Photograph of the week: Tegallalang, Bali

Located on the island of Bali, Tegallalang is without question one of the most unique landscapes you can witness in all of Indonesia. For centuries, the Balinese have cultivated rice in these beautiful terraces using the Subak System to irrigate the paddies. Although you have several options to witness this ingenious system, which is so important to the culture and way of life on the island, there are simply none quite as picturesque as the fields at Tegallalang.

Standing in the middle of the jungle at 600 metres above sea level, the site is only a fifteen-minute drive away from the popular centre of Ubud. Although these days the majority of Balinese in the area make their living through tourism, thousands still work in the rice fields day in, day out.

Rice is the staple of all Indonesian cuisine and is often described as the lifeblood of the Balinese. The cascading formation of rice terraces is key to cultivate the grain in these steep areas…