Indonesia: Water Rafting at Ayung River

Today we are about to crack the famous tourist attraction and an adventurous outdoor activity here in Bali - white water rafting! Yey! We have arranged with our tourguide / driver for an early pick up from our hotel around 7:30 am-ish then travelled more than two hours to reach the Payung Rafting in Ubud.

Ayung River is the longest river on the island of Bali, Indonesia. Flowing from the northern mountain ranges all the way to Badung Strait, Sanur near Denpasar which is 75km stretch.

All geared up! Now where is the raft? :D

Our white water rafting experience starts with gearing up on helmet and lifeguard jacket. Personal belongings like mobile phones, cash and camera are then kept in a water proof bag for safety. We kickoff by descending in the endless hefty-step stairs that takes forever to reach the bottom. Mind you its steep and slippery so you need to be extra careful. After a tiring downhill workout, finally we can hear the splash of the flowing river. The yellow-colored rafts were carefully docked in the side of the river, and after inflating it our guide brief us with things we need to remember during the drill. Instruction keywords like "boom boom" which means 'sit low and hold the rope, we are approaching a fast rapid' (that is just me paraphrasing), "left", "right", "shake your bum", "abante" and "atras," wherein the last two words are both Tagalog terminology which means forward and back respectively. One thing I am amazed about our guide, the moment he realized we are from the Philippines, he talked about PacMan the boxing champ, Manny Pacquiao. Looks like someone cannot hide his inner fanboy (wink, wink).

While it took us almost two hours to traverse this 12km body of water approaching rapids in different levels of difficulty or should I say excitement, the experience was worth all the muscles and energy you put into the paddle to navigate the stream. Ayung river features wild rainforest and impressive waterfalls.

We paid 35SGD/pax all-in for the entire rafting package including the gears, fee for the guide, towels and a buffet lunch after. Not bad huh!

For more details and reservation you may inquire at Payung Rafting with the contact details available in the right banner image.