Journey to South Bali

Destination 1

With the rapid growth of the tourism industry in Bali, Denpasar has encouraged and promoted business activities and ventures, contributing to it having the highest growth rate in Bali Province. The population of Denpasar was 725,314 at the 2020 Census, down from 788,445 at the 2010 Census due to pandemic outflow, despite having hit 879,098 in 2015, while the metropolitan area centred on Denpasar (called Sarbagita) had 2,388,680 residents in 2020. Pandemic and travel related closures has further exacerbated the population loss, with mid 2022 estimate of 653,136 people.

Destination 2

The Balinese Provincial Government have taken the view that the preservation of the Balinese culture, natural resources and wildlife are of primary importance in the development of the island. To this end they have limited tourist development to the peninsula on the extreme southern aspect of the island; Kuta beach is on the western side of this peninsula and Sanur is on the east. To the north of the peninsula no new tourist development is supposedly permitted.

Destination 3

Legian Beach is definitely one of Bali’s most fun beaches, especially at sunset time! Legian is the area that stretches between Kuta and Seminyak and is easily identifiable for the many deck chairs and umbrellas that line the beach.

Named after the Balinese word for "sweet and pleasant," Legian Beach is a popular destination for sun worship and water sports.

Destination 4

Jimbaran, a bay in the area just south of Kuta, is famous for seafood. It is a center for Bali’s fisherman, and home to the island’s biggest fish market. If you eat top-quality local seafood in southern Bali, it was probably originally bought at Jimbaran. Because of this, the area has also become home to a very long stretch of beachfront restaurants, ranging from very basic to more elegant, which offer seafood of all types at the cheapest prices around.

Destination 5

Owned and managed by Alam Sutera Realty, Tbk, the construction of the 120.9 m (397 ft) statue of Vishnu riding his mount Garuda was completed in August 2018.[citation needed] The park has a land area of about 60 hectares and is 263 m (863 ft) above sea level.

Destination 6

Though a small temple was claimed to have existed earlier, the structure was significantly expanded by a Javanese sage, Empu Kuturan in the 11th Century. Another sage from East Java, Dang Hyang Nirartha is credited for constructing the padmasana shrines and it is said that he attained moksha here, an event called ngeluhur ("to go up") locally. This has resulted in the temple's epithet Luhur.

Destination 7

Nusa Dua is a resort area built in the 1970s in the southern part of Bali, Indonesia. Known as an enclave of large five-star resorts, it covers 350 hectares of land and encloses more than 20 resorts. It is located 22 kilometers from Denpasar, the provincial capital of Bali, and is administered under South Kuta District, Badung Regency. Nusa Dua means two islands (nusa 'island', dua 'two'), because there are two islands in the bay of Bali Tourism Development Corporation area. On the southern side lies Peninsula Island, and on the northern side lies Nusa Dharma Island, which is smaller but shadier, and which contains the Pura/Temple Nusa Dharma. Geger Beach is located in Sawangan, about 3 kilometers from the southern area of Nusa Dua. The sea there is calm, which allows farmers to grow seaweed in the area, as well as being an attractive place for tourists to swim. Water Blow is located in the Indonesia Tourism & Development Corporation (ITDC) district where large waves of sea water from the Indian Ocean continually crash against jagged limestone edges of a cliff. The water blow is the outcome of the narrowing crag below the cliff face that channels a surge of water up to 30 meters high from its base following strong currents. This phenomenon results in giant, irregular splashes of wave that can reach several meters high. The area provides a 240-degree lookout of dramatic seascape that is bordered by guardrails. Immediately north of the Nusa Dua enclave is the peninsula of Tanjung Benoa, which includes cheaper hotels as well as Benoa village. A multi-denominational area, it includes a mosque and Chinese and Hindu temples close to each other. Much of the beach's sand was eroded away following the mining of the nearby barrier reef for construction materials. Benoa Port, also located there, was previously used for yachts and small ships. In December 2012, it became the Benoa Cruise International Terminal's turnaround port, serving as both embarkation and debarkation point for cruise passengers. As a turnaround port, tourists can arrive or leave Benoa Port by either plane or cruise ship. On December 26, 2012, the Bali Governor signed a permit to utilize, develop and manage the Benoa Bay area. 838 hectares reclaimed by PT Tirta Wahana Bali International will be used for luxury tourist facilities such as hotels, villas, apartments, an international hospital, and entertainment centers such as a Disneyland-like theme park.

Destination 8

Tanah Lot means "Land [in the] Sea" in the Balinese language. Located in Tabanan, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) North West of Denpasar, the temple sits on a large offshore rock which has been shaped continuously over the years by the ocean tide.

Tanah Lot is claimed to be the work of the 16th-century Dang Hyang Nirartha. During his travels along the south coast he saw the rock-island's beautiful setting and decided to rest there. Some fishermen saw him, and bought him gifts. Nirartha then spent the night on the little island. Later he spoke to the fishermen and told them to build a shrine on the rock, for he felt it to be a holy place to worship the Balinese sea gods. The main deity of the temple is Dewa Baruna or Bhatara Segara, who is the sea god or sea power and these days, Nirartha is also worshipped here.

The Tanah Lot temple was built and has been a part of Balinese mythology for centuries. The temple is one of seven sea temples around the Balinese coast. Each of the sea temples was established within eyesight of the next to form a chain along the south-western coast. In addition to Balinese mythology, the temple was significantly influenced by Hinduism.

At the base of the rocky island, venomous sea snakes are believed to guard the temple from evil spirits and intruders. The temple is purportedly protected by a giant snake, which was created from Nirartha's selendang (a type of sash) when he established the island.

In 1980, the temple's rock face was starting to crumble and the area around and inside the temple started to become dangerous. The Japanese government then provided a loan to the Indonesian government of Rp 800 billion (approximately US$130 million) to conserve the historic temple and other significant locations around Bali. As a result, over one third of Tanah Lot's "rock" is actually cleverly disguised artificial rock created during the Japanese-funded and supervised renovation and stabilization program.