The most wonderful and spectacular waterfall that we visited in Bali were the Sekumpul and Fiji Waterfalls!
Located in the northern mountains, it is quite a drive to get to this remote place. The region is populated by small villages and narrow windy roads that meander through the steep slopes covered by lush forest vegetation.
We drove into heavy rain not knowing if we were on the correct route to get to our accommodation.
After traveling through several small villages and countless winding bends, we finally arrived at The Kubu Galungan (https://www.booking.com/hotel/id/the-kubu-galungan.id.html). Use my link to get 15USD off your next reservation on booking.com ;) https://www.booking.com/s/15_8/a9be0796
Made, our host, gave us a warm welcome and offered complimentary coffee with a sweet treat when ever we felt like having one. He organized us a scooter and gave us all the information we needed for visiting the waterfalls and the surrounding area.
Our breakfast was included in the price for the room and sure was tasty! Made took me down to his garden to go harvest some snake fruit, white mango and guavas. He ended up giving us all the fruit as a gift and insisted we keep it. He really was a genuine man who likes to share and be very generous.
Sekumpul Waterfall
We got up early and after an early breakfast, we drove the scooter as far as possible before having to walk down a very steep concrete path covered in moss. We only walked for about 10 minutes and we already started hearing the crashing water. Before long, the view of the waterfall from the top of the gorge was amazing!
We walked down into the valley which took about 20 minutes, and explored the waterfall from all angles. Take note, in the wet season you will get drenched from the mist even just walking around so take a water proof bag and gear. My camera equipment got more wet than what I was comfortable with, but luckily it survived the adventure.
There is another waterfall walking distance, namely The Fiji Waterfall. The walk up-stream involved crossing the river a few times before seeing the waterfall around a bend. It was a little disappointing to see so much plastic lying around even though you have to pay to see the waterfalls. Nonetheless, they were amazing and I think the pictures speak for themselves.
Once we got back up to the top we stopped for lunch. Plenty of people walked past with baskets of mangostines on their heads. We bought some for a very good price, around 50 US cents a kilo. It definitely is one of my favourite fruits in the world!
It is possible to visit the waterfalls from different locations. Having not yet satisfied our waterfall viewing, we found a little road that was wide enough to fit one scooter. We drove past a massive rice terrace next to the river on the upstream side of the waterfalls and it was quite an amazing view.
From a parking lot we walked a little stretch through some jungle to reach the edge of the cliff and look down into the gorge above Sukumpul waterfall.
That evening we had coffee with Made and he showed us his speciality Luwak Coffee. He buys the civet faeces from people living near or in the jungle, who collect them upon his request. Made washes the beans out, skins them clean by hand and then roasts the coffee. It was great to hear his story about the passion he has for this particular coffee, and was fortunate to buy some from his personal stash.
On our final morning Made took us to see his family’s rice plantations tucked up in the mountain valley. We looked around for a bit and then headed back to pack up and leave.
