L'essence de Bali

A must-do in Ubud, far from the tourist crowds – a true Balinese immersion that is culinary, cultural, and spiritual all at once. Gede explains every detail with passion, while Yoga cooks delicious dishes infused with spices straight from Gede’s family garden. An unforgettable experience – don’t miss it

Gede, a native of Nampan village, located about 40 minutes by car from the center of Ubud, opened his house to show us the lifestyle, culture, architecture, and beliefs of the villagers. There was a lot to learn from the unique structure of their houses and the way they share everything within their community. Our guides, Gede and Eka, are well versed in Balinese culture, philosophy, history, and more, and are passionate about sharing them and preserving their traditions. Nyoman is currently studying Japanese, and all three were kind and wonderful guides. The tour included jungle trekking and a ritual called merukat, which is a sacred ritual of purifying the body and mind at a waterfall, which cannot be done without a local guide. All explanations are in English, so a certain level of English comprehension is required. I have participated in many tours so far, but I have never been as impressed as I was with Bali Pure Tour. I recommend it to repeat visitors to Bali, first-time visitors, and residents. (Approved by a friend who has lived in Bali for 17 years) If you go to Bali, please try it!

Hands down, Bali Pure Tour offers the best tour I’ve ever experienced. Our guides Gede, Eka and Nyoman are such genuine and kind people and they are passionate about sharing their culture as well as preserving it. We visited an ancient village called Nempan, there Gede graciously opened his house to us. We learned how villagers live in harmony, I was inspired to adopt their beautiful perspective and way of life. They served us incredible home cooking lunch ( the best meal had in Bali!) and the purification ceremony was a surreal experience. You MUST GO if you’re in Bali, it was absolutely a mind blowing experience!

We learned of this tour from our hotel, the Alam Indah in Ubud (wonderful place to stay). Our tour covered three temples, an Animist, a Hindu and a Buddhist one. The tour guide Ari and the driver Wayan, arrived early. Ari was so knowledgeable, answering all of our many questions completely, professionally and patiently. His command of English was impressive. The tour included a stop at the family home of Gede, the tour proprietor, where we had drinks and a snack. We learned about the roles of family and community in Bali as well as how homes are organized. After that, we visited the three temples. This included the opportunity to bathe and be spiritually cleansed at the Hindu temple and to participate in a prayer ritual with a priest at the Buddhist temple. We then went to Gede’s family rice paddies and had a wonderful lunch featuring Balinese cuisine. We returned to our hotel feeling moved with appreciation for the Balinese people and their spiritual foundation. This was an amazing experience which we recommend without reservation.

This Essence of Bali tour gave us an understanding of Balinese culture that is non-touristic and sensitive. Hoping to find a temple tour we were very fortunate to book this one. Our host Gede showed us three important temples rarely visited by tourists. Our guide Ari, spoke perfect English. We were served an incredible home-cooked meal, the best food I had in Indonesia. The tour included a visit to Gede’s family house. Gede explained Balinese religion and invited us to participate in ceremony. This tour was one of the best things we did in Bali. Highly recommend exploring with Ari and Gede.