Bali in January 2027: Wettest Month, Galungan, What Works

Top picks from this guide

#1

Near Ubud The best rafting of the year

The Ayung river

The Ayung runs faster from November to March, which makes January a better ride than July, and you finish soaked either way. Rafting is from $25 with gear and hotel pickup, about two hours on the water, and the put-in is about 20 minutes from central Ubud.

#2

Everywhere in Bali The most photogenic weeks of the year

Villages at Galungan

From the days before 13 January to Kuningan on 23 January the island is dressed for the festival: tall bamboo penjor over every road and families in ceremonial dress on the way to temple. Some temples close to visitors on the main days; our Galungan guide covers which.

#3

Central and north Bali Big water, early in the day

Waterfalls at full power

January is peak flow for the river-fed falls. Go before midday, when the afternoon storms have not yet turned the water brown or the staircases slippery, and wear shoes with grip. Spring-fed falls hold their colour best after heavy rain.

#4

Tabanan Flooded terraces and fresh planting

Jatiluwih at planting time

The subak charter at Jatiluwih obliges members to plant Balinese red rice in January, so this is the month of flooded terraces and new seedlings rather than tall green. The UNESCO heritage tour is from $65 per car plus $20 tickets per person.

#5

Kintamani Travellers with a spare morning

Mount Batur with a fallback

Guides still run most January mornings; the risk is cloud hiding the sunrise and a slippery upper section on the hike. The jeep and hot spring format is $55 meeting in Kintamani, $70 with hotel pickup. Booking needs no prepayment, so moving a day costs nothing.

#6

Nusa Dua, Sanur, Keramas Morning sessions on the clean side

The east-coast surf

January still delivers around 1.7 m of offshore swell, but the west-to-northwest monsoon puts Kuta, Canggu and the Bukit's west reefs onshore. Sanur, Serangan, Nusa Dua and Keramas are clean most mornings. Lessons are from $35.

Is January a good time to visit Bali?

Yes, for a trip built on land rather than on the sea. January is the wettest month on the long-run numbers, 350.7 mm at the airport on the 1991-2020 normals, and when the monsoon is strong it can string several wet days together. It is also the month with the fewest queues after the New Year week, the fullest waterfalls, the best rafting and, in 2027, the Galungan festival.

The plan that works: inland days as the core, one sea day early in the trip with a spare behind it, and afternoons kept for things a storm does not ruin. If the whole trip depends on a single boat morning, January is the month where that plan is most likely to fail, and we would rather say so now.

Is January the wettest month in Bali?

Yes. On the Tokyo Climate Center's 1991-2020 normals for Ngurah Rai airport, January has 350.7 mm of rain against 327.4 mm in December and 289.8 mm in February, with a mean temperature of 27.9°C. The mornings are often clear or partly cloudy and the rain arrives as a heavy burst in the afternoon; the highlands around Ubud, Bedugul and Kintamani are wetter and cooler than the coast.

For 2026/2027 BMKG said on 22 September 2026 that a very strong El Niño would bring the rainy season late and, in more than half of Indonesia by area, make it shorter than normal. For Bali it put the peak in January 2027 for the central part of the island and February 2027 for most of it. A forecast made in September is a probability, not a promise; check the next day's forecast, not the month's.

Rain and temperature: 1991-2020 monthly normals for Denpasar/Ngurah Rai airport, published by the Tokyo Climate Center of the Japan Meteorological Agency. Sunrise: our calculation with NOAA's solar position equations for Denpasar; the Batur summit sees it about 6-7 minutes earlier. Arrivals: foreign visitors arriving directly in Bali, BPS Bali figures as reported by ANTARA and detik.

When is Galungan in January 2027, and what changes?

Galungan falls on Wednesday 13 January 2027, with Penampahan the day before on 12 January and Umanis Galungan on 14 January. Kuningan, which closes the festival, is on Saturday 23 January 2027. The Pawukon chain behind these dates runs every 210 days, which is why the next Galungan after that is on 11 August 2027.

For visitors, the festival is the reason to come rather than to avoid. Tours and tour infrastructure keep working. Individual temples can close to visitors on the main days, and roads slow for processions and families on the way to temple. Before the festival, the island sees two other holy days: Siwaratri on 6 January, the night of Shiva, and Sugihan Bali on 8 January. Our Galungan guide has the detail.

Which tours work best in January?

The river and the interior. Rafting on the Ayung from $25 is at its best. The Ubud route, 10 hours from $65 per car for up to five, and the UNESCO heritage tour both work in a shower. At Jatiluwih the subak plants red rice in January, so expect flooded terraces and fresh seedlings; our rice terrace season guide explains the calendar. Waterfalls are at full volume; go early.

Mount Batur runs most mornings with cloud as the risk; our Batur rainy season guide is honest about the odds. The sea needs the most flexibility: on conditions our manta guide ranks November to March last, and our whale shark guide calls January and February the months where mornings get called off. Put Nusa Penida early in the trip and keep a spare day.

How busy is Bali in January?

Busy for the first few days, quiet after. Bali's school holiday ends on 2 January 2027, 1 January is a Friday holiday, and Isra Mikraj on Tuesday 5 January 2027 is a national holiday under the joint decree signed on 15 September 2026. Australian schools stay on summer holiday until 26 January in Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory, 31 January in Western Australia, and 1-3 February in the ACT, New South Wales and Tasmania.

BPS counted 502,205 foreign arrivals in January 2026, 12.30% fewer than in December 2025 and 5.23% fewer than a year earlier. Domestic travel was 2,170,938 trips the same month. Put together with the weather, January after the first week is a month of short queues at the famous viewpoints and flexible booking.

Dates in January 2027 worth knowing

• 1 January — New Year holiday; 2 January — Bali school holiday ends
• 5 January — Isra Mikraj, national holiday
• 6 January — Siwaratri; 8 January — Sugihan Bali
• 12-14 January — Penampahan Galungan, Galungan on the 13th, Umanis Galungan
• 22 January — Purnama Kewulu, the full moon
• 23 January — Kuningan, the close of the Galungan festival
• 26 January - 3 February — Australian summer school holidays end, state by state
• Looking ahead: Nyepi, the day of silence, is Monday 8 March 2027, fixed in the 2027 joint decree; the airport closes for 24 hours
• The month before: Bali in December; the month after: Bali in February; for the day of silence itself, our Nyepi guide

Where these numbers come from

• Tokyo Climate Center, JMA: monthly normals for Denpasar/Ngurah Rai — rain and temperature, base period 1991-2020, retrieved 23 September 2026
• BMKG press release of 22 September 2026 — very strong El Niño, onset and peak of the 2026/2027 rainy season by region, retrieved 23 September 2026
• Foreign and domestic arrivals from BPS Bali: January 2026 as reported by ANTARA on 2 March 2026, retrieved 23 September 2026
• Sekretariat Negara: joint decree on 2027 holidays, signed 15 September 2026 — New Year, Isra Mikraj 5 January, Nyepi 8 March 2027, retrieved 23 September 2026
• Bali school calendar 2026/2027, decree of the provincial education office B.10.400.3/5892/UPTD.BPTP/DIKPORA, as reproduced by Komunitas Belajar — holiday ends 2 January 2027, Galungan days, retrieved 23 September 2026
• Tourism Australia: Australian school holidays — 2026-2027 summer dates by state, retrieved 23 September 2026
• Kalender Bali Digital — Balinese holy days, full and dark moons for October 2026 to January 2027, retrieved 23 September 2026
• NOAA solar calculator — the equations behind our sunrise times for Denpasar, calculated 23 September 2026
• Rice calendar, surf, sea and whale shark rankings: our own guides linked above; tour prices from SB Excursions tour pages, September 2026

FAQ

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White water rafting is one of Bali's easiest adventure products to fit into a trip because it feels active without being overly technical. It is especially strong for guests who want something memorable that still works for mixed groups.

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