Bali

Bali's cultural heart is surrounded by jungle ravines and rice fields, with the royal palace, the market and dozens of craft studios at its centre. The Sacred Monkey Forest shelters three temples among ancient banyan trees, while the Campuhan Ridge walk follows a grassy spine between two rivers.

Our tip Walk the Campuhan Ridge just after sunrise, before the heat sets in, and keep bags zipped near the monkeys.

North of Ubud, steep terraces follow the contours of a narrow valley, fed by the subak, a cooperative irrigation system shared between farmers, temples and water channels for around a thousand years and recognised by UNESCO. The greens are at their richest a few weeks before harvest.

Our tip Arrive before eight in the morning for soft light and quiet paths, or visit the larger Jatiluwih terraces for more space.

Founded more than a thousand years ago around a sacred spring, Tirta Empul draws Balinese Hindu families who come to purify themselves beneath a long row of carved stone spouts. Visitors may respectfully join the ritual in a sarong, with offerings prepared and the sequence explained by a temple custodian.

Our tip Go early in the morning with a local guide who can explain the order in which to approach the spouts.

An active volcano rising from a vast caldera, with the crescent of Lake Batur below and the cone of Mount Agung on the horizon. A pre-dawn hike of around two hours over loose volcanic ground reaches the rim in time to watch the sun rise above the clouds.

Our tip Set out around four in the morning with a certified guide, and bring a warm layer for the summit.

Pura Luhur Uluwatu stands on a limestone cliff seventy metres above the Indian Ocean, at the southern tip of the island. At sunset, a chorus of some fifty men performs the Kecak fire dance, retelling scenes from the Ramayana in an open-air amphitheatre that looks straight out to sea.

Our tip Arrive an hour before sunset to walk the cliffside paths, and leave sunglasses in the car since the monkeys take them.

A wild, hilly island across the strait from Bali's southeast coast, known for the dinosaur-shaped headland above Kelingking Beach, the tidal rock pool at Angel's Billabong and the reef manta rays that gather at Manta Point. Its roads are rough and slow, but the scenery rewards the effort.

Our tip Take an early fast boat and a private driver, and choose a manta snorkel rather than trying to see every viewpoint in a day.