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Best Places To Surf In Bali

Bali surf can be something that the travelers seek during their holidays in Bali. If you are one of those people, then this information might come handy for you. Indonesia has two seasons known as the dry season and the wet season. During the dry season, you will find that the wave is generally much larger, more often and much longer one. It is because of the blowing of a consistent trade wind from Uluwatu to Legian. This south east wind blows to the west coast offshore for the whole day making the wave gets larger and more frequent. While in the wet season, you will find that the wave is smaller and less often than in the dry season. It is because the wind is blowing lighter from the west to the east coast, and resulting in clean waves. There are Bali surf paradise. One of the best one will be in Bukit Peninsula (Peninsula Hill). The waves here are considered as one of the best waves in the world. The range of waves is starting from Uluwatu and the waves are the first stop directly from Antarctica. You will get the largest waves up to 12 ft or more for the whole day in this place.

Surf in Bali


Bali surfThe waves in Bukit Peninsula are categorized as the left hand waves. While Kuta, Seminyak and Legian are the beaches with the right hand waves breakers. From Uluwatu heading north you will come to Padang Padang which only breaks properly in 4ft+ swell offering an easy take off into a barrel section from hell, once your out you can fade into the inside section which is can be made but is can close down depending on the swell direction. From the same spot you can paddle to Impossible’s which is a long wave with a few take off spots and seemingly impossible sections. Along from here is the perfect left hand barrel vending machine known around the world as Bingin where a tiny take off sport is shared between a crowded pack of surfers. Next you have dreamlands which has two deeper peaks and an inside beach break and around the corner again you will find Balangan which is another left which suffers from sectioning in smaller swells. After this you will find the airport waves and Kuta reef which require a short boat ride to reach or in the case of Kuta reef a possible long paddle, gone are the days of jumping.

Bali surfOther spots include the left hand Malibu wave known as Medewi which is a long journey from Kuta and a mellow wave over a rocky point and a laidback jungle like atmosphere surrounding it. Canngu is a wedgey sandbar and a left and right reef, there is a large crowd surrounding this area and due to a few pros and surf video producers living in villas nearby, there are often pros appearing as well as a number of keen locals and many others.

Bali surfing has been gaining popularity for the Balinese, especially the youth. Soon after the day is started, there are many young Balinese hurrying to the beach for surfing. On their surfboards, they seem to dance with a graceful movement over the waves. They try and try again, until they can master the waves. They will never stop unless they have penetrated the tubes.

Surfing in Kuta
Bali surfKuta Beach Bali has been becoming one of the best spots for Bali Surf. If you don’t bring your surfboard, you will be able to rent any surfing equipment available along the Kuta beach. Many people have the surfing here, both locals and tourists. They are racing againts the waves trying to conquer the tubes. However, there are some dangerous surf spots along the Kuta beach. If you are not careful and well-informed, you can be in trouble. Therefore, it is wise to ask the locals about any necessary information before do the surfing here.

Surfing in Uluwatu
Another challenging Bali Surf paradise is in Uluwatu Bali. Uluwatu is at the southern part of Bali coast, where the road and also the beach are quite hidden from the outside world. Therefore, if you want to go to Uluwatu, you will need to rent a car or motor-cycle. If you want to have the adventure by exploring the nature, you can get there by two miles walking distant. Because of the level of surfing difficulty here, this spot is intended for the professional surfers. Besides a fabulous Bali surf, Uluwatu is also famous with its 3 courts Uluwatu temple which are located on top of few hundred feet cliff.

Surfing in Nusa Dua
bali surfNusa Dua Bali is definitely included in the list of the best spot for bali surf. Nusa Dua is located at the sout-eastern part of Bali. This place has a great reef where you will find a great range of waves perfect for surfing. You can stay on any of the most sumptuous hotels in the world spread around the area, and surfing is readily available within walking distance, from a beginner’s level to a challenging one for the serious surfers.


Bali Surf Map
Bali Surf Map


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Exploring Bali Temple

Bali Temple spread around in every inch of Bali Island. In every Balinese village, there is at least one small temple in every local house in Bali, and there are some bigger ones in every village. The estimated Bali Temple are approximately around 10.000.

Bali TemplePura is a Balinese word that means temple. To be more specific, Pura means a space surrounded by wall. You will find that many of the Bali Temple are having quite atmosphere and also uninhabited. However, the unique Bali temples are always decorated into colorful places whenever a festival is held. In every festival, there is always a ceremony of giving the offering to the gods accompanied by the traditional dances and gamelan, and also sometimes a cockfighting and gambling.

All Bali Temples are obtained certain direction either to the mountain and the sea. The first major and significant direction is facing to the mountain and is called as Kaja. The other significant direction is represented by facing the sea which is known as Kelod. Another direction used in most secondary Bali temples are facing to the sunrise and is called as Kangin.

The Bali temple in every village is basically having three fundamental types. The first type is known as Pura Puseh (temple of origin) which is regarded as the most significant temple dedicated to the villages’ founders. The Pura Puseh is always located at the kaja direction in every Bali village.

Bali Temple

The second type is known as the Pura Desa which is located at the middle of Bali village. This Bali temple is dedicated to the spirits who are believed to have been blessing and protecting the daily lives of the villagers.

The last type is known as the Pura Dalem and is located at the kelod direction of Bali village. Pura Dalem means the temple of the death, therefore it is sometimes also located at the graveyard. This type of Bali temple is representing the Durga which is accommodated as the evil side of Parvati, Shiva’s wife. The myth tells that Shiva and Parvati have both powers, a creative and destructive one. This Pura Dalem is somehow dedicated to honor their destructive powers.

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Diving in Tulamben Bali

Diving in Tulamben BaliWhen divers see calm waters on a sunny day, it is as if they are being called forth to heaven to enjoy diving in Tulamben Bali, the marine paradise.

When we arrived at Tulamben, one of Bali’s most frequented diving spots, the water was calm and there was a light breeze of refreshing wind. Nature’s beautiful welcome more than made up for our 2.5 hour drive from Sanur, where we had spent the night. Getting out of the car, there was a strong buzz of excitement among us.

Our diving guide from Bali Diving, Chris, seemed to sense our mounting enthusiasm and tried to speed up preparations for our adventure. But he still needed to stick to the procedure. He explained the diving plan after the usual dos and don’ts briefing.

“We are going to dive at the following spots: the US Liberty Shipwreck, Coral Garden and the Drop Off,” he said, pointing to the underwater map.

Diving in Tulamben BaliWhile some people were still putting on their BCD (Buoyancy Control Device), Chris signaled to those who were ready to go with him. We walked some 100 meters along the sandy beach from the Paradise Resort, our base camp, to begin our adventure, diving to the entry point site.

Chris reminded us to walk carefully when we were approaching the edge of the beach, which was full of volcanic stones as big as adult’s fist.

In a day at least 50 divers visit the diving site. They usually came in groups and the must-see spot was the shipwreck location.

“When holiday season comes the number (of divers) can double,” Chris said.

The US Liberty shipwreck, which was torpedoed by the Japanese army during World War II, attracts divers to Tulamben. Those who prefer snorkeling can enjoy the ship stern for it is only located some 6 meters under the water surface with average visibility of 12 to 30 meters.

History has it the ship, which sunk in Lombok waters, was about to be towed to Singaraja port in North Bali but as Singaraja was already occupied by Japan army, the shipwreck was rerouted to Tulamben beach.

Mount Agung’s powerful volcanic eruption in 1963 pulled the shipwreck deeper to the seabed – its present home -where it is heavily covered with anemone, gorgonian and coral.

When we reached the shipwreck, two schools of bright, silver trevally fish swam past us as if patrolling the site. They perfectly contrasted with the dark sand.

Hundreds of trevally moved in circles. They swam around the shipwreck and did not seem afraid of us. Locally known as kuwe, the trevally even approached some divers. Chris got an amazing welcome from surgeonfish that swarmed him as if performing their welcoming dance. Fishes in Tulamben are indeed friendly and recognize no fear – unlike in other less visited diving spots.

I remembered when I got a similar warm welcome from a school of small fishes in Bunaken, North Sulawesi. It was a priceless moment. The fishes not only “danced” around me but they also “kissed” my diving mask.

So when I saw what happened to Chris, I lifted my underwater camera and began pressing its shutter release to capture the precious moment and other beauties nearby.

If we observed carefully enough, we could spot ikan sebelah (flounders) and blue-spotted stingrays that hid beneath the sand, waiting for their lunch.

Diving in Tulamben BaliNot far from the shipwreck, I saw dozen of garden eels, eating floating planktons. Their bodies danced to the gentle sea currents that moved gently in this site. Many others rested with half of their bodies submerged in the seabed.

Our second destination was the Coral Garden, which was located right in front of the Paradise Resort. This garden is 2 to 15 meters depths, making it the perfect destination for snorkeling.

This spot has both soft and hard coral with light density. Yet, they were rich with marine life, including Napoleon fish, pipefish, parrotfish and clownfish. Even barracudas, which had sharp teeth, were seen swimming nearby when we got there. Chris said divers could come across blacktip sharks if they were lucky.

Columns between the soft and hard corals were the perfect hideout for shrimps. Local divers called them cleaner shrimps. One type was red and white but there was also one with combinations of red, white and green.

Fellow diver Emily Douglas from US was intrigued to find out if the shrimps were natural vacuum cleaners. She extended her hands to the shrimps, which immediately swarmed her hands and performed their famous duties.

Because of its average depth and generous light, this spot was also known as a perfect site for night-diving and heaven for hunting objects for macro-photography.

Our last destination was the Drop Off, located on the right side of Coral Garden. We walked to go to the side and had to go through the rocky beach.

The Drop Off site was formed naturally by a volcanic eruption. Our adventure began on a sandy slope, which was the starting point of the standard dive at Tulamben. At the end of the slope we could see the Drop Off’s topography in the form of vertical walls whose depth could reach tens of meters.

The wall was heavily decorated with sponges and black coral. The marine life at this site is not very different to the Shipwreck site. There were butterflyfish, angelfish, Moorish idols and many other small fish with striking colors. Coral fish like groupers and anthias can also be seen at this site. Lucky divers can spot bigger fishes like whitetip and hammerhead sharks.

In general, Tulamben waters have relatively good visibility ranging between 12 and 30 meters. Its subtle currents make this place suitable for divers of any level.

Visiting Tulamben is a must for divers whenever they are in Bali. A growing number of diving operators are proof of the growing popularity of this recreational sport. Dive operators usually offer transport and accommodation, as well as alternatives to diving and snorkeling.

Tulamben has been included among spots recommended by nearly all diving operators, and is one of the best places to begin your underwater adventures. Nusa Lembongan Island and Nusa Penida Island are also very popular dive site.

Source : TheJakartaPost

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