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Bali is a masterpiece of nature
formed by an east to west range of volcanics, dominated
by two towering peak, Batur and Agung. Its volcanic soil
are exceptionally fertile and the reliable northwest
monsoon brings abundant rainfall. The Balinese people
have done much to turn such natural blessings to their
advantage. All but the steepest land has been
painstakingly terraced with rice paddies. Each watery
patch is efficiently irrigated through an elaborate
system of aqueducts, dams, sluices regulated since
ancient times by village agricultural cooperatives called
subak. The land repays these efforts with abundant
harvests, which in turn give the people extra time and
energy to devote to their renamed cultural pursuits. As
the focus for Bali’s tourism, commerce and
government, the south is by far the island’s busiest
region. Denpasar is the provincial capital has
experienced unprecedented economic and population growth
during past decade. Most of the foreign visitors seek
paradise in the island’s three beach resorts ie
Sanur, Kuta and Nusa Dua.
Samur, ten kilometers southeast of Denpasar
have captivated the most foreign visitors was once an
enclave of fishermen and holy Brahman priests, more
famous for its demons and magic than its scenic delights.
During the 1930s, however, Sanur spectacular beaches
attracted a colony of western intelectuals and artists
that included anthropologist Margaret Mead and painter
Walter Spies. Mass tourism began in the early 1960s, but
real boom got under way only during the 1970s, with the
development of luxury bungalows along the waterfront and
secluded hotels with lush gardens.
Kuta at the top of the isthumus leading to Bukit Peninsula has blossomed into Bali’s greatest beach party. First discovered by Aussie surfers in the early 1970s, Kuta chief natural attractions are a broad sloping beach, pounding surf and technicolor sunsets. Accomodation ranges from informal to luxury and beautiful resort hotels with gorgeous well manicured tropical gardens facing the setting sun. The streets of Kuta is lined with a staggering array of restaurants, discos, pub, restaurant, cafes, art shops, boutiques, and tour agencies. The result is a kind od tinseltown with a cosmopolitan feel, especially during July to August and December to January when Kuat hots up and roars into the fast lane.
The western and southern shoreline of
Bali, is rimmed with sharp, jutting cliffs. The site most
illustrious temple, Pura Uluwatu is chosen by
Balinese saint Pedenda Sakti Waru Rauh as the
"stage" for his moksa reunion with the godhead,
Uluwatu. It is unrivaled for sheer grandeur of site and
elegance of architecture. Gaint sea turtles swim in the
ocean 300 m below the temple’s clifftop perch.Nusa Dua, south of Sanur has been developed into a massive tourist project over the last decade. There are luxury hotels, shopping center and huge convertion centre. Roving merchant, hawkers and masseuses are banned from Nusa Dua’s streets and beaches. But not far away, Buala village, is crammed with souvenir shops and hawkers stalls.
Bali Museum in Denpasar, houses fin collection of archaeological artifacts and example of Balinese craftmanships.
Pura
Taman Ayun, a magnificent garden temple built in
1634 by Raja of Melawi, I Gusti Agung Anon. It has
spacious compound surrounded by a moat and is adjacent to
a lotus lake. In the surrounding pavilions, priests
recite their vedic incantations.
Tanah
Lot
is founded by the proselytizing Hindu saint, Naratha
during his wandering. Like many temples in Bali, it has
animal guardians, in this case snake who lives in caves
nearby. At high tide, waves lash the islet but at other
times, it is possible to cross over the rock and ascend
the temple, which at sunset is strikingly silhouetted
against cliffs west of the temple and splash through
natural arches carved by the relentless sea.
Ubud has been a mecca for foreign and local
artists who enjoy the creative atmosphere in this area of
Bali. Artist have thrived in Ubud since the 1930s when a
local anstocrat named Cokorda Sukawati formed the Pita
Maha Art Society together with German painters.
Ubud’s main intersection for breathtaking ride to
Pujung, from where you can walk to Sebatu village with
its split-bamboo, spirit boxes and carved temple plinths.
Whitewater rafting through the lush Agung River Valley is
like a trip back in time through a Bali untouched by the
20th century .
Goa
Gajah
(Elephant Caves) is located on central Bali. The
cave’s gaping mouth is fantastically carved with
leaves, rocks, animals, waves and demons and when it was
discovered in 1923, these carving were apparently
mistaken for an elephant, hence the cave’s name.
Adjacent baths were discovered and 
excavated in
1954. The site was probably a hermitage used by early
Hindu-Buddhist holy men, as the cave contains three
joined lingga (Shivaitic fertility symbols). Two Buddha
statues have been found too, just a short distance away
from the baths.
Gunung
Kawi is
one of the holiest spot in Bali. It is a spectacular and
ancient royal tomb reached by descending a long, steep
stairway through a stone arch into a watery canyon. On
the far wall, ghostly shrines are hewn out of solid rock,
probably memorials to the deified 11th century Balinese
ruler, Anak Wungsu. A complex of monks cell also line the
canyon walls.
Gunung Batur located to the north of Bali, is
an active volcano that reaches 1,700m above sea level. A
village called Penelokan perches on the lip of the
immerse caldera, 10 km across as the mythical garuda
flies. From Penelokan, it leads down to lava fields and a
large crater lake at the bottom of the basin. Across the
lake, lies Trungan village, one of the few pre-Hindu Bali
Aga enclaves on the island. The people here still
maintain many ancient customs, the most famous of which
is the practice of exposing their dead to the elements in
a skeleton - filled graveyard by the lake.
Pura Besakih is the island’s holiest
place. With massive peak of Gunung Agung, the Balinese
Olympus, as a backdrop, the broad, stepped granite
terraces and slender, pointed black pagodas of this 60
temple complex are a fitting residence for the gods.
Regarded as a holy place since pre-historic times, the
first record of Besakih’s existance is an
inscription dating from 1007 AD. From at least the 15th
century, when Besakih was designated as the sanctuary of
the deified ancestors of the Gelgel god-kings and their
very extended family, this has been the
"mother" temple for the entire island.
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