Towards northern Bali, there are several waterfalls you can check out, including the more accessible Gigit Waterfalls. But we read somewhere that Sekumpul’s were much more beautiful and decided to do the hike there instead. We paid for a guide to get to the waterfalls (150,000 IDR); some people say it’s not necessary, but I certainly felt more secure having someone who knows his way around to hang onto. Plus, our guide explained some of the fruit-bearing trees to us along the way and even picked a mangosteen. We politely turned it down as it was covered with bugs, but he simply brushed away all the ants and ate it.

Some of the steps are quite steep and you need to cross a river to get to the falls. I recommend wearing a pair of watershoes (even though our guide was barefoot most of the time!), which is what we did to prevent slipping and drain the water out. We also brought along a towel and wore our swimwear underneath our clothes. No joke, the hike is strenuous. But sooo worth it; we saw 5 out of the 7 waterfalls and they were incredibly stunning in person. The air pressure is incredibly strong and it took a while to get acclimated to it, but I recommend taking a bathe underneath the falls. IWish we had a GoPro with us – you will definitely need a waterproof camera once up close. It was very refreshing after that tough hike! There’s another route back up leading you to Sekumpul Village. Our guide informed us that the falls used to belong to his village, but Sekumpul Village stole it years ago, hence the name. I’d like to think we did them a service by hiring the guide.