Free things to do in Ubud

Ubud's free list is mostly walking, and that is the point: the town is small enough to cover on foot in a morning. Start at Campuhan Ridge before 8am, when the light is soft and the path is nearly empty. The walk runs about 2 km each way along a paved ridge between two rivers, past the Pura Gunung Lebah temple, and ends in the village of Bangkiang Sidem where warung breakfasts cost a few dollars.

Back in the centre, the Ubud market is free to browse and busiest before 9am when locals shop for produce; the souvenir stalls take over later. The palace (Puri Saren Agung) courtyard is open to walk through, and the temple grounds at Pura Taman Saraswati behind the lotus pond are free to enter with a donation. Both are working temples, so wear a sarong.

Outside the centre, the rice-terrace footpaths around Tegallalang and the Sayan valley are free to walk; you pay only for parking or a drink at a viewpoint café. The Monkey Forest is the main paid stop that people assume is free — it is not, and it is worth the ticket if you want the temple complex and the macaques.

Everything in the top picks sits within a 3 km band: the palace, market and Saraswati temple cluster on Jalan Raya Ubud, Campuhan Ridge starts a 5-minute walk west of that, and the Monkey Forest is a 10-minute walk south. Tegallalang and Sayan need wheels.

Coordinates below are approximate town-centre points for orientation, not exact entrances.

Walk early. Ubud sits at about 200 m and the midday sun plus humidity makes 11am–3pm unpleasant on the ridge and terraces. Mornings are also when the market is a real market rather than a souvenir row.

Dress for temples. A sarong and covered shoulders are expected; many temple gates lend or rent a sarong for a small donation. Do not walk into a courtyard mid-ceremony — wait or come back.

Watch the monkeys. In the Monkey Forest and along some lanes, macaques grab bags, sunglasses and water bottles. Keep bags zipped and do not feed them.

Money. Free sights still cost something: parking, a donation box, a drink at the café you use for the view. Carry small rupiah notes.

Getting around. Central Ubud is walkable but pavements are uneven and broken in places; watch your step. For outer villages use Grab or Gojek (cheap, 2026 estimate) or rent a scooter only if you are licensed and insured for it.

April to October is the dry season and the best window for walking: less rain, firmer paths, clearer mornings. November to March brings afternoon downpours; the free sights still work, but you plan around the rain and the ridge path can be slippery.

Nyepi, Bali's day of silence, closes the whole island for 24 hours — no walking the streets, no leaving your hotel. Check the date before you book anything in March.

Ceremonies are the wildcard. Temple courtyards may be closed to visitors on ceremony days, and Galungan and Kuningan weeks fill the town. That is a reason to go, not to skip it, but expect some free sights to be unavailable.