The quiet valley under Agung
Sidemen and East Bali
A long green valley, hand-woven cloth, and Mount Agung filling the sky.
The place, in short
A long green valley in Karangasem, with Mount Agung filling the sky on a clear morning. Sidemen is known for its hand-woven songket and endek cloth, and for being the part of Bali where there is time.
About 230 m on the valley floor (one source: treat as approximate).
Who it suits
- Travellers on a second or third visit who want slow
- Walkers, cyclists, readers and anyone who likes looms
- People who would rather hear the valley than a bar
Not for: Nightlife, shops, or a beach on the doorstep. Sidemen has none of the three.
What to do
Walk between the paddies
Paths run along the channels and over small bridges. Start before the heat and let the farmers' day set the pace.
Watch a weaver at work
Songket and endek are woven on looms in family workshops. Made the traditional way, one piece can take months, so ask how long the one on the loom has taken.
Wake up to Agung
At 3,031 m the volcano fills the north of the valley. It is clearest in the first hour of light, before cloud gathers on the summit.
Go on to the east coast
The water palace at Tirta Gangga and the reef coast of Amed are a day's drive and a world apart from the valley.
How long, and when
How long to stay: two nights
Sidemen is about 90 minutes from Ubud, so it is somewhere to stay, not a day trip. Two nights is the least that lets the valley slow you down.
The best time of day: dawn
Be on the terraces by about 06:00. Agung is clearest early and the farmers are already working.
In the year. Works all year. Clear mornings are likelier in the dry season, roughly April to October; in the wet season cloud often sits on Agung until late.
Good to know
Each fact was checked on the web on the date shown. Where one source stands alone, we say so. Advice, such as how long to stay, is ours.
- Height
- About 230 m above sea level for the valleyChecked 6 Oct 2026. Source: Planet Escape (one source; confirm locally)
- Weaving
- Known mainly for hand-woven songket and endek. Endek is a single ikat: the pattern is made by resist-dyeing the threads before weaving.Checked 6 Oct 2026. Source: Planet Escape and Bali Holiday Secrets (agreeing)
- Mount Agung
- 3,031 m; an active volcano in KarangasemChecked 6 Oct 2026. Source: Wikipedia, Mount Agung
- From Ubud
- About 90 minutes by road, to the north-eastChecked 6 Oct 2026. Source: Planet Escape and several Sidemen guides (agreeing)