Step off the beaten path with Astungkara Way, where Bali tourism and local agriculture create a unique and mutually transformative experience
I’m sitting on the edge of a bamboo platform by the mattress I’ll sleep on for the night, with my aching feet dangling over the edge. I look out to the cloud-topped mountains with a cup of warm coffee in my hand and I feel proud, knowing I’ve walked all day to get here on paths most visitors never step foot on.
Two of the other pilgrims I spent the day trekking with come to join me. We look at each other with grateful smiles, maintaining the blissful silence as a breeze washes over us. We patiently wait for our dinner, locally grown and prepared by the night’s hosts. Then we will eat, stretch, journal, and sleep under the stars, waking early for another day of exploring the island by foot.
This is Bali. Perhaps, not as you know it.
Far from the beach clubs and resorts it’s become famous for, remains an island where nature still dominates, and the kindness and hospitality of its people goes unmatched. It’s the true magic of the island you can’t find in fancy spas or high-end restaurants, but only when you step off the (now very) beaten track.
Amid the threat of over-development, my time trekking with Astungkara Way revealed a vision for Bali’s future where visitors can connect with nature and local communities in a mutually beneficial way.
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‘‘Bali Not What Used To Be’’
This refrain has followed me during my 2 years in Southeast Asia, surfacing every time I share that I spend most of my time here.
There’s a certain energy that keeps me coming back. A different kind of hustle and bustle, fuelled by the spiritual ceremonies that seem to be a daily occurrence. I spend mornings swimming in waterfalls. I spend evenings watching sunsets over the ocean. But in truth, I struggle to picture its lush green rice paddies and crystal white beaches without the decoration of faded instant noodle packets and plastic bottles.
Folks tell me about their trips to Bali before it was a ‘hot spot’. They tell me it was quiet and beautiful back then, but now they hear it’s too overcrowded and built up. To some extent, they’re right. Bali isn’t what it used to be. The island has lost 25% of its agricultural land in the last 25 years as ancient grounds are knocked down to build beach clubs and resorts. The impact of decades of welcoming foreign crowds can be seen in environmental degradation, plastic pollution, traffic in dense areas, and a higher cost of living.
Far from a ‘has been’, the number of tourists continues to creep up each year. In 2023, 5.2 million foreign tourists came to the island, and in 2024 it’s predicted that 7 million will visit. As tourism in Bali increases, so does Bali’s reliance on tourism. A whopping 80% of the island rely on visitors for their income and the appeal of an air-conditioned, salaried, and stable job has made tourism a favourable career for Bali’s youth, leaving agriculture up to an aging generation.
While its allure endures, people will keep coming to the island and the island will keep on changing. As a foreigner here, I know I’m part of the problem. Is it possible to steer Bali’s tourism onto more sustainable ground?
That’s the Astungkara Way.

Introducing Astungkara Way
‘‘Astungkara’’ is the Balinese word for ‘‘hopefully’’ or ‘‘God willing’’, which is fitting, as the organisation paves a hopeful path for the future of Bali, where tourism and regenerative agriculture can walk side-by-side.
Their mission is fourfold: to turn agriculture into a compelling alternative to tourism for Bali’s youth, to assist farmers in switching to regenerative agriculture, to build positive relationships between local communities and travellers, and to promote regenerative travel that aids local farming.
Mirroring the interconnectedness of nature, Astungkara Way has created a means to seamlessly bring these elements together. They offer visitors the chance to step outside the confines of resorts and Western cafes and immerse themselves in an authentic Bali, with experiences that blend cultural immersion and environmental stewardship, and leave a positive impact on the people and places they engage with.
Having heard about the organisation at an Earth Day event the year prior, I was over the moon to join a portion of their 10-Day Coast-To-Coast Pilgrimage.

The Slow Journey: A Meditative Experience
I joined halfway through the pilgrimage in central Bali at 6 am, feeling flustered and anxious after spending the previous day rushing to finish my tasks for the week and a night not sleeping in fear I wouldn’t wake up in time. By the end of that first day, I’d scribbled in my journal ‘‘all my worries feel comical when life can be as simple as this’’.
I’d stepped outside the busy hub of Ubud with a packed schedule, to an open lush green landscape where all I had to think about was putting one foot in front of the other. The group had already found the rhythm and I slotted right into it. Stretch, walk, listen, learn, sleep, repeat. A recipe for a simple life.
You see, Astungkara Way offers a meditative experience that can’t be found in Bali’s yoga shalas or wellness retreats: they invite you to slow down and connect with nature and communities that live in simple and sustainable ways. From day 1, I got a sense that it was going to be a transformative experience.
The next few days went like this: wake up with the sun and start with gentle yoga and intention setting. Then breakfast, where we’d eat a simple healthy meal made from food grown right next to the grounds we slept on. After that, we’d walk to our next destination. Sometimes in silence, appreciating the beauty of the landscapes, and other times, sharing our stories and reflections. When it got tough, trekking through jungles and bamboo forests, we’d repeat the mantra ‘we can do hard things’ to stir each other on.
And at noon, we’d arrive at our destination for the night.

A Unique Blend of Culture and Regenerative Agriculture
It was the afternoon activities where the uniqueness of the Astungkara Way experience became most apparent. Each day we’d connect with locals, engaging in diverse activities designed to preserve Balinese culture, instil respect for the environment, and bring income to small communities.
Aside from their carefully thought-out incentives, they were simply fun. Making Balinese food, herbal remedies, and organic. Foraging, composting, and bamboo weaving. Joining a river clean-up, creating Canang Sari offerings, and taking part in a water purification ceremony…among many other things.
One afternoon, after a long uphill trek, I found myself sitting with a young local girl laughing like school kids as we coated are legs in a combination of spices and smashed our faces avocados and tomatoes in the name of skincare. It was a scene reminiscent of my teenage sleepovers, except this time with the backdrop of the stunning Golden Valley waterfalls.
Aged 23, two years my younger, I felt instantly connected and inspired by Tarisa. She cooked delicious food and shared her dream of owning a Warung (small restaurant) where she can create her own recipes. She guided us as we foraged for nature’s superfoods and made Boreh, a traditional remedy made from rice and spices, used to warm the skin for healing.
Astungkara Way is supporting her in managing their Regenerative Farming Learning Centre at Golden Valley. They plan to add a kitchen so she can hold cooking classes and use the space for the local community. It is through encounters like these that the organisation subtly weaves its broader initiative: to lure the younger generation back to their agricultural roots and make farming ‘‘sexy’’ again.
Expanding on a regenerative farming program at the Green School, Tim Fijal founded Astungkara Way with a goal to address both the declining interest in farming among young people and the increase in chemical-intensive farming that degrades the soil. The organisation employs young Balinese staff in both agricultural and tourism roles and works with young people, like Tarisa, to find viable ways to become successful ‘agripreneurs’.
It’s the carefully considered initiatives and hard work that goes on in the background, that means travellers are welcomed with open arms, smiles, and an eagerness to share.
Meeting Likeminded Lovers of Organic Produce
Another afternoon, we met Ayu and Wahyu, a young Balinese couple who returned from Canggu to their home village during the pandemic and started a natural farming project on their family’s ancestral land. The precious combination of ancient wisdom and generational innovation became strikingly apparent as we wondered Sandan Natural Farm.
We went from feeding rabbits whose urine is used for compost, to flicking through a portfolio of the farm’s professional branding and copywriting. We listened intently, as they shared how they market and ship their organic produce to the Canggu’s expat market.
That evening, like every evening, we sat together in a bamboo shelter full from a delicious banquet of local food. The topics of the night ranged from the farm and the couple’s lives pre- and post-pandemic, to the dangerously delicious Indomie (a popular instant noodle brand) and broader discussions on cultural differences around marriage and family life.
It hit me how far this was from the Bali lifestyle I was living the week prior. Spas, co-working spaces, social events, supermarkets, restaurants, and dodging traffic as I go about my day. This stripped-back version, where conversations unfold under the stars and over a dinner grown within walking reach, made me feel more connected to the island than I ever had before.
You can go to Bali and you can hit the party scene. You can laze on a beach. You can eat at delicious cafés. You can visit the world-famous yoga studios. You can take a picture from every viewpoint. But to really experience Bali – its beauty, culture, people, and the challenges they face – I encourage you to walk it by foot, with open eyes and ears to the communities and landscapes you trek through.
Astungkara Way offers you the rare opportunity to interact with locals in the intimate setting of their homes and farms. It’s there I saw the resilience, creativity, and kindness of its people, rooted in their connection to the land.

My Takeaways from the Experience
I recently spent a month on Siargao Island in the Philippines. I often heard it labelled ‘the new Bali’. It makes me fear that we’re going down the same unsustainable path in other places, not considering the impact we have. I hope that, as travellers, we learn from initiatives like Astungkara Way and continue to find ways to support the local communities and landscapes we visit.
My 5 days of trekking with them gave me a tiny taste of something so much bigger; not only a glimmer of hope for Bali’s future but an organisation that’s found an innovative way to steer tourism to more sustainable ground.
If you’re inspired to learn more about the organisation, visit AstungkaraWay.com and use the code ‘’heather5’’ for a 5% discount on the experiences.
With a deep passion for the intersection of sustainability and self-care, Heather is a magazine journalist, copywriter, and content writer for ethical wellness brands and publications. You’ll most likely find her roaming around Southeast Asia, seeking out yoga shalas, long hikes, and cafes with a comfy corner to sit and write.
Visit heathergrantwriter.com
Sources:
https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/tourism_and_land_grabbing_in_bali.pdf
Visitor Statistics | Bali Hotels Association | Make Bali Part Of Your Life
Bali Aims To Welcome 7 Million Tourists In 2024 – The Bali Sun
https://awsassets.panda.org/downloads/baliclimatechangeimpact_flyer.pdf