5 Day Walking Journey of Reconnection Retreat in Bali, Indonesia

Walking through the hills, rice fields and jungle of central Bali, the 5 Day Walking Journey of Reconnection suits travellers who want to cover ground on foot, eat what grows along the way, and sleep somewhere wild. The route follows the Heart of Bali trail, which forms part of the wider Astungkara Trail. It begins beside a banyan tree that is said to be around 700 years old, in Tabanan, and finishes in the waterfall valleys near Munduk, in the north of the island. Across the five days you cover roughly 42 kilometres on foot. Each day brings something different underfoot. Paths wind between terraced paddy fields, through villages where farming families go about their work, and into sections of primary jungle that few guides are permitted to lead groups through. The pace is unhurried, so there is time to stop, look and ask questions. Water is a thread running through the trip. A Melukat purification ceremony, led by a local priest, offers a chance to take part in a ritual that has been practised on the island for generations. Along the way you can also meet master artisans and spend time with the farming communities whose regenerative projects the trail helps to support. Meals are vegetarian and built around produce grown on the farms you pass, so what you eat is tied directly to the landscape around you. Expect simple, fresh food that changes with the seasons and the harvest. Nights are spent on handcrafted platforms set in some of the most remote spots on the route: deep in the forest, beside a waterfall, or up on a mountain ridge. Groups are kept small, with a maximum of nine people, and every trip is run by the full-time guides and organisers of Astungkara Way. This retreat is best suited to people who are comfortable walking most of each day and who want their time in Bali to feel rooted in the land and in the community that cares for it.