Spring Cleansing at Sebatu

Around fifteen kilometres north of Ubud, Sebatu village guards one of Bali's spring sites, where locals still come to perform melukat, a water purification rite meant to release bad energy. Guides Stone and Made lead the outing, starting with an hour's walk through rice terraces, passing farmers at work, roadside shrines, and trees bearing cacao, passionfruit, guava, jackfruit, and banana. About one hundred fifty steps down a river gorge, the group reaches the hidden pools, where guides lead a prayer and immersion ceremony: flower offerings placed against the rock, a pass beneath the waterfall, water to the waist. A simple Balinese lunch follows at a nearby garden terrace above the ravine.