Gorilla Face Cave ATV Tour in Ubud

A carved rock face, not a cave system

The formation sits in a jungle cliff north of Ubud, cut so that the tunnel opening reads as the mouth of a giant gorilla. It is a made feature on a working ATV track rather than a natural landmark, and nobody on the ground pretends otherwise. What it delivers is a genuinely good thirty seconds: you ride into darkness, the engine noise doubles off the rock, and you come out into green.

The rest of the ninety minutes is the same valley everyone rides — jungle trail, muddy descents, bumpy hill sections and a river. Clinton from the Netherlands, riding on 21 August 2026, put the appeal plainly: "Very nice route! The guides are very friendly. You can ride the mud routes multiple times."

The honest criticism

The platform's own summary of the last year of reviews says travellers "note the course feels short and a bit repetitive". That is worth taking seriously at $22: you are buying one strong photograph and ninety minutes of guided mud, not a long expedition.

The practical answer is to ride it solo rather than tandem if you can. Half the saddle time on an already short course is the version of this ride people regret. If you want distance and a real cave, the 750-metre tunnel track is the upgrade, at $39.

The odd-number surcharge

The listing states it in writing: for tandem bookings with an odd number of participants, one person will be required to ride solo, with an additional charge payable on-site. Three friends booking two tandem seats hit this every time.

Decide at checkout rather than at the base. The queue behind you is not the place to do the arithmetic.

Who cannot ride

Pregnant travellers, people with back problems and people with mobility impairments are excluded on this listing. It is not wheelchair accessible. Children ride as tandem passengers with an adult rather than driving.

Alcohol and drugs are banned before riding, and staff do check. The full limits across all the Ubud tracks.

What is included, and what you pay in cash

Included: certified guide, single or tandem quad, helmet, boots, elbow and knee pads, towel, bottled water, lunch of fried rice or noodles, shower room, changing room, locker and insurance.

Not included: tips, and photography or videography, which is sold at the base by a third-party vendor for cash. Several reviewers describe handing their own phone or GoPro to the guide instead — Gabin from France did exactly that on the neighbouring track and tipped for it.

Getting there

Book with pickup and the timeslot you choose is your hotel pickup time; the driver contacts you the day before to reconfirm. Book without and you go straight to the base, where free parking is available. Details arrive by email one day before the activity, and last-minute bookings get a call straight after confirmation. More on the Payangan bases.

Where it is

The base sits in the Payangan area of Gianyar Regency, on the road that climbs from Ubud towards Kintamani. Operator sites put the drive at 20 minutes from Ubud town in clear traffic and 30 in normal conditions; on a weekend afternoon, when the Tegalalang coaches are moving, take the longer figure and add a little.

The exact address is emailed one day before the activity rather than published, which is standard across the Ubud tracks — several bases share access roads and the operators route guests to whichever entrance their group is using.

Arriving under your own steam

Free parking is available at the base for scooters and cars, and a Grab or Gojek from central Ubud is the usual answer for people without their own transport. Coming back is the harder half: signal in the valley is patchy and drivers are thin on the ground, so agree a return with the same driver or ask the base staff to call one while you eat.

If that sounds like more logistics than you want on a holiday, the pickup option removes all of it — and the driver reconfirms the evening before by WhatsApp, so you are not guessing at 07:00.

Timing your slot

Morning departures are consistently the quieter ones on every Ubud track, and in the dry season they are also the coolest. Afternoon slots trade a busier base for a softer, wetter track after the daily rain — which some riders actively prefer.

Whichever you pick, arrive 25 to 30 minutes before the time on your voucher. Registration, the waiver and the safety briefing fill that window, and groups leave on a timetable rather than when the last person is ready.

On the quad

Clothes you would happily throw away, closed shoes, and nothing loose enough to catch. Helmet, boots and elbow and knee pads are issued at the base, so what you supply is the layer underneath. Sunglasses are more nuisance than help once the mud starts; the helmet visor does the work.

Phones ride in the locker unless you have a waterproof pouch and a strap. Riders who tuck one into a pocket are the ones fishing in a river later.

For afterwards

A full change of clothes, including underwear, and a bag for the wet pile. The base provides a towel, a changing room and a hot shower; it does not provide dry socks.

Cash in rupiah covers the photo and video vendor, tips and any extra drinks. The bases work in cash, and the nearest reliable ATM is back in Ubud.