The Untouched Bali: Sebatu

We started our trip with 3 days in Sebatu. The village of Sebatu is located a few kms north of Ubud, and believe me or not, we did not see one single tourist. David and I fell in love with this little place of paradise. One of my main concern coming to Bali was to avoid crowded and very touristy areas as much as possible, so we could enjoy nature and get a sense of the local culture here. The area is so lush and we loved this jungle life, falling asleep with the frog and cricket sounds and waking up with rooster cry every morning.

Sebatu Sanctuary chemical-free fish pool

Where to stay?

David and I stayed 3 nights at Sebatu Sanctuary. Sebatu Eco Sanctuary is actively committing to reduce their environmental impact. For example, they eliminate as much as possible single use plastic by serving their guests water in glass bottles always, they reduce at least half of electricity usage thanks to solar energy. A lot of rain water is gathered and filtered by the resort.

Finally, the pool is chemical-free and home of over 300 fish. The restaurant offers some vegan options and many vegetarian dishes that can easily be plant based on request. It wasn’t the most vegan friendly place we visited in Bali, however, all of the dishes we tried there were delicious and locally sourced.

It makes me so happy to see hotels and resort who care and take serious actions towards sustainability.

What to do?

Run through local towns & rice fields

During our stay, we went on morning runs up and down the hills from Sebatu Sanctuary. The area has beautiful and untouched rice terraces.

Go waterfall hunting

There are also a few waterfalls to visit close by. We visited one and although the scenery was magical, it was filled with trash. Very disappointing for our first one but we mentioned it to Alex, the owner of Sebatu Sanctuary and he told us that he has been working on commissioning the clean up of this particular waterfall with the local community. If you are visiting in the upcoming Spring and Summer, there is a chance that the waterfall will be cleaned up.

Enjoy the fish-filled pool

At Sebatu Sanctuary, the pool and its waterfall are completely chemical-free and home of over 300 fish. The water is being cleaned through a natural draining system with little stones at the bottom of the pool. The owner Alex is so knowledgable about sustainable practices and I’d highly recommend you to ask for a property tour with him. We learnt tons of new interesting ways to avoid environmentally impactful practices.