8Information
Kalibukbuk has ATMs, book stalls, internet places and pharmacies.
8Getting There & Away
Bus & Bemo
To reach Lovina from south Bali by public transport, you'll need to change twice in Singaraja. Regular bemos go from Singaraja's Banyuasri terminal to Kalibukbuk (about 8000Rp) – you can flag them down anywhere on the main road.
If you're coming by long-distance bus from the west you can ask to be dropped off anywhere along the main road.
Tourist Shuttle Bus
Perama ( GOOGLE MAP ; %0362-41161; www.peramatour.com; Jl Raya Lovina) buses stop in Anturan. Passengers are then ferried to other points on the Lovina strip (10,000Rp). There's a morning bus to/from the south, including Kuta, Sanur and Ubud (all 125,000Rp).
8Getting Around
The Lovina strip is very spread out, but you can easily travel back and forth on bemos (5000Rp).
DON'T MISS
WATERFALLS
About 5km west of Lovina, a sign points to Air Terjun Singsing (Daybreak Waterfall). About 1km off the main road, there's a warung (food stall) on the left and a car park on the right. Walk past the warung and along the path for about 200m to the lower falls. The waterfall isn't huge, but the pool underneath is ideal for swimming, though not crystal-clear. The water, cooler than the sea, is very refreshing.
The area is thick with tropical forest and makes a nice day trip from Lovina. The falls are more spectacular in the wet season (October to March), and may be just a trickle at other times.
West of Lovina
The main road west of Lovina passes temples, farms and towns while it follows the thinly developed coast. You'll see many vineyards, home to Bali's wine industry.
Pemuteran
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This popular oasis in the northwest corner of Bali has a number of artful resorts set on a little dogbone-shaped bay that's alive with local life such as kids playing soccer until dark. Pemuteran offers a real beach getaway. Most people dive or snorkel the underwater wonders at nearby Pulau Menjangan while here.
1Sights
Project PenyuTURTLE HATCHERY
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0362-93001; www.reefseenbali.com; Reef Seen; donation 20,000Rp; h8am-5pm)S
Run by Reef Seen Divers' Resort, this nonprofit turtle hatchery project collects turtle eggs, which are looked after until they’re ready for ocean release. More than 7000 turtles have been released since 1994.
2Activities
Diving is the main reason people come to Pemuteran. It's the ideal base for diving and snorkelling Pulau Menjangan (Click here). Banyuwedang's harbour is just 7km west of town, so you have only a short ride before you're on a boat for the relaxing and pretty 30-minute journey to Menjangan.
Pemuteran itself also has extensive coral reefs about 3km offshore at Pemuteran Bay; there's varied marine life, coral gardens and walls. There's also a sunken underwater Hindu temple and 41 statues.
Dive shops and local hotels run snorkelling trips that cost US$35 to US$60; two-tank dive trips cost from US$80; snorkelling gear rents from 40,000Rp.
oReef Seen Divers' ResortDIVING
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0362-93001; www.reefseenbali.com; shore/boat dives from 315,000/555,000Rp)
Right on the beach in a laid-back resort, Reef Seen is a PADI dive centre and has a full complement of classes. It also offers pony rides on the beach for kids (from 200,000Rp for 30 minutes). Some dive packages include accommodation at the resort. The company is active in local preservation efforts.
Easy DiversDIVING
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0813 5319 8766; www.easy-divers.eu; Jl Singaraja-Gilimanuk; introductory dives from €50, Pulau Menjangan snorkelling €35)
Easy Divers' founder, Dusan Repic, has befriended many a diver new to Bali, and this shop is well recommended. It's near Taman Selini and Pondok Sari hotels.
4Sleeping & Eating
Pemuteran has one of the nicest selections of beachside hotels in Bali plus a growing number of budget guesthouses. Many have a sense of style and all are low-key and relaxed, with easy access to the beach.
oKubuku EcolodgeGUESTHOUSE$
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0362-343 7302; www.kubukuhotel.com; Jl Singaraja-Gilimanuk; r incl breakfast with fan/air-con from 350,000/450,000Rp; aW)
A slice of Seminyak style in Pemuteran, Kubuku has a chic pool and bar with an inviting patch of lawn. Comfortable rooms are excellent value, and the restaurant serves tasty organic meals. There are also yoga and cooking classes, and bike hire.
Jubawa HomestayGUESTHOUSE$
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0362-94745; www.jubawa-pemuteran.com; r 300,000-600,000Rp; aWs)
One of Pemuteran's originals, Jubawa is a rather plush budget choice. The 24 rooms are set in expansive gardens around a pool. The popular cafe-bar serves Balinese and Thai food.
Double You HomestayGUESTHOUSE$
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0813 3842 7000; www.doubleyoubali.com; off Jl Singaraja-Gilimanuk; r incl breakfast 400,000-600,000Rp; aW)
On a small lane south of the main road, this stylish guesthouse is a good example of the many well-priced new accommodations springing up in Pemuteran. The four immaculate units are set in a flower-filled garden and have hot water and other comforts.
oTaman Selini Beach BungalowsBOUTIQUE HOTEL$$
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0362-94746; www.tamanselini.com; Jl Singaraja-Gilimanuk; r incl breakfast US$90-160; aWs)
The 11 bungalows here recall an older, refined Bali, from the quaint thatched roofs down to the antique carved doors and detailed stonework. Rooms, which open onto a large garden running down to the beach, have four-poster beds and large outdoor bathrooms. The outdoor daybeds can be addictive. It's immediately east of Pondok Sari hotel, on the beach and off the main road.
La Casa KitaPIZZA$$
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0852 3889 0253; Jl Gilimanuk-Seririk; pizzas 58,000-75,000Rp; h2-10pm)
Grab a table and a cold Bintang on the outdoor lawn and choose from an excellent selection of thin-crust wood-fired pizzas. Other Western and Indonesian options are good, too; the chef knows their stuff. It's on the main road across from Easy Divers.
8Getting There & Away
Pemuteran is served by any of the buses and bemo on the Gilimanuk–Lovina run. Labuhan Lalang and Bali Barat National Park are 12km west. It's a three- to four-hour drive from south Bali, either over the hills or around the west coast.
Bali Barat National Park
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Bali's only national park, Bali Barat (West Bali) National Park covers 190 sq km of the northwestern tip of Bali. An additional 550 sq km is protected in the national park extension, as well as almost 70 sq km of coral reef and coastal waters. It's a place where you can hike through forests, enjoy the island’s best diving at Pulau Menjangan and explore coastal mangroves.
Most of the natural vegetation in the park is not tropical rainforest, which requires year-round rain, but rather coastal savannah, with deciduous trees that become bare in the dry season. The southern slopes receive more-regular rainfall, and so have more tropical vegetation, while the coastal lowlands have extensive mangroves.
While the park lacks any of the big hitters you find in the parks of Java or Sumatra, local fauna includes black monkeys, leaf monkeys and macaques (seen in the afternoon along the main road near Sumber Kelompok); rusa, barking, sambar, Java and muncak (mouse) deer; wild boar, leopard cats, giant squirrels, porcupine, buffalo, iguanas, cobras, pythons and green snakes. There were once tigers, but the last confirmed sighting was in 1937 – and that one was shot. The best time for wildlife-watching is during the dry season from May to October.
The bird life is prolific, with around 200 species found here, including the very rare Bali starling (which can also be spotted flying about at the park headquarters' breeding centre in Cekik).
There are more than 200 species of plants growing in the park.
2Activities
Whether by land, by boat or underwater, to explore the park you'll need a guide, which can be ar
ranged at the park offices in Cekik or Labuhan Lalang.
In 2014 permits were increased to a hefty 200,000Rp per person, per day. Given this doesn't include activities or guides, visiting the park can become a costly affair when accommodation and transport are factored in.
DON'T MISS
DIVING PULAU MENJANGAN
Bali’s best-known dive area, Pulau Menjangan has a dozen superb dive sites. The diving is excellent – iconic tropical fish, soft corals, great visibility (usually), caves and a spectacular drop-off. One of the few complaints we’ve ever heard came from a reader who said that while snorkelling she kept getting water in her mouth because she was ‘smiling so much’.
Most dive sites are close to shore and suitable for snorkellers or diving novices. Some decent snorkelling spots are not far from the jetty; ask the boatman where to go. Venture a bit out, however, and the depths turn inky black as the shallows drop off in dramatic cliffs, a magnet for experienced divers looking for wall dives. The Anker Wreck, a mysterious sunken ship, challenges even experts.
The closest and most convenient dive operators are found at Pemuteran. Trips leave from the tiny dock at Labuhan Lalang (just across the turquoise water from Menjangan), where you'll pay the 200,000Rp park permit. Given the high costs of renting boats and guides (and a whole host of other ludicrous fees), independent snorkellers are best advised to join one of the dive companies heading from Pemuteran.
Boat Trips
To explore the mangroves of Teluk Gilimanuk (Gilimanuk Bay) or the west side of Prapat Agung you'll need to charter a 10-seater boat (525,000Rp per three hours), plus a guide (250,000Rp), pay the entrance fee (200,000Rp) and miscellaneous costs such as insurance (4000Rp) and toilet fees (10,000Rp)! But this is the ideal way to see bird life, including kingfishers, Javanese herons and more.
Hiking
All hikers must be accompanied by an authorised guide. It’s best to arrive the day before you want to hike, and to make enquiries at the park offices in Cekik or Labuhan Lalang.
The set rates for guides in the park depend on the size of the group and the length of the hike; with one or two people it's 350,000Rp for one or two hours, with rates steadily increasing from there. You'll also need to pay for 200,000Rp for a permit per person.
Early morning, say 6am, is the best time to start; it’s cooler and you’re more likely to see some wildlife. The following are two of the more popular treks:
From a trail west of Labuhan Lalang, hike around the mangroves at Teluk Terima. Then partially follow Sungai Terima into the hills and walk back down to the road along the steps at Makam Jayaprana. You may see grey macaques, deer and black monkeys. Allow two to three hours.
From Sumber Kelompok, go up Gunung Kelatakan (698m), then down to the main road near Kelatakan village (six to seven hours). Clear streams abound in the dense woods.
Iwan Melali (%0819 3167 5011; [email protected]) is a recommended guide who's knowledgeable about bird life, animals and hiking routes.
4Sleeping
oMenjanganRESORT$$$
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0362-94700; www.themenjangan.com; Jl Raya Gilimanuk-Singaraja, Km 17; r/ste/villas incl breakfast US$250/350/500; aWs)
Just within the buffer zone of Bali Barat National Park, this five-star resort is the perfect spot for those wanting to see both sides of the national park. Spread out over 382 hectares, it has two entities: the Monsoon Lodge has rooms set in the bush section and will suit those seeking wildlife encounters; and the Beach Villas overlook the mangroves and sparkling water, just across from Pulau Menjangan.
Regardless of which section you decide upon, guests can utilise all facilities, whether hiking in the park or lazing on the private beach looking out to the turquoise water. Horse-riding safaris are available to explore the park (also available to nonguests) from 600,000Rp per hour. Other activities include guided hikes, birdwatching, kayaking and diving.
8Information
The park headquarters ( GOOGLE MAP ; %0365-61060; Jl Raya Cekik; h24hr) at Cekik displays a topographic model of the park area, and has a little information about plants and wildlife. The Labuhan Lalang Information Office ( GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Singaraja-Gilimanuk; h7am-7pm) is in a hut located in the parking area where boats leave for Pulau Menjangan.
8Getting There & Away
If you don't have transport, any Gilimanuk-bound bus or bemo from north or west Bali can drop you at park headquarters at Cekik. Those from north Bali can also drop you at the Labuhan Lalang visitors centre.
Gilimanuk
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Gilimanuk is the terminus for ferries that shuttle back and forth across the narrow strait to Java. Most travellers get an onward ferry or bus straight away, and won't hang around.
8Getting There & Around
Car ferries to Ketapang on Java (adult/child 7500/5500Rp, motorcycle/car 24,500/148,000Rp, 30 minutes) depart every 12 minutes and run around the clock.
Frequent buses run between Gilimanuk's large depot and Denpasar's Ubung terminal (40,000Rp, two to three hours), or along the north-coast road to Lovina (38,000Rp), Amed (60,000Rp) and Padangbai (61,000Rp) departing every 30 minutes between 6am and 5pm.
West Bali
Even as development from south Bali creeps ever further west (via hotspots such as Canggu), Bali's true west, which is off the busy main road from Tabanan to Gilimanuk, remains mostly little-visited. It's easy to find serenity amid its wild beaches, jungle and rice fields.
On the coast, surfers hit the breaks at Balian and Medewi. Some of Bali's most sacred sites are here, too, from the ever-thronged Pura Tanah Lot to Pura Taman Ayun and on to the wonderful isolation of Pura Rambut Siwi.
The tidy town of Tabanan is at the hub of Bali's Unesco-listed subak, the system of irrigation that ensures everybody gets a fair share of the water. On narrow back roads you can cruise beside rushing streams with bamboo arching overhead and fruit piling up below.
Pura Tanah Lot
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An excessively popular day trip, Pura Tanah Lot (adult/child 30,000/15,000Rp, parking cars/motorbikes 5000/2000Rp; h7am-7pm) is the most visited and photographed temple in Bali, especially at sunset when crowds and traffic overwhelm the site. However, it has all the authenticity of a stage set – even the tower of rock that the temple sits upon is an artful reconstruction (the entire structure was crumbling) and more than one-third of the rock is artificial.
For the Balinese, Pura Tanah Lot is one of the most important and venerated sea temples. Like Pura Luhur Ulu Watu, at the tip of the southern Bukit Peninsula, and Pura Rambut Siwi to the west, it is closely associated with the Majapahit priest Nirartha. It’s said that each of the sea temples was intended to be within sight of the next, so they formed a chain along Bali’s southwestern coast; from Pura Tanah Lot you can usually see the clifftop site of Pura Luhur Ulu Watu far to the south, and the long sweep of seashore west to Perancak, near Negara. There are restaurants on the clifftop overlooking the temple.
Aim to coincide your visit with high tide, when the temple is marooned at sea; at low tide you can walk over to the temple itself, but non-Balinese people are not allowed to enter.
There are evening Kecak and fire dance performances (50,000Rp) from 6.30pm.
To reach the temple, walkways run from the vast parking lots through a mind-boggling sideshow of tacky souvenir shops down to the sea. Clamorous announcements screech from loudspeakers.
8Getting There & Away
If coming from south Bali take the coastal road west from Kerobokan and follow the signs. From other parts of Bali, turn off the Denpasar–Gilimanuk road near Kediri and follow the signs. During the pre- and post-sunset rush, traffic is awful.
DON'T MISS
PURA TAMAN AYUN
The huge royal water temple of Pura Taman Ayun ( GOOGLE MAP ; adult/child 15,000/7500Rp; h8am-6pm), surrounded by a wide, elegant moat, was the main temple of the Mengwi kingdom, which survived until 1891, when it was conquered by the neighbouring kingdoms of Tabanan and Badung. The
large temple was built in 1634 and extensively renovated in 1937. It's a spacious place to wander around and you'll be able to get away from speed-obsessed group-tour mobs.
The first courtyard is a large, open, grassy expanse and the inner courtyard has a multitude of meru (multi-tiered shrines). Lotus-blossoms fill the pools; the temple is part of the subak (complex rice-field irrigation system) sites recognised by Unesco in 2012.
Pura Taman Ayun is an easy stop on a drive to/from Bedugal and the Jatiluwih rice terraces. It is a stop-off on many organised tours.
Tabanan
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Tabanan, like most regional capitals in Bali, is a large, well-organised place. The verdant surrounding rice fields are emblematic of Bali's rice-growing traditions and are part of its Unesco recognition.
Playing a critical role in rural Bali life, the subak is a village association that deals with water, water rights and irrigation. With water passing through many, many scores of rice fields before it drains away for good, there is always the chance that growers near the source would be water-rich while those at the bottom would be selling carved wooden critters at Tanah Lot. Regulating a system that apportions a fair share to everyone is a model of mutual cooperation and an insight into the Balinese character. (One of the strategies used is to put the last person on the water channel in control.)
Lonely Planet Indonesia Page 56