8-Day Balinese Watukaru Yoga & Village Culture Wellness Holiday in Rural Bali

A typical day starts at 8:00 with 90 minutes of Watukaru yoga and meditation, then breakfast at 9:30. From 11:00 to 13:00 you're doing one of the cultural activities — often rice farming in the paddies alongside the village families who run the place, or a trip to a local waterfall for a purification ritual. Lunch is at 13:00, then you have the afternoon free until the second yoga session at 16:00. Another cultural activity runs 17:30–18:30, dinner is at 18:30, and the evening is yours. On Fridays and Mondays, weather permitting, one of the yoga sessions moves to the beach.

Over the eight days you'll get through a rotating list of activities: coconut oil making (you take home the bottle), Balinese Hindu offering making, a traditional ceremonial dance class, a Balinese language workshop, a visit to a local shaman for a blessing ritual, a Balinese music class, a Trash Hero village clean-up with local volunteers, and rice farming. There are also optional extras you pay for separately — more spa treatments, a tour to Watukaru mountain temple and the Penatahan hot springs, trips to the Ayun and Tanah Lot temples, surfing lessons, and sunset horseback rides through the rice fields.

Two one-hour Balinese spa treatments are included in the price, and you'll usually take them in the afternoon between sessions. The spa is on site, and the treatments are the standard Balinese massage style — firm pressure, local oils, no fuss.

What separates this from a yoga retreat in Ubud is that everything here is run by people from Sesandan village. The owner is a village citizen, all the staff are local, and the accommodation is a sustainable alliance of village guesthouses and homestays a few minutes' walk apart. The teachers — I Krishna and Dewi — are both Balinese, and Dewi went from working twelve-hour days in the rice paddies to managing the retreat and teaching yoga. That's why the cultural programme isn't a performance put on for tourists; you're joining in with what people actually do.

The setting is rural and quiet, close to Mount Watukaru and well away from the tourist strips. Rooms are simple but comfortable, with air conditioning, flat-screen TVs, garden-facing terraces, and artworks made by village artists. There's a newly built pool overlooking the rice paddies, a restaurant, a garden, and a yoga shala. Transport between the different guesthouses and to activities is included and available on request.

Note two things before booking: the trip to the retreat itself isn't included unless you pay for the driver separately, and the yoga is pitched at beginner and intermediate level, so if you're an advanced practitioner looking for a hard physical challenge, this isn't that kind of week.

What's included

- 7 nights accommodation in a shared or private room - 3 Balinese vegetarian/vegan meals per day - Twice-daily Traditional Balinese Watukaru Yoga and meditation sessions - Two Balinese cultural or village activities per day - 2 complimentary 1-hour Balinese spa treatments - Airport pickup from Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) - Water, tea and coffee served throughout the day - Transport between venues and to activities during the retreat - Access to Pasraman Seruling Dewata ashram - Pre- and post-retreat support from the team

What's not included

- Flights - Travel insurance - Personal expenses - Additional cultural tours (e.g. Watukaru mountain temple, Penatahan hot springs, Ayun and Tanah Lot temples) - Additional spa treatments beyond the two included - Surfing lessons - Sunset horseback riding - Shaman healer blessing ritual (optional extra) - Optional driver pickup from locations other than the included airport transfer