Witnessing a sacred ritual in Bali made me see the island in an entirely new way

On a quiet street in Bukian village in Bali's hinterland, two statues of roaring lions stand sentinel at an elaborate doorway. It opens, Tardis like, into a sprawling compound of buildings and more statues, gardens and free-range chooks.

The family of high priest Idha Guru Sri Empu lives here, and we find him seated at the head of a blazing firepit, bare chested and his long hair in a top knot. He is flanked to his left by statues of deities, and on other sides by devotees who will sing, chant, bang drums and ring bells as part of the sacred ritual of Agni Yajna, honouring the Hindu fire god.

We throw rice and beans into the flames to invite divine blessings into our lives. Like the fire he incants over, Idha Guru emanates warmth - in his smile and his explanations that are translated for us by our guide Suryadi; and through the shadow-puppet show that he performs for us after the ceremony.

This is my fifth visit to Bali, but the first time I have stepped into an inner world like this. I am staying at the Anantara Ubud Bali Resort, and it is part of the Anantara brand to connect guests with genuine local experiences. At a time when authenticity is highly prized by travellers, my four-night stay is hitting the mark all over the place.

At the Mengening temple, built by King Marakata in the early 11th century, our guide Made Warnata - who is director of spa, wellness and recreation at the resort - leads us along a pathway towards holy springs where we stand, wrapped in sarongs, in mineral-rich water before a series of spouts from which yet more water rushes over our heads to wash away bad energy - anger, sadness and ego, for three.

Made says that the water can make skin feel softer, while reducing stress and releasing emotional problems. At the least, this ancient purification ceremony is deeply focusing. You are in the moment, thoughts of luxe resorts utterly expelled.

Afterwards, Made shows us sacred royal sites around the temple grounds, including a fenced-off water-filled hole in the ground where, it is believed, the king would wash his crown.

There is a moment, back at the Anantara, when I feel as though I am stuck in an Escher sketch. I've been prone to getting lost and right now, I have to walk up some stairs to get to another set of stairs that will take me down to where I want to go. This may have more to do with my skewiff sense of direction, but it does reflect the size of this colossus embedded in the jungle - while the resort has just 85 rooms, 33 of them are villas that spill down a hillside to the Pikat River, requiring many walkways and connecting stairs, and great concrete pillars to hold it all up (it took a year to drill 2000 piles to support the resort, the GM tells me).

All in all the Anantara rambles across 4.6 hectares - and the travelator is a delightful way to beat the maze. It tracks up and down the steep slope all day, stopping at the various levels to drop off and pick up guests who summon it at the press of a button. The operators like a chat - 40 per cent of employees here are from the local village Puhu - and there is sometimes an offering to the gods set to the side, the scent of burning incense on the breeze.

At the top of the hill, the vast lobby area opens on to an equally enormous outdoor patio from where, if the skies are clear enough, you are treated to a stunning tableau of two mountains: Bali's highest peak Mount Agung and the smaller, further-away Mount Batur, an active volcano which last erupted a quarter-century ago.

The resort opened in late 2024, and last year was included in the prestigious Travel + Leisure top 100 new hotels in the world list. It is indeed a special place to stay, far from the coastal crowds and cliches of Kuta and Seminyak, in the deep green rainforest and rice paddies of the Bali interior. It's even a 45-minute drive into Ubud, which is offensively cacophonous when I get there after our days of peace and quiet in Puhu.

My one-bedroom villa is sumptuous and spacious. It has its own infinity pool. On a couple of mornings, I eat breakfast just beside it, of egg-white omelette, fruit and coffee. The luxuriant hillside opposite almost feels close enough to touch. It is sometimes wreathed in mist; at other times thunder claps and rain falls; and sometimes the sky is blue and sunshine beats down. And all the while there is the sound of water making its way somewhere, and the trills of birds and insects. I could stay in this villa for days, if Anantara wasn't so intent on getting its guests out and about - even at the resort itself, there is much to lure you from your cocoon.

At the Mediterranean-inspired Amerta restaurant, a six-course degustation begins with citrus red snapper with a yuzu dressing, and ends with caramelised popcorn on a silky bed of salted caramel sauce. But my highlight is mid-menu; Indonesian Wagyu sirloin served alongside a bearnaise made with rare Andaliman black pepper, endemic to the Sumatran highlands.

My final meal is at Kirana, the resort's all-day restaurant, where extensive menus focus on Indonesian cuisine - including Balinese specialities - and offer plenty of "global flavours", too - hello beef burger and pizza. And my breakfast dim sum, too, I suppose. I eat the little trio of dumplings on the veranda, soaking up the jungle views one last time. For good measure, there's barely a cloud in the sky.

The writer was a guest of Anantara Ubud Bali Resort