Things to Do in Ubud: Hidden Gems Beyond the Tourist Trail
Ubud is easy to love and easy to get wrong. The main drag gets crowded fast: Monkey Forest Road fills with tour groups by mid-morning, and the Art Market can feel overwhelming. But step one street back in almost any direction and Ubud becomes something else entirely: quiet lanes, working artist studios, local warungs, and shops run by people who actually made what they're selling.
Here's what's worth finding.
Go to the Ubud Market Early
The Ubud Art Market (Pasar Seni Ubud) at the corner of Jl. Raya Ubud is worth visiting, but before 9am, not after. Early morning, it's a working local market with fresh produce and flowers. By mid-morning it's tourist-facing. The two versions of the same market are barely recognizable as the same place.
Find Sea Glass Jewelry at Kamaya
On Jl. Hanoman, about a five-minute walk from the Art Market, Kamaya makes jewelry unlike anything else you'll find in Bali. The pieces are set with real sea glass: glass tumbled smooth by the ocean over decades, collected from Bali's beaches, then handcrafted into rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets by local Balinese artisans.
Every piece is one-of-a-kind. No two are ever the same, because no two pieces of sea glass are ever the same. It's a genuinely good souvenir, something made here, by people from here, from materials found here.
Shop: shopkamaya.com / Instagram: @___kamaya
Eat at a Warung
Ubud has excellent food hiding behind its overpriced tourist restaurants. Warung Mek Juwel is one of our favourites, known for its nasi campur, and it sits right beside a paddy field. Good for a slow, quiet lunch.
Visit a Working Studio, Not a Gallery
Ubud's reputation as Bali's arts center is real, but most of the galleries on the main road sell the same paintings. The more interesting experience is finding a working studio: a woodcarver, a silversmith, a batik workshop, somewhere you can watch someone actually making something. Several are clustered in the streets around Jl. Hanoman and toward the village of Mas, just south of Ubud.
Sit by the Rice Paddies
The Campuhan Ridge Walk starts near the confluence of two rivers at the western edge of Ubud. It's a 3 to 4 km walk along a ridge overlooking rice paddies and jungle. Not hidden exactly, but significantly less crowded than any of the central Ubud sights, and free. Go early morning for cooler temperatures and better light.
Take a Cooking Class from a Local Home
Several Ubud families run small cooking classes out of their homes, where you visit a local market, buy ingredients, and cook a Balinese meal in a family kitchen. It's nothing like the polished resort version. Informal, personal, and the food is better. Ask your accommodation to recommend someone local rather than booking through a tour aggregator.
Ubud rewards the visitor who slows down. The best things here are what you find when you stop following the map and start walking.
Looking for a unique piece of Bali to take home? Visit Kamaya at Jl. Hanoman No. 4 in Ubud.
Handcrafted sea glass jewelry made by local Balinese artisans. Shop online at shopkamaya.com.
