If you’ve booked a great room in a Munduk homestay, chances are you’ve been staring at the Munduk Rice Terraces from your bedroom window. Those perfect, lime-green stepped fields stand out in the sea of trees from miles away. The Munduk Rice Terraces Walk takes visitors through the Munduk suburbs and into the rice fields. The Munduk Rice Terraces are completely free to visit and open 24 hours every day since they’re on public roads.
It is possible to do an epic walk through the rice terraces. We were leaving Munduk that morning, so we did a short hike that cut across the Dayang Rice Terraces before heading back to the main road. This walk still took us just under 1.5 hours. If you don’t have a lot of time and want to do a sensible rice terrace hike, follow my directions below.
Hiking Directions
To get to the start of the Munduk Rice Terraces Walk, walk west on the main road, Jalan Kaya Putih – Munduk. There is an arch at the point you need to turn off, Jalan Pura Puseh. Head down this road full of warungs and homestays.
At the first road fork, you will see a big sign with six slots for various homestays on the right. Take this option. Immediately, there is a route heading off to the right, which you should take.
The road slopes down through some private houses. Ignore the path that pops up on the right, which is someone’s driveway. The walk gets more peaceful with more flowers and even a shallow river along the way.
There is a small climb to the crest of the hill before you get to the rice terraces. You’ll see a brick shed with a gated road on one side. Once you pass this building, you will be standing at the top of a hill with a lovely sweeping view of the rice terrace below.
The trail will take you down the hill where thousands of little rice shoots grow on perfectly landscaped terraces. You might even catch a farmer or two working the fields.
Turn left at the first junction to start heading toward the Dayang Rice Terraces. You should pass by the Puri Sunny Camp on your left.
These rice terraces are prettier than the Munduk rice terraces. The verdant rolling hills and mountains will be in the background of your photos. In the Dayang Rice Terraces, it’s also easier to get onto the grassy worker’s paths so you can wander in the middle of the rice field.
At the end of this trail through the field, turn left so you’re walking behind this white building. When the path joins up with a curving road, turn left.
Follow the winding concrete road down until you cross over a short bridge. The street ahead has coloured barrier poles on one side. Head up this road.
This path slopes upwards and downwards past local homes. Within about ten to fifteen minutes, you will see the familiar 6-board sign for the homestays. At this point, it’s all backtracking to get back to Jalan Kaya Putih – Munduk through the arch you came in.
Saturday Worthy?
After you’ve seen the main attractions in Munduk such as Melanting, Red Coral, and Golden Valley Waterfall, there’s not much else to do. The Munduk Rice Terraces are a good way to kill a couple of hours during a chill morning. The downhill portions of the hike will get your thighs burning, but I don’t consider the walk to be particularly difficult.
It’s a shame to pass up a free attraction, but if you’re short on time, you can skip this. Most tourists in Bali will see a rice terrace during their trip, like Jatiluwih or during the Mayong Cultural Walk. There’s nothing at the Munduk Rice Terraces that you won’t see at other rice terraces. The main advantage of the Munduk rice fields is the price and the peace. Once you’re through all the houses and in the rice fields, there’s a good chance you will be the only person there.
