Bali Tourist Attractions and Tourist Destinations
Bali, (click names) 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 colourful, deeply spiritual and unique culture, stakes a serious claim to be paradise on earth. With world-class surfing and diving, 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.
These are the places as the tourist attractions or tourist destinations :
South Bali (Kuta, Bukit Peninsula, Canggu, Denpasar,Jimbaran, Legian, Nusa Dua,Sanur, Seminyak, Tanah Lot)
Tanah Lot
The most visited part of the island by far, with Kuta Beach and chic Seminyak.
Quiet black sand beaches and the old capital city.
East Bali (Amed, Besakih, Candidasa, Kintamani, Klungkung, Mount Agung, Padang Bai, Tirta Gangga)
Laid back coastal villages, an active volcano and the mighty Mount Agung.
Southeastern islands (Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Penida, Nusa Ceningan)
Quiet offshore islands in the southeast, popular for diving activities.
Cities:
- Denpasar — a bustling city, the administrative centre and transport hub of the island but not a major tourist destination
- Candidasa — a quiet coastal town, the Bali Aga and gateway to the east coast
- Kuta — surfer central, by far the most heavily developed area in Bali. Lots of shopping and night-life and the centre of lower-end party culture on Bali
- Jimbaran — sea-side resorts, a nice sheltered beach and seafood restaurants south of Kuta
- Legian — located between Kuta and Seminyak; also the name of Kuta´s main street
- Lovina — beautiful black volcanic sand beaches and coral reefs
- Padang Bai — a relaxed traditional fishing village with some touristic options. Great place to enjoy the beach, snorkelling, diving and eating fish.
- Sanur — sea-side resorts and beaches popular with older families
- Seminyak — quieter, more upscale beachside resorts and villas just to the north of Legian, with some fashionable upscale restaurants and trendy designer bars and dance clubs
- Ubud — the centre of art and dance in the foothills, with several museums, the monkey forest and lots of arts and crafts shops
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Other Destinations :
- Amed — an area of peaceful, traditional fishing villages featuring black sand beaches, coral reefs and excellent diving
- Bedugul — nice lakes in the mountains, a golf course, the botanical gardens and the famous Ulun Danu Bratan Temple
- Bukit Peninsula — the southernmost tip of Bali, with world class surfing, great beaches, and the can't-miss cliff-hanging Uluwatu Temple
- Kintamani — active volcano Mount Batur, great mountain scenery, cooler temperatures and fruit growing
- Mount Agung — highest mountain in Bali and the mother temple of Besakih
Nusa Dua — an enclave of high-end resorts and a long, golden sand beach
- Nusa Lembongan — good diving, snorkelling and surfing and a great place to relax
- Nusa Penida — wild, rugged and untamed and as off-the-beaten-path as you will get in Bali
- West Bali National Park — trekking, bird watching and diving in Bali's only substantial natural protected area
Dances :
Balinese dance and music are also justly famous and a major attraction for visitors to the island. As on neighbouring Java, thegamelan orchestra and wayang kulit shadow puppet theatre predominate. Dances are extremely visual and dramatic, and the most famous include:
- Barong or "lion dance" — a ritual dance depicting the fight between good and evil, with performers wearing fearsome lion-like masks. This dance is often staged specifically for tourists as it is one of the most visually spectacular and the storyline is relatively easy to follow. Barong dance performances are not hard to find.
- Calonarang — a spectacular dance which is a tale of combating dark magic and exorcising the evil spirits aligned with the witch-queen Rangda. The story has many variations and rarely are two calonarang plays the same. If you can find an authentic Calonarang performance, then you are in for a truly magical experience.
- Kecak or "monkey dance" — actually invented in the 1930s by resident German artist Walter Spies for a movie but a spectacle nonetheless, with up to 250 dancers in concentric circles chanting "kecak kecak", while a performer in the centre acts out a spiritual dance. An especially popular Kecak dance performance is staged daily at Uluwatu Temple.
- Legong Keraton — perhaps the most famous and feted of all Balinese dances. Performed by young girls, this is a dance of divine nymphs hailing from 12th century Java. Try to find an authentic Legong Keraton with a full-length performance. The short dance performances often found in tourist restaurants and hotels are usually extracts from the Legong Keraton.
Festivals
Funerals (pitra yadnya) are another occasion of pomp and ceremony, when the deceased (often several at a time) are ritually cremated in extravagantly colorful rituals (ngaben)
- Galungan is a 10 day festival which comes around every 210 days and celebrates the death of the tyrant Mayadenawa. Gods and ancestors visit earth and are greeted with gift-laden bamboo poles called penjor lining the streets. The last day of the festival is known as Kuningan.
- Nyepi, or the Hindu New Year, also known as the day of absolute silence, is usually in March or April (next on March 23, 2012). If you are in Bali in the days preceding Nyepi, you will see amazing colorful giants (ogoh ogoh) being created by every banjar. On the eve of Nyepi, theogoh ogoh are paraded through the streets, an amazing sight which is not to be missed. There are good reasons to avoid Nyepi as well, but for many visitors these will be outweighed by the privilege of experiencing such a unique festival. On Nyepi absolutely everything on the island is shut down between 6AM on the day of the new year and 6AM the following morning. Tourists are confined to their hotels and asked to be as quiet as possible for the day. After dark, light must be kept to a bare minimum. No one is allowed onto the beaches or streets. The only exceptions granted are for real emergency cases. The airport remains closed for the entire day, which means no flights into or out of Bali for 24 hr. Ferry harbours are closed as well. As the precise date of Nyepi changes every year, and isn’t finally set until later in the year before, flights will be booked by airlines for this day in case you book early. When the date is set, and as it gets closer, the airlines will alter their bookings accordingly. This may mean that you have to alter your accommodation bookings if your flight has been bought forward or back to cater for Nyepi day.
