Karangasem, the regency that wraps around Mount Agung in Bali’s east, is the part of the island most visitors only see from a day-trip minibus. It deserves longer. This loop takes three relaxed days from Ubud or Sanur, with a driver or on a scooter if you are a confident rider. Driving times below are rough and depend on traffic and ceremonies.
Day 1: Sidemen and the slopes of Agung
From Ubud it is about an hour and a half to Sidemen, a valley of rice terraces under the south face of Mount Agung. Walk the paths between the fields in the late afternoon, and cool off at Gembleng Waterfall, a set of stepped pools in the village of Tri Eka Buana. Sidemen has guesthouses for every budget; at the top end, Wapa di Ume looks straight across the valley.
If you want to see Pura Besakih, the Mother Temple, it is a short drive up the mountain from here. Go early, dress respectfully with a sarong and sash, and check ahead whether a ceremony is on.
Day 2: two water palaces and the coast
Drive east to Tirta Gangga, built in 1946 by the last Raja of Karangasem: spring-fed pools, stepping stones and fish-filled ponds. Then head to the coast for Taman Ujung, an earlier and grander water palace begun in 1909, where Balinese, Dutch and Chinese styles meet across wide reflecting pools.
From Tirta Gangga it is about half an hour to Amed, a string of black-sand fishing villages with outrigger canoes pulled up on the beach. Amed is calm, cheap and very good for snorkelling and freediving straight from the shore. Watch the sunset over the land, with Agung on the horizon.
Day 3: a wreck, then south
Half an hour north of Amed, at Tulamben, lies the USAT Liberty. The American cargo ship was torpedoed in 1942, beached here, and pushed back into the sea by tremors from Agung’s 1963 eruption. It now lies on a black-sand slope between about 5 and 30 metres deep, so snorkellers can see the shallow parts and divers the rest.
Then turn south along the coast. Candidasa is a quiet base for dive trips to the small islands offshore. Just past Bugbug, Virgin Beach (Pantai Pasir Putih) is a rare white-sand cove on this coast, with simple warungs grilling fish. Finish at Padangbai, where the Blue Lagoon has a reef a few metres from the shore, before the drive back to the south takes about an hour and a half.
Before you go
- East Bali is drier and quieter than the south; carry cash, as smaller warungs often do not take cards.
- Many temples and palaces charge a small entrance fee and expect covered shoulders and knees.
- More places in the region are on our Karangasem and Amed pages, and underwater spots on our snorkelling and diving guide.
How we wrote this: from Pinlora’s place listings, each matched to its Google Maps listing. Historical dates are from the places’ own descriptions; driving times are approximate.
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