SCENIC WALKS

Riverside walk: A delightful walk to the north along the Balian River. Follow the track from the beach past Balian Riverside Cottages and see banana, coffee and tobacco plantations before climbing up the hill to cross the road and then returning down to the river. Here you will find the perfect place for a cooling dip in the river or continue upstream at you leisure.

Beach cove walk: Walk to Gajah Mina Resort and follow the path around the back of the bungalows to the clifftop. Here you can either descend the steps on your left down to a small private cove beach with ancient carvings on the cliff face or continue along the walking track on your right and climb down through an enormous bat cave to another tiny cove beach. Here you will find a small waterfall cascading onto the sand and complete privacy for a refreshing shower or dip in the ocean.

Kutuh beach walk: Follow the directions above through Gajah Mina Resort and along the clifftop walking track until you come out into the open fields of Banjar Kutuh village. Follow the small road down past a temple to a magnificent sparkling black sand beach. This beach stretches for 30 kilometres westwards so walk to your hearts content.

Fishing village walk: Wade through the river where it enters the ocean and enjoy a leisurely walk along the beach, past a fishing village and further on to explore some of the many caves cut into the cliff walls by the high tide waters.

Village walk: Take a leisurely stroll back along the road to the village and visit your Balinese neighbours. Say hello and stop to chat or watch what they are doing…they will appreciate your interest and almost certainly invite you into their homes for tea and snacks.
Of course not many will speak English well but with the right charades and gestures you will be able to make yourselves understood and have a lot of fun doing so.

GUIDED TOURS

Sunset temple & bat cave tour: Visit the large Srijong Temple near Soka Beach at twilight and see the incredible spectacle of thousands of small bats leaving their giant cave home for their nightly feeding frenzy. Then enjoy the peace and tranquility of a Balinese sunset overlooking the sacred temple and the vast Indian Ocean.

Tabanan Market, Alas Kedaton & Tanah Lot: First we visit the sprawling ground floor traditional food market in Tabanan where you can buy everything from sweet cakes to live eels plus the pots and pans to cook them in. A wander through this hustling bustling crowded market is a unique experience not to be missed.

Next we visit Alas Kedaton Holy Monkey Forest, where hundreds of "tame" and very mischievous monkeys live in the forest surrounding the temple.

We then travel south to visit Tanah Lot, perhaps Bali’s most famous temple. Carved out of the landscape by tides, wind and rain, the huge offshore sentinel rock of Tanah Lot includes a small picturesque sea temple, which can be reached by a scramble over the wet rocks. There are reputed to be several large caves just below the water line at the base of the rock, which shelter large sea snakes, which are the guardians of the temple. Set atop this rocky outcrop and surrounded by the Indian Ocean, Tanah Lot’s picturesque location makes it a photographer’s favourite, especially at sunset.

Mountain village circuit: In this tour we head up into the cooler air of the mountains to the north, exploring the many villages and plantations along the roadside. Luscious aromas will envelop you at every turn as the coffee, cocoa and cloves are spread out beside the road to dry in the sun. We stop at a beautiful garden lookout for a picnic lunch and view some of the most spectacular rice-field scenery in Bali. Oh, and don’t miss seeing the giant fruit bats hanging from the branches of a tree just inside the entrance. After your refreshments, we continue higher into the hills to visit a temple where for a small donation you can receive a blessing from a Balinese priest. Wander up to the temple and explore the surrounding remnants of original jungle trees rising hundreds of feet into the blue skies above and inhabited by troops of small cheeky monkeys. As we continue our circuit you will get the chance to visit a Balinese family growing various exotic fruits on their property. After savouring a famous ‘Kopi Bali’ you can see firsthand some of the produce grown here in the cooler mountain climate.

Menjangan Island Snorkeling Tour: Nusa Menjangan is a small island about 1.5km x 500m located off the north-west coast of Bali in the Bali Barat National Park. Menjangan Island is popular with scuba divers, who will often encounter turtles, napoleon fish, bumphead parrot fish, sharks, rays, barracuda and gropers amongst the famous coral reefs and lagoon. In general though it is a favourite spot for snorkelers, as there is virtually no current and your boat can pull up on a pristine sandy beach where superb reef snorkeling is easily accessible. The water is usually crystal clear here and the abundance of colourful reef fish provides a great spectacle. Take your underwater camera.

Rambut Siwi Temple & Bull Races at Negara: The village of Rambut Siwi, north of Negara includes one of the most beautiful and important temples in southwestern Bali. The famous temple, Pura Lulur is estimated to be around 500 years old, and sits on a cliff top overlooking a breathtaking panorama of paddy fields on one side and the black sand beach on the other. Two caves overlook the sea, each with a view of the fisherman’s’ boats and seabirds hovering above. The temple itself was built by Dang Hyang Nirartha. According to legend, he made a gift of his hair to the temple, hence the name Rambut Siwi, which literally means "Hair Worship!"

Bull racing is held from July to October in the city of Negara in the south west of Bali. The bull races ("Makepung") are thrilling contests between teams of two young bulls harnessed to a chariot, which is ridden by a jockey who holds onto the bull's tails as they career down a 2km racecourse! Winning is everything, and for the winning jockey it is a ticket to stardom and perhaps the chance to become national champion. This traditional performance is a unique ritual event, part of a religious ceremony for a successful rice harvest. Different villages also compete against each other with fiery enthusiasm, offering fantastic photo opportunities. The bulls are treated with great care and are reputedly fed elaborate diets containing all sorts of wonderful potions and secret ingredients to help build strength and perform at their best.

WORKSHOPS

Learn how to make woven leaf offerings: Spend a fascinating and fun couple of hours with village ladies learning how to make those ‘picture perfect’ small offerings you see along the roadsides and outside entrances everywhere in Bali.

Learn to play Balinese music: Have lots of fun learning how to play the basic bamboo gamelan instrument called the ‘Rindik’ and reproduce the wonderful sounds of Bali when you get back home.

Learn traditional Balinese dance: Let our expert teacher show you all the graceful moves and expressions which characterise traditional Balinese dance. This is great fun and an especially popular workshop with kids of all ages.