Bali beyond beaches: rituals, wellness and a more soulful way to travel

“Diversity is like a rainbow; In Bali, the people blend in like the seven colours and don’t see them as borders,” says Roby, our guide, as we stand before a sacred shrine at Sayan, a village close to Ubud in Bali, Indonesia. A beautiful way to see the world, especially given the current times of turmoil.

Roby and his two fellow guides take us through the temple blessing or ‘melukat’, a purification ritual designed to cleanse the body, mind, and soul with holy water. Aimed at warding off negative energy — a belief that forms the core of Balinese culture — I realise these blessings are a way to learn about the locals’ relationship with the energies around them. 

Perhaps it is this blessing that brought us here on the eve of Nyepi, the Balinese day of silence. The days leading up to this see the Ogoh Ogoh, large handcrafted monsters that depict the negative forces or bhuta kala, paraded across Bali as an act of spiritual cleansing.  

One such Ogoh Ogoh stands tall at the lobby of The Four Seasons in Jimbaran Bay overlooking the clear waters of the Indian Ocean. A few steps away is the resort temple where their in-house priest welcomes us with a ritual — chants followed by sprinkling of holy water — to tap into our inner energies and ward off negativity.

With this perfect start to the Balinese way of life, a buggy ride though the cobbled stone paths leads me to one of the 147 beachfront villas (and nine private residences) where a guardian angel set in stone welcomes me. Safe under his watchful eye, the week spent at Bali — at The Four Seasons in Jimbaran Bay and its sister property at Sayan — involved understanding the Balinese way of life, culture, and spirituality.

For the wellness-focussed, there are massages with gemstone oils and singing bowls, one that uses traditional instruments for a spiritual cleansing, another that pays homage to Bali’s irrigation system (listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site) with crystal-energised water, a ‘sacred’ air nap in a silk hammock at the Sayan property with wellness mentor Ibu Fera chanting along, and my personal favourite, a visit to the 9th Century Goa Gong Cave Temple guided by Ibu Atik, cultural ambassador at the Jimbaran Bay property.

At a class in learning how to write your name in Aksara Bali, Bali’s traditional script, Ibu teaches us the letters and how to engrave them on palm leaves with hazelnut dust. A meditative exercise that hones your patience, says Ibu, who has been giving guests an insight into the Bali way of life for over three decades. Even a session on what goes into arak infusions at the property’s Telu Bar — adorned with wooden bed rests repurposed as decor and bottles recycled into serveware — is a ‘slow’ journey of exploring how flavours of rice and sweet potato, cacao, vanilla, coriander, and tangerine are infused in arak.

For the journey’s second leg, we arrive in Sayan after a two-hour ride afloat the Ayung River, courtesy of a rafting adventure. As we cross a historic dam and natural springs where guests are welcome to perform a water purification, it is one of the few properties that offers a unique check-in experience.

The property’s design is an ode to Ubud’s rice paddy fields with the structure depicting a suspended rice bowl, and kitchen gardens located in pockets across the property add to the resort’s village-like charm. With stunning views of the river and lush gardens, the property comprises 18 suites and 42 villas that come with plush outdoor seating, a private pool, and an outdoor shower area. 

Keeping with their philosophy of ‘slow’, we are taken on village tours and temple visits as part of the Can You Keep A Secret Tour, and no points for guessing: you will not find these spots on Instagram and thank God for that. Over a seven-course dinner at their restaurant Sokasi’s (meaning basket in Balinese) open kitchen, Tim Churchmack, the resort manager at Sayan, tells me keeping the property attuned to the region’s local culture has been key. Be it the nomenclature and design of Sokasi to represent a woven basket, curating lived experiences like ‘A day in the life of a Balinese farmer’, picnics in the valley, and culinary experiences.

For the latter, head chef Wayan Sutariawan ensures guests get a taste of authentic Balinese cuisine at the welcome dinner comprising jagung panggang (chargrilled baby corn with a tomato and chilli relish), kembang kol bakar (grilled cauliflower with baby carrot in a delicious curry sauce), jamyu kunyit (orange tuile with turmeric foam and tamarind caviar), and more. At a culinary class at Jimbaran Bay, we whipped up sanbak natah (spicy lemongrass shallot relish), kue labu (sweet pumpkin treat), and lawar kacang panjang (tossed long bean vegetable with spicy grated coconut).   

Long after the magic of these meals, the serene villas, and memories of the hospitality fade, it is the serenity of Bali that stays with you. The meditative chants, breathwork to sync with the flowing river, and the belief that balancing the negative with the positive is what life is all about. A souvenir worth cherishing. 

The writer was in Bali at the invitation of Four Seasons

Published – April 28, 2026 04:06 pm IST