In the shadowy heart of Balinese folklore, the Leyak (or Leak) stands as one of the most feared and sinister supernatural entities but these dark witches do not act alone. They serve under the terrifying rule of Rangda, the fearsome queen of black magic and witchcraft, whose grotesque visage and unrelenting malevolence embody the island’s deepest fears.

Encircled by a wide moat and wrapped in manicured geometric gardens, Pura Taman Ayun looks more like a mythical vision than a temple. This 17th-century royal fortress served as the royal temple of the once mighty Mengwi kingdom and was designed not just to honour the gods but to remind subjects of the divine order that placed kings just beneath them.

Spanning approximately nine kilometres, the famous Campuhan Ridge walk is a narrow spine between the eastern and western branches of Ubud’s Wos Rivers. Literally meaning the ‘joining of the waters’, the Campuhan hamlet meanders through a lush valley hinterland. Dense river ravines quickly give way to an undulating sea of electric green rice fields and a mosaic of cascading terraces around the village of Bangkiang Sidem.

Established in 1876, Vihara Dharmayana stands as one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Bali and the only one of its kind in Kuta. Known locally as Kongco Kuta, the temple was built to honour Tan Hu Cin Jin, a Chinese nobleman and architect who served the King of Mengwi. The site was famously visited by the 14th Dalai Lama during his tour of the island in 1982.