Pemuteran & North
Why go?
Luxurious hideaways on the edge of palm-fringed beaches lure you to
this less-visited region of Bali. The bolder, better healed brigade
venture here. It's a world in itself and locals still cling to
beliefs that the North of the island is in fact the South and vice
versa. This is an area for cycling, walking and exploring –
or for relaxing by the side of a pool waiting for cooling winds to
blow across the sea.
You have Menjangan Island off the coast of Java to the west which
has exceptional snorkelling and diving. Most of the beaches are of
a dark volcanic sand and the climate is drier than in the central
highlands and south.
The black beach of Lovina (where you'll see dolphins off-shore)
runs from Temukus, past Kalibukbuk, to Pemaron. In the 1970s, it
was the hippie hangout. Now it’s a place that attracts
well-seasoned travellers to its very upmarket hotels. At the lava
outcrops in the west, the sea is at its most ferocious: waves crash
onto palm-fringed black sands with the sound of a thunderclap. In
the ‘calmer’ bays, the gigantic rollers make for
challenging surfing. Here, you’ll find cashews growing (one
nut to a single flower); aloe vera; coconuts. Doe-eyed cattle graze
at the top of cliffs and duck herdsmen will explain the secret of
why his birds seem happy enough to hang around waiting to be turned
into bebek betutu. (And no, they don’t clip their wings:
it’s smarter than that.)
You’re close enough in the north to visit Bali Barat National
Park, a natural rainforest with areas of palm savannah, acacia
scrub, mangrove swamps and unspoilt reefs. This is where
you’ll hang out with Bali’s protected wildlife:
long-tailed macaques, wild boar and rusa deer – though
you’re several decades too late to see any Bali tigers.