Wellness and Spirituality in Bali

Spend time in the cultural heart of Bali witnessing traditional art, sculpture and dance. See the famous rice paddies and raft the Ayung River. Jacada Travel can arrange a guide for the bustling night market to explain the fresh, local delicacies on offer. Speak to your personal travel designer about the best retreat for you and your desired wellness activities and program too.

Today you will have the opportunity to meet one of Bali's most famous shamans and healers, Tjokorda Gede Rai. Balinese people believe that disharmony between an individual and their surroundings can lead to sickness, accidents and general misfortune. Healers and shamans use traditional herbal medicines to help heal those who visit them, and they also practice palm reading and fortune telling. You will have time for a consultation with the healer.

You will be shown around the village, walk through rice paddies, nearby villages, spice plantations and a tropical forest. Along the way, your guide, a well-respected local, will explain how rice is cultivated and tell you how the Subak irrigation system works. He will also talk to you about traditional medicine produced from herbs and plants. After the walk in the rice fields, you will enjoy a picnic lunch together at his home. Before you part ways he will perform a blessing ceremony for you.

This evening you'll get the opportunity to learn more about Balinese Hindu spiritualism when you visit the home of a young local priest. He is the leader of the Shiva Hindu community who continue preserving Shiva Hindu sects. He and his wife will show you around their organic garden where they grow vegetables and spices and here you'll pick up ingredients for your cooking lesson. He will share his spiritual knowledge with you while you observe how typical Balinese food is cooked.

Home to over half of Indonesia’s population as well as its sprawling capital, Jakarta, Java is a hugely diverse and fascinating place. Head away from the cities and you’ll discover a landscape of smouldering volcanoes, lush rice paddies and ethereal temples. Java is Indonesia’s fifth largest island and stretches 600 miles from east to west, with a string of volcanoes running along its central belt. We can help you explore the quieter, pristine parts of Java on private tours that help you fully appreciate the beauty of the island. Trek the Menoreh Hills or climb 3,000 feet to the summit of Mount Merapi; visit fragrant tea and coffee plantations; travel by horseback to the top of Mount Bromo for sunrise; and visit Kawah Ijen volcano with its pungent smells and mystical views across the eerie sulphuric crater lake.

You will be met at your hotel and driven to the mountain slopes of Ungaran, about 900m above sea level, to visit Gedong Songo. The group of nine Hindu temples was originally built during the early period of the Medang Kingdom which controlled Java during the 8th and 9th centuries. Gedong Songo was built out of volcanic stone. You can either take a walk up to explore each temple, or go on horseback.

Indulge in a steam session, body exfoliation, soapy cleanse, hair wash and scalp treatment, rose water splash and traditional Javanese massage at the spa. The intensive Hammam ritual will be followed by a full-body massage with warm oil. The whole experience will leave you feeling radiant and calm.