Bali, the famed Island of the Gods, with its varied landscape of hills and mountains, rugged coastlines and sandy beaches, lush rice terraces and barren volcanic hillsides all providing a picturesque backdrop to its colorful, deeply spiritual and unique culture, stakes a serious claim to be paradise on earth.
With world-class surfing, diving, trekking and outdoor wild Adventures like Canyoning, Whitewater rafting, a large number of cultural, historical and archaeological attractions, and an enormous range of accommodations, this is one of the world's most popular island destinations and one which consistently wins travel awards. Bali has something to offer a very broad market of visitors from young back-packers right through to the super-rich.
Bali is one of more than 17,000 islands in the Indonesian archipelago and is located just over 2 kilometers (almost 1.5 miles) from the eastern tip of the island of Java and west of the island of Lombok.
The island, home to about 4 million people, is approximately 144 kilometers (90 mi.) from east to west and 80 kilometers (50 mi.) north to south.
The word "paradise" is used a lot in Bali and not without reason. The combination of friendly, hospitable people, a magnificently visual culture infused with spirituality and (not least) spectacular beaches with great surfing and diving have made Bali Indonesia's unrivaled number one tourist attraction. Eighty percent of international visitors to Indonesia visit Bali and Bali alone.
The popularity is not without its flip sides—once paradisaical Kuta has degenerated into a congested warren of concrete, touts and scammers extracting a living by overcharging tourists.
The island's visibility has also drawn the unwanted attention of terrorists in 2002 and 2005— however Bali has managed to retain its magic. Bali is a wonderful destination with something for everyone, and though heavily traveled, it is still easy to find some peace and quiet, if you like.
Unlike any other island in largely Muslim Indonesia, Bali is a pocket of Hindu religion and culture.
Every aspect of Balinese life is suffused with religion, but the most visible signs are the tiny offerings (canang sari) found in every Balinese house, work place, restaurant, souvenir stall and airport check-in desk. These leaf trays are made daily and can contain an enormous range of offering items: flowers, glutinous rice, cookies, salt and even cigarettes and coffee. They are set out with burning incense sticks and sprinkled with holy water no less than three times a day, before every meal.
Don't worry if you step on one, as they are placed on the ground for this very purpose and will be swept away anyway. (Any ants enjoying the feast may not appreciate your foot quite as much though)
Balinese Hinduism diverged from the mainstream well over 500 years ago and is quite radically different from what you would see in India. The primary deity is Sanghyang Widi Wasa (Acintya), the "all-in-one god" for which other gods like Vishnu (Wisnu) and Shiva (Civa) are merely manifestations, and instead of being shown directly, he is depicted by an empty throne wrapped in the distinctive poleng black-and-white chessboard pattern and protected by a ceremonial tedung umbrella.
The Balinese are master sculptors, and temples and courtyards are replete with statues of gods and goddesses like Dewi Sri, the goddess of rice and fertility, as well as guardians and protecting demons like toothy Rakasa, armed with a club. These days, though, entire villages like Batubulan have twigged onto the tourist potential and churn out everything imaginable from Buddhas to couples entwined in acrobatic poses for the export market. Balinese dance and music are also justly famous and a major attraction for visitors to the island.
Daytime temperatures are pleasant, varying between 20-33â° C (68-93â° F) year-round. From December to March, the west monsoon can bring heavy showers and high humidity, but days are still often sunny with the rains starting in the late afternoon or evening and passing quickly. During this period Canyon are more aquatic. From June to September, the humidity is low and it can be quite cool in the evenings. At this time of the year there is hardly any rain in the lowland coastal areas. During this season canyon have low debit, it’s a good time to open new canyon, or do some canyon Impossible during West Mooson. Even when it is raining across most of Bali, you can often enjoy sunny, dry days on the Bukit Peninsula which receives far less rain than any other part of the island. On the other hand, in central Bali and in the mountains, you should not be surprised by cloudy skies and showers at any time of the year. At higher elevations such as Bedugul or Kintamani, it gets distinctly chilly and you will need either a sweater or jacket after the sun sets.
Bali is in the UTC+8 time zone (known in Indonesia as WITA, Waktu Indonesia Tengah), same as Western Australia, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and 1 hr ahead of Jakarta.
International arrivals procedures
All passports must be valid for a minimum of 6 months from the date of entry into Indonesia and have at least 2 blank pages available for stamps.
There are many interesting scuba diving sites around Bali. Particularly popular are the wreck of USAT Liberty at Tulamben in the east, the chilled out coral bommies in Padang Bai, the serene reefs around Menjangan Island in the northwest, and dramatic drift diving off Nusa Penida in the south. Bali is a major teaching centre, and there are numerous reputable dive centres around the island affiliated with PADI and SSI.
Warm waters, crowds of young backpackers, cheap living and reliable waves keep Bali near the top of world surfing destinations. The southern coast at kuta, Legian and Canggu , the Bukit Peninsula and Nusa Lembongan are the primary draws. Expert surfers usually head for the big breaks off the Bukit Peninsula, whilst beginners will find the gentler, sandy areas between Kuta and Legian to be ideal for learning. There are formal surf schools on Legian beach and Kuta beach. There are a number of reputable white-water rafting operators in the Ubud area, and the rafting is of good quality, especially in the wet season. Sport fishing is an increasingly popular activity with visitors to the island. Trolling, jigging and bottom fishing can all be very rewarding, with large game far from unusual. Charters are available from many coastal areas but the most popular points with a competitive range of options are Benoa Harbour and nearby Serangan close to Kuta, just to the north in Sanur and Padang Bai on the east coast. Kite surfing can be good during june to September, you can find some good spot in Sanur Area - canggu area and Nusa dua.. kite surfing school’s operate there
Club – Techno Lounge - Bar - Restaurant - around Kuta – Legian – Seminyak. More relax in Sanur and ubud but you can find some very good restaurant there.
is a laid back 12 km stretch of coast to the west of Singaraja in North Bali. It is a welcome break from the bustle of the South. These days the mix of tourists is mainly families and couples rather than the backpackers of yesteryear. It is comprised of several narrow stretches of black volcanic sand. Lovina, like most of Bali, fills up with tourists from all over the world in August and Australians at Christmas.
is geographically situated among the hill in west and east part of this village. The regional of this village is consisted of three complexes those are resident, plantation and rice field complex. This village is much referred by cultural literature science of Tenganan Pegringsingan, which is very famous in the island.It own very unique local community life pattern which is one example of Bali Aga Village cultures (Hindu Prehistoric) and different with other Village in Bali.
is a perfect place for relaxing out from the daily of busy activities and the area is free from the aggressive saler which you will fine in another tourist object in Bali.This peaceful place is ideal for natural excursion activities such as trekking at the National Park, Swimming, Snorkeling, Diving or explore the sacred of the big Temples surrounding the area such as Melanting, Kerta Kawat, Pulaki, Pabean and Pemuteran Temple.