Stepping stones
Hopping among colourful koi.
Bair175 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Anandajoti — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Anandajoti — CC BY-SA 4.0 · rheins — CC BY 3.0
A royal water garden in eastern Bali, built in 1948 by the last king of Karangasem, whose name means water of the Ganges. It was badly damaged when Mount Agung erupted in 1963, then restored, and is now one of the island's loveliest and calmest places, surrounded by rice fields and green hills. Its best-known feature is a path of flat octagonal stepping stones across wide pools, which visitors hop along over the water among large, colourful koi, with carved stone statues and a tall eleven-tiered fountain at the centre. The water comes from a natural spring in the hills, so the pools stay clear, and the gardens are neatly planted with trees and flowers. Entry is about ninety thousand rupiah for foreign adults and about forty-five thousand for children. Bags of fish food are sold at the entrance, a treat for children. Bali's tourist levy, one hundred and fifty thousand rupiah per foreign visitor, is separate. Come in the morning before the tour buses, when the light is lovelier and the stones less crowded for photographs. It is about two and a half hours from the south, so combine it with Lempuyang and Besakih temples in one day in the east.
Hopping among colourful koi.
Garden of Karangasem's last king.
An eleven-tiered fountain.
Ababi, Karangasem, eastern Bali
Very: hopping the stones and feeding the fish are among Bali's most fun things for little ones. Watch them on the stones, which can be slippery.