Set your sights on Buahan, A Banyan Tree Escape, from March onwards, when the rainy season nears its end. Constructed entirely from recycled wood, the 16 mountainside lodges, or balés, at this eco-resort 40 minutes north of Ubud feature neither windows nor doors, meaning guests fall asleep in four-posters overlooking the forest canopy and soak in copper bathtubs while fireflies dance above them in the dusk. (There are also dedicated “Hideaway” spots scattered across the property, where guests are encouraged to meditate surrounded by birdsong and frangipani.) The food offering, meanwhile, aims to be zero waste, with Balinese chef Eka Sunarya heading up The Open Kitchen, a largely plant-based restaurant that champions produce from hyperlocal farms: think nourishing moringa soup, presented in a coconut shell, or vegetables wrapped in banana leaves and grilled over charcoal. As for the Toja Spa? It’s spread across several bamboo pavilions, all of which overlook the Ayung River. Opt for a restorative scrub – done with rice and ginger – or a meditation session at the foot of a private waterfall.
Meanwhile, on quieter Sumba, Fabrice and Evguenia Ivara’s Cap Karoso is a marvel of modernist-meets-brutalist architecture amongst the cashew trees and thatch-roofed Sumbanese homes on the island’s southwestern coastline. “When you come here, you feel that it’s another time in a different world,” Evguenia told Vogue. “It’s just completely cut off from everyday life and feels really untouched. You have the feeling of getting close to a different culture and different way of living, which is pure and not touristy. I think that’s a treasure nowadays.” HM
The Maldives
