Where to fly a drone around Ubud, Bali (2026)

Aerial view straight down onto the curving green steps of Bali rice terraces — The shot people fly a drone to Ubud for: the stepped rice terraces from straight above. Photo: Tom Fisk / Pexels

Not a secret list of approved spots. The open rice terraces and ridgelines where a drone makes sense around Ubud, what the rules actually say, and the fees, checked for 2026.

Updated October 2026 · Bali Creator Gear

That green staircase of rice terraces from straight above is the shot people fly a drone to Ubud for. Where can you actually get it? Open rice fields and ridgelines, away from crowds, temples and the airport, not from a secret approved list. Around Ubud that's the Tegallalang terraces and the quieter Sidemen valley, flown under 150 metres, in sight, with the village's okay.

Where can you actually fly a drone around Ubud?

There's no official list of approved drone spots for Ubud, and anyone who hands you one is guessing. The real test is simpler and it's the same everywhere on the island: keep the drone in sight, fly in daylight, stay under 150 metres, keep well clear of the airport, and get the okay from whoever runs the land under you. The good spots all share one shape: open green, few people, and no temple directly below.

You'll also read a lot of confident, scary, oddly specific rules about Bali drone bans online. We went looking for a primary source behind each of them in our drone rules guide, and a lot of them don't have one. Fly on the national rules you can actually verify, ask the village, and you'll be fine in the places below.

Is it worth bringing a drone at all?

If your trip is terraces, ridgelines and the quieter valleys, yes. A single low pass over the Tegallalang steps or the Sidemen valley is the clip that makes a Bali edit feel like Bali. Skip the drone if your days are all temples, ceremonies and packed viewpoints like the Monkey Forest. You'll spend more of the trip not flying than flying, and a drone you can't launch is just weight in the bag.

Flying over the Tegallalang rice terraces

This is the one in the photo above: the curving green steps seen from straight down, the shot the whole island is known for. Tegallalang sits about half an hour north of Ubud town, and recent guides list it as a place people fly. You descend to the fields that sit beside the road, launch from an open spot between the coconut palms, and send the drone out over the terraces.

It's also busy. The site is laced with photo swings and bird's-nest platforms, and the tour buses land from mid-morning. Get there for 7 to 9am: soft side light picks out every step, the crowds haven't formed, and the air is usually calm. Keep the drone away from people and the swing platforms, and if a farmer waves you over to their plot, a small donation is normal. For the ground-level shots and fees at the same spot, our Tegallalang photo guide goes deeper.

Aerial view of green Bali rice terraces with coconut palms and a small farm hut — What the drone sees over the terraces: steps, palms and a farmer's hut, early in the morning. Photo: Tom Fisk / Pexels

Drone footage over the Ubud rice terraces, so you can see the shot you're planning for before you launch. Video by Kevin Eassa on YouTube.

Sidemen valley, for the quiet version

Sidemen is the move when you want the same green without the crowd. It's about an hour east of Ubud, it's far less busy, and the rice fields run right up to Mount Agung in the background. A photographer who flies Bali calls it one of the island's best-kept secrets and points to sunrise, when low cloud sits in the valley and the drone looks down through the layers. Fewer people also means calmer, easier flying: no swing platforms, no bus queue, no crowd to steer around.

The same thinking covers the ridgelines around Ubud in general. They give you big green views without needing to climb high, and an early start usually means the place is yours. The quieter the spot, the less there is to go wrong.

Where not to point a drone

The Monkey Forest is a hard no: it's a crowded sanctuary under thick jungle canopy, so there's nothing to fly over and plenty to annoy. Over temples, ask the caretaker before you launch and expect a fee or a donation, and never put a drone over a ceremony, a drone is not welcome during prayers. Bali also runs on village councils, and some villages ban drones outright; our drone rules guide lists the ones we've been able to confirm. The honest rule: when in doubt, land and ask.

The rules and the fees, checked today

Keep it in sight, daylight only	The drone stays within your line of sight; no night flying ²
Max height	Under 150 metres above the ground ³
A lower ceiling	One December 2025 guide advises staying at or below about 120 metres ¹
Airports	Stay about 15 kilometres clear of any airport ³
Tegallalang entry	Rp 25.000 to 50.000 per person, parking Rp 5.000 per car ⁶
Farmer's land	A donation of about Rp 10.000 to 20.000 to shoot on their plot ⁶
Best time at the terraces	About 07:00 to 09:00, before the tour buses ⁶
Quieter spots	Launch early morning or just before sunset to miss the crowds ⁵
Temples	Ask the caretaker first; a fee or donation may apply ²
Villages	Introduce yourself to the banjar and keep flights short; a no is a no ¹

Last checked 12 October 2026. Fees in Bali change often and differ between gates, so carry cash and treat these as a guide.

Sources put the national height limit at under 150 metres, while one December 2025 write-up advises staying lower, around 120 metres. Take the lower number when you can: you'll keep the drone easier to see and rarely need the extra height for a terrace shot anyway. Registration is the genuinely messy part, and we lay out what the Indonesian sources do and don't say about it in the drone rules guide rather than repeat a number we can't back.

The drone for the rice-terrace shot

For terraces and ridgelines around Ubud you want something small, sharp and legal to carry easily. A sub-250g DJI Mini does all three, and the ND filters are what separate a clean aerial from a stuttery one in the Bali sun.

Starting points for the aerial, to adjust on the day:

Fly at first light. Soft side light shows every step of the terraces, and the place is empty. Midday is flat and crowded.
Lock ISO to 100 and drop the shutter with the ND filter to around 1/50 of a second, so the ground moves smoothly under you rather than looking frozen.
Low and slow beats high and static. A reveal that lifts from just above the palms up over the terraces reads better than a hover at the ceiling.
Shoot the flattest colour profile you'll grade if you edit, or leave it on the normal profile if you won't. Either way, bring a spare battery; one charge is one or two real shots.

Every drone we rent is sub-250g, and renting one doesn't include permission to fly it. Send us your dates and where you're staying through our drone rental page and we'll tell you what we know about that area before you commit.

The morning, start to finish

Leave Ubud before 7 with the batteries charged. Drive out to Tegallalang, or push on to Sidemen for the quiet version, and launch from an open spot beside the road while the light is soft and the terraces are empty. Fly low over the steps, keep the drone in sight, and pack up before the buses arrive. If a caretaker or a farmer waves you down, land and ask. The footage is worth the early start, and it's the part of the trip you'll actually replay.

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Quick answers

Where can you fly a drone around Ubud?

Open rice fields and ridgelines away from crowds, temples and the airport, not a secret approved list. The two most people fly are the Tegallalang rice terraces and the quieter Sidemen valley, both under the national rules and with the village's okay.

Can you fly a drone at the Tegalalang rice terraces?

Guides list Tegallalang as a place people fly, launching from beside the road between the palms. Go at 7 to 9am before the tour buses, keep the drone away from people and the swing platforms, and expect to pay the Rp 25.000 to 50.000 entry.

Do you need permission to fly a drone in Ubud?

There's no single permit you buy on arrival. Bali runs on village councils, the banjar, so the working rule is to ask locally before you launch, especially near temples and during ceremonies, and to accept a no. Our drone rules guide has what the Indonesian sources actually say.

How high can you fly a drone in Bali?

Under 150 metres above the ground is the national limit, in daylight and within sight of the drone. One 2025 guide advises staying lower, around 120 metres. Stay roughly 15 kilometres clear of any airport.

Where should you not fly a drone in Ubud?

Over the Monkey Forest, packed viewpoints, temples or any ceremony. The Monkey Forest is a crowded sanctuary under thick canopy, and temples need the caretaker's okay first, with a fee or donation sometimes applied.