. These tables are uncovered but have a clearer view of the falls.
There is a washroom at the Golden Valley Waterfall Eco Cafe inside a rough-looking metal shed. I didn’t try using it. I would expect the toilet to be similarly rustic, with a squatter, no toilet paper and perhaps no sink.
Click on menu pictures to enlarge
The menu at Golden Valley Eco Cafe has a small selection of drink and food options. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s hot, filling food that’s tasty enough and hits the spot after such a tiring climb to get here. We ordered a Nasi Goreng (Rp. 35,000) and Pisang Goreng (Rp. 25,000). Along with two Mango juices (Rp. 20,000 each), it cost us Rp. 100, 000 total for two pax.
Golden Valley Waterfalls
The Golden Valley Eco Cafe has built some stairs down the hill so guests can get a better view of the waterfall. There is a great little viewing ledge right in front of the falls. It is possible to get to the base of Golden Valley Waterfall from here, but we didn’t bother with it.
Golden Valley Waterfall is not a tall waterfall. Several small streams of water converge into one large waterfall with a cleft in the middle, like a valley. There’s a big rock at the base that is perfectly placed for people to get on top of it for a picture. The pool at the bottom is very shallow. Golden Valley seems better suited for anyone who wants to get wet and stand at the base. It’s wider and the water isn’t falling as hard.
When leaving Golden Valley Waterfalls, we walked back via the exact route used to get here. That includes passing by the Red Coral Waterfall ticket hut and re-doing the trail we used to get to Red Coral. This route eventually put us back on the main road, Jalan Kayu Putih – Munduk. I have no clue what the alternate way out from Golden Valley looks like. We could see a paved road through the trees, up and to the right of the falls. It looked like a very steep uphill path and very far away. We took the safe option of backtracking since it was almost evening.
