Bali Sightseeing

Where to start with sightseeing in Bali? The fabled Hindu island of Indonesia hasn’t become one of the most popular tourist and holiday destinations in the world for nothing, and it continues to draw year-long crowds despite periods of economic downturns and politically-motivated violence.

Bali offers superb surfing, windsurfing and other sun and sand activities. Also, there’s an abundance of beautiful temples and nature reserves, as well as several mountains to explore. Hidden jewels like the hill town of Ubud are stacked with enough sightseeing attractions to be classed as separate tourist destinations of their own.

Most people head to Bali for the beach, and the main tourist beaches in Bali are around the suburbs of Kuta and adjacent Legian. Kuta Beach is long and pleasant though the seas here can get a little rough during some parts of the year. The beach stretches into Legian and then Seminyak Beach, which is a little more upmarket and offers a respite from the crowds and the endless beach hawkers offering their hair braiding and massage services.

Visitors wanting to do some real sightseeing may want to head to the Kintamani Volcano which is beyond Ubud. The town of Kintamani is 5,000ft above sea level and the views of the caldera and the countryside below are truly spectacular. Boat tours are available and excursions on the crater lake of the Kintamani Volcano are cheap and very worthwhile.

Visitors interested in more nature can head to the east coast of Bali and visit the enormous colony of tens of thousands of bats that hang upside down inside the Bat Cave of Candi Dasa. Another popular cave destination is the Elephant Cave near Tampaksiring, which is filled with remnants of Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimages dating back to the 11th century.

The largest Hindu temple in Bali – in all of Indonesia in fact – is the Mother Temple in Besakih. Dating from the 11th century, this enormous temple is worth a half-day visit to the slopes of Mount Agung. On either way to or from the temple, visitors can stop for a photo at the cascading rice terraces outside Tenganan village.

The Monkey Forest at Ubud is a must-see sight in Bali. Here, thousands of monkeys live fairly wild but are tame enough to eat bananas out of the hands of tourists. The Monkey Forest is the first place most visitors to Ubud will encounter if they are approaching Ubud from Kuta.

Anyone wanting to see Balinese arts and crafts being created can take handicraft village tours that take in Ubud but also the silver and gold centre of Celuk and the wood carving capital at Mas. The village of Batubulan is famous for its stone carvers and fantastic, if heavy, souvenirs can be picked up here.