Bali Island

Bali is a fairy tale come true, a beautiful island covered with terraces of emerald rice paddies and forests of clove and cinnamon trees studded with fragrant flowers. Amazing, truly magical music, painting and dance, quaint temples, the gentle whisper of warm ocean waves. But the most valuable treasure of the island is its people, incredibly beautiful and skillful, successfully combining in their lives the realities of the XXI century with its motorcycles and Internet cafes and the traditions of their ancestors. Bali is sometimes confused with James Michener’s fictional island of Bali Hai. But that island would have to be thousands of kilometers east of the real Bali, which was not landed on by American soldiers during World War II and is much more beautiful than the one depicted in the novel.

.

Video: Bali Island

Contents

Highlights

‘ Ulan-Danu Temple

From a village surrounded by rice fields, Ubud has grown into an important cultural center, and magnificent resort hotels, some of the most beautiful in the world, have sprouted up around it. Yet among the haze-covered mountains of the northern coast, as well as on the neighboring island of Lombok, it is still possible to lead a secluded, serene life, admiring empty beaches and legendary temples, as if floating on the waters of a volcanic lake. The pristine land is covered everywhere with hydrangeas, orchids and tropical roses. The surrounding villages with their way of life seem to have come from another world, not even from another era.

Anywhere on the island of Bali can easily be reached in a few hours. But for the Balinese, their homeland is a whole world. It’s best to get to know the whole island by staying one or more days in each of its areas, because if you decide to stay only in the south, you’ll have to stand in traffic every trip.

.

Don’t aim to see all the temples and sights at once. The nature of Bali and the fleeting images of daily life deserve no less attention. It is best to turn a corner and encounter, for example, a procession blocking the way, in which, dressed in their best clothes, seemingly all the villagers take part. Balinese temples, palaces and other buildings, unusual and unique, appear in their full glory only when they host ceremonies or festivals. We have selected the most attractive places, but once again, to truly appreciate and absorb their charm, you should not visit them all in one stay on the island.

.
‘ Mount and Lake Batur
‘ Satisfied Balinese