Bali: must-see sights and places of interest

In the morning you stop for a small ritual in front of the house, in a few hours you stand in the water in a temple, in the afternoon you walk between rice fields and in the evening you watch the ocean from where the land breaks into cliffs.

From moments like these, product manager Richard Homer put together a sightseeing tour of the island when he recently traveled there. Marketer Michel Struhárová, who lived here for two years and directly experienced many Balinese traditions while studying Indonesia at the local school, adds an insider’s view.

The spirituality of the island

Ubud is located inland, it is greener, calmer, more spiritual and somehow more personal. People come here for rice fields, temples, handicrafts, markets, yoga and massages. The pace here is more relaxed than in the south of the island, although it may not seem so when you look at the main streets full of scooters.

It is easier to approach Balinese spirituality in the surroundings of Ubud. A cleansing ritual is a powerful experience mellow in a temple with sacred springs. During this traditional ceremony, a person is symbolically and physically purified with water. Locals approach it as a way to wash away anxiety, tension or a difficult period and enter the next stage with a clearer head.

The ritual begins with prayer and the preparation of sacrificial gifts, continues with entering the water and gradually passing under individual springs. Each of them has its own meaning, and the whole ceremony seems like a moment in which you can see what a strong place it is Bali faith in everyday life.

Melukat cleansing ritual (source: Unsplash)

Rice cultivation system

Rice terraces are one of the images that almost everyone takes away from Bali. Closest to Ubud are the terraces in the Tegalalang area, where the green slopes rise in regular layers and the mist still lingers between them in the morning.

The Jatiluwih area at the foot of the mountains in the central part of the island in the Tabanan region seems more extensive and peaceful. The terraces are at a higher altitude, which gives them more stable conditions and rice is grown in large quantities. The entire territory is a UNESCO protected area because it preserves the traditional way of farming that has been used in Bali for centuries.

The subak system, a community-based way of distributing water, is clearly visible in Jatiluwih. Water flows from mountain springs and reaches individual fields through a network of canals. Farmers do not use it individually, but follow common rules that determine when fields are flooded, planted and harvested.

Rice cultivation has a clear rhythm. The fields are first flooded with water, young plants are planted by hand in the mud and the water level is continuously regulated during growth. When the rice is ripe, the fields are allowed to dry and the harvest follows. This cycle repeats several times a year and is dependent on water, weather and cooperation between farmers.

Interestingly, rice is not just “rice” here.

“Indonesian has four different names for what rice is to us according to the form it is in. The rice grain after harvesting is gabahraw rice ready for cooking berascooked rice our and rice porridge bubur nasi,” explains Michel Struhárová. The language exactly copies what is the everyday reality on the island. Rice is not a side dish, but the basis around which the whole day revolves.

Rice fields and the volcano Gunung Agung (source: Unsplash)

Temples as part of everyday life

Temples in Bali are not just separate buildings, but part of a system that has clear rules.

“Each village has three main temples, the so-called Kahyangan Tiga. Pura desa belongs to everyday life and common meetings, pure kiss is connected with origin and ancestors and pura dalem is associated with death and the rituals associated with departure. Besides them, almost every house has its own small temple in the yard,” says Michel Struhárová.

Above this foundation stand the so-called directional temples that protect the island as a whole, often in the mountains or by the sea. This is also why each place has an exact meaning and the time when ceremonies take place there.

The water palaces of Tirta Gangga and Taman Ujung are examples of Balinese history and aesthetics. In Tirta Gangga, one walks directly on the stone slabs laid in the ponds. The water reaches just below the level of the sidewalks, fish and water lilies swim between them, and sculptures stand between the pools that separate the individual parts of the complex.

Taman Ujung is more spread out and open. Long walkways connect the pavilions and bridges over the water, while the entire area is oriented towards the ocean. It once served as a place for meetings and relaxation of the royal family. From some places you can see all the way to the coast, which gives it a completely different dimension than the more closed temples inland.

Ulun Danu Beratan Temple (Source: Unsplash)

Ulun Danu Beratan Temple stands on the shore of Beratan Mountain Lake, which supplies water to a large part of the island. It is not built randomly. It is dedicated to the goddess of water and harvest, because it is water that decides whether rice will grow or not. Some sanctuaries stand directly on small islands and at a higher level appear as if separated from the mainland.

In the morning, the lake is shrouded in fog and the temple is lost in it, but in the afternoon it is clearly reflected on the surface. It is the water that makes it one of the most important temples on the island. Without it, the rice fields and the irrigation system on which Bali is built would not work.

Why do the beaches in Bali look so different?

On Bali not all beaches are equal in terms of sand or character. The southern part of the island was formed from coral reefs, so you will find lighter sand and calmer bays. Typical are the beaches on the Bukit Peninsula, where you go down steps between the rocks, like Padang Padang, where you can swim without strong currents.

The vicinity of Sanur in the east also has beaches with bright, sometimes even white sand, because the coast is protected by coral reefs. These dampen the waves and gradually disintegrate into fine sand that settles near the shore.

The beaches in the north and west of the island have dark to black sand. Bali is a volcanic island and lava, ash and small stone particles from eruptions have been entering the sea in these parts for centuries. Rivers gradually floated them from the mountains towards the coast, where they settled and crumbled into fine sand. Such beaches can be found, for example, in the Lovina region or in the southwest in the popular Canggu.

Batu Bolong Beach in Canggu has dark sand (Source: Unsplash)

The rougher face of Bali

Bali also includes the smaller islands of Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida, which lie just a short boat ride from the southeast coast. While Bali is more densely populated, with temples, rice fields and daily bustle, here there are fewer houses, less traffic, more rocks, cliffs and the sea taking center stage.

Richard Homer included the island of Nusa Penida in the program, because there the contrast with Bali is most pronounced.

“The island impresses with steep cliffs, sharp rock formations and a coast that looks raw and dramatic. The roads here meander through drier land, in some places the view opens up far below you and you suddenly stand above the sea, which hits the rocks with a completely different force than the one you know from the beaches near Sanur or in the south of the island,” describes Richard Homer.

Nusa Penida is not built on comfortable swimming or leisurely wandering between shops and cafes. One goes here for a landscape that has drama. Cliffs drop sharply into the ocean, rocks create shapes that stick in the memory longer than specific names of places, and nature here seems wilder, as if no one has yet tried to completely smooth its edges.

Kelingking or T-Rex Beach is probably the most famous place on the island of Nusa Penida (source: Unsplash)