Munduk ECO Experiential Walking Tours

History of Munduk

The village of Munduk has a rich history. Legend tells that it was settled by the aboriginal people from the mountains who were escaping an invasion of ants. Then about 200-300 years ago, several clans from Klungkung came and Munduk was the passage through which the Majapahit Kingdom entered from East Java. Munduk was then established as a hill station by the Dutch colonists in the 1890’s and plantations of cocoa, coffee, vanilla and cloves were established above the rolling rice terraces. Today, Munduk has a population of 6,200 people and is an ECO-friendly mountain village with some spectacular panoramic views, 5 main waterfalls, historical and religious monuments and the remains of the old Dutch Colonial rest houses that have been converted into lovely guesthouses for today’s explorer. Locals live a fairly simple life with making offerings and attending their plantations of coffee, clove, coconut, fruit, cocoa and rice. On our exploration tours we will meet firsthand the local people take part in their daily farming lives and learn about the colonial times when both the Dutch and Japanese made retreats in this cool weather temperature region and converted the landscape into a productive crop producing area that is benefiting the locals of today.

Munduk Tours

Details

Guide Nyoman will meet you at your guesthouse in the morning at the scheduled time. Please be ready in the front reception area. Bring a light rain jacket for sudden tropical rainfalls, and sunscreen for when it clears. Wear walking shoes and carry plenty of drinking water. If you are interested in dipping into the pools by the waterfalls, then bring along your swimming suit and towel. Together you will return to your hotel at end of tour where you can relax and ask any lingering questions with Nyoman. Maximum guests on our Munduk Exploratory Hands-on Tours are 12. If you want to have a private tour, please ask to reserve the booking (minimum pricing of 4 people is charged). Tours are available all year even in the rainy season! Please book 7 days or more in advance especially in peak tourist months from July-September.

Price

$25/p children under 10 are free

Min: 4 persons / Max: 12 persons

Includes:

• Guide Nyoman fees and expertise!
• Small offering to the Sacred Temple at the Giant Banyan Tree (TOUR #2)
• Donation to the village community project to help maintain cleanliness and waste removal service
• Local gift to take home

Where to Stay:

We recommend Meme Surung Homestay, a quiet spot off the main, has sea and mountain views. Its design is Dutch/Roman and Malay style architecture, originally built in 1910 by a group of families who have been conserved to remembering the era of ruler class on that period. Rates are very reasonable and the extensive menu provides a combination of local and western cuisine.

What to Do:

The village of Munduk continues to practice the traditional Gamelan Gong Kebyar made of cow hide drums and bamboo flutes. The precision and synchronicity in performance reveal almost supernatural coordination. The musical pieces on this recording are all drawn from a collection of dances tied to the complex Balinese religion, which revolves around a 210-day cycle of religious festivals and pilgrimages.

Guide: Nyoman

Age: 37; Graduate: Saraswati Gianyar Tourism High School; Work Experience: various positions in villas and guesthouses in south Bali tourism region. Returned home to work in Munduk Sari Garden Villas for 3 years and joined the Munduk Guide Association where he has guided people from all over the world. My background is a farming family, with two brothers and one sister. Most of my family works in tourism. We are all married except the youngest brother and stay together at our parent’s house with my mother. This December we will join the organized community cremation for my father. We are Hindu. I have one wife and 2 children, a boy 12 years old and my daughter is 10 years old, my son’s hobby is bicycling around, and my daughter is playing with the other young children. We have a little rice field that my mother looks after with someone from our village. My father was born at 1942, he told us a lot of the history from the colonial age when he was still a child. We can still find some old people in Munduk to tell us about this experience life when the Japanese or the colonial in Bali. I speak English, and few words of Japanese language. My goal is “I WANT TO DO MY BEST, best for everybody.”