Brahmavihara-Arama is the name of a vihara/monastery which is known as the biggest Buddhist temple in Bali. This place is also usually called Vihara Buddha Banjar because of its location in Banjar District, Buleleng. The exact location of this monastery is on the hill area of Tegeha Hamlet, Banjar District, 22 kilometers to the west from Singaraja City and 11 kilometers from the area of Lovina. Meanwhile, from the Denpasar City, this monastery is approximately 100 kilometers and could be reached in 2.5 – 3 hour driving through Denpasar-Bedugul-Singaraja route. Besides its function as a praying place for the Buddhist, this monastery is also place for meditating.

Brahmavihara-Arama is located on a peaceful hill of Buleleng, so when you face to the north you will see the amazing landscape of North Bali Ocean with beautiful green areas of rice fields and farm from the top. The tranquil ambience and its peaceful surrounding landscape have made this monastery as a perfect place for meditation. The unique and artistic buildings have also become attracting power for the tourists.

Brahmavihara-Arama was built in 1969 over a 4 hectare area and then finished one year later. In 1973 this holy building was inaugurated as the main Buddha monastery. Before that, there was a monastery located in Banjar Hot Spring, but the followers or members of that place were not much; below 25 persons. Considering this situation, Brahmavihara-Arama then used for the public monastery as this place was more appropriate.

Brahmavihara-Arama consists of three words: Brahma, Vihara, and Arama. Brahma means praiseworthy / noble. Vihara means the way of life, and Arama means place. From those words combination it could be concluded that the meaning of Brahmavihara-Arama is a place for self exercising, enhancing praiseworthy and noble behavior which in Buddhism consist of Metta, Karuna, Mudita dan Upekkha.

This Buddhist monastery consists of five main complexes, such as:

1. Uposatha Gara, which is located on the western top. This place is like a room filled with reliefs about the birth of Buddha, and in the middle of this room there is a Buddha statue in a state of reaching Nirvana. This room is functioned as inauguration place for the monk candidates.

2. Dharmasala, which is located in the eastern part. This place is like a lecture room where the monks discuss and study the holy tenet. This place is also used for conducting worship and various kinds of spiritual activities.

3. Stupa, which is situated in the northwestern corner of the monastery. Quite unique building which looks like a giant bell.

4. Bodi Tree, which is located in the southwestern corner of the monastery. Around this tree, there are a lot of beautiful reliefs. This place symbolizes the victory of Buddha when He reached the eternal perfection (nirvana).

5. Kuti is the settlement of the monks and students which are studying in this monastery. Besides that, this place is also used for exercising by these monks.

When you enter Brahmavihara-Arama, you may think that this is a Hindu temple. The Hinduism elements in this Buddhist monastery are indeed noticeable because it was done on purpose. Moreover, Hindu and Buddha have a strong relationship because Buddha is one of the Hindu avatars (God as the world savior). However, this combination does not lose the typical characteristics of the Buddhism. Every yard or area in this place is connected by stairs which every rung is written with the principles of Buddhism.

When you arrive in the highest level of this monastery, you will see a spacious area with beautiful yard and at the end of this yard there is a giant stupa in form of Borobudur Temple miniature. Inside this stupa, there is a room with 4 Golden Buddha statues facing four directions. This place is the place for meditating. Usually, in the Buddhists’ holiday this place will be full of worshipping people. However, this place is not only crowded in the holidays because there are meditations routines hold in this place almost every day. The participants are not only from the Buddhists, but also the other regions and beliefs which are seeking for inner peace. Moreover, Bahkan, this monastery is often visited by meditation groups both from Indonesia or foreign countries.

In this monastery complex, there are some Buddha statues spread in various locations, in every corner of the park or room. Among them, there are two Buddha statues which are very interesting: Parinirwana statue and Buddha as a Buddha statue. Both of these statues are donation from Thailand and Sri Lanka in 1977 which is made from bronze covered with gold. Each of these statues is placed in different rooms. Parinirwana statue illustrates Buddha in a meditation state while He is emptying body and mind. Meanwhile, Buddha as a Buddha statue illustrates Buddha who is reaching eternal perfection. Besides those two statues, the other statues are made from sandstone and concrete spread in the park illustrating the existence of 31 natural positions outside Nirvana.

For the nature lovers and outdoor activity lovers, trekking must be a preferable way of spending holiday. If you are spending holiday in Bali, try to do trekking in two biggest mountains in Bali, Mount Agung and Mount Batur. What will you need and what to know? All of it is discussed here.

Mount Agung Trekking

Mount Agung is the highest mountain in Bali, around 3.031 meters above sea level. This mountain is located in Karangasem Regency. Mount Agung is a sacred mountain for Hindu and believed as the resident of God. Because of its sacredness, the biggest Hindu temple in Bali, Besakih is built here.

This mountain erupted in 1963 resulting severe damage to some regions in Bali. However, now this mountain is safe to be explored. This mountain has a very large and deep crater which is still active. Because of its height, from below this mountain looks like having a pointy tip, but actually the tip of this mountain is a round and large crater.
The view from top of this mountain is amazing. You could also see the top of Mount Rinjani in Lombok, even though both mountains are covered by cloud.

Please note that foods made from beef are not allowed to be brought here. This belief is related to the Hinduism because cow or cattle is a holy animal.

Trekking Route

There are three trekking routes, such as:

1. Southern route, from Selat passing Sangkan Kuasa.
2. Southeastern route, from Budakeling passing Nangka
3. Southwestern route, from Besakih Temple, which is the most common route used by the mountaineers.

Mount Batur Trekking

Mount Batur is located in Bangli Regency, northeast from Mount Agung. The height of this active mountain is 1.717 meters above sea level. This mountain has a wide caldera sizing 13.8 x 10 kilometers which is one of the largest and most beautiful around the world. Inside the first caldera, the second caldera was formed in circular shape with 7 kilometers diameter.

Since 1804, this mountain has erupted 26 times with the last eruption happened in 2000. The biggest one happened in August until September 1926. The eruption ejected destructive lava which destroyed Batur Village and Ulun Danu Temple. Trekking on this mountain offers unforgettable experience. The best time to climb this mountain is in early morning when the sun is about to rise. At that time, you will be able to see the amazing panorama of Bali Island illuminated by the morning sun. Besides that, you can see the view of Batur Lake, Mount Agung, and Lombok’s Mount Rinjani.

Trekking Route

The starting point for exploring Mount Batur is in front of Jati Temple, Toya Bungkah, Kintamani. Usually, the people who want to do trekking here start their trip at 04.00 in the morning. The trip reaching the summit will take around 2 hours.

Mount Agung and Mount Batur Two in One Trekking

Doing trekking in both of these mountains is possible. Maybe this schedule arrangement below could help you preparing yourself for great experience that awaits you there.

First Day – Visiting Kintamani. Try to find a hotel in Toya Bungkah, at the foot of Mount Batur. Some of the hotels also offer facility for bathing in a natural hot spring. Spend the remaining day for preparation.

Second Day – Early in the morning, you could start trekking to the summit of Mount Batur to see the sunrise, the view of Kintamani and also Lake Batur. After that, you can go back to Toya Bungkah. You still have time left before heading to Mount Agung, so have a walk to the tourism objects around Batur. Before afternoon, go to Besakih (Mount Agung) through the route of Penelokan-Rendang. The trip will take around 3 – 4 hours. After arriving, pick one inn or lodge there for spending night.

Third Day – Wake up early in the morning to start the trip to the summit of Mount Agung. If you prepare it well, you will arrive on the summit when the sun rises which once again will make you amazed. Explore more areas as you like and then go back before afternoon. You will arrive in your inn in the evening, so you will still have time to enjoy your holiday somewhere else in this Island.

If you want to use travel agent, they will usually charge around IDR 2.500.000 per person. That price has included transfer to your hotel, entrance ticket to Mount Agung National Park, trekking equipments, sleeping bag, lighting equipments, food, and cooking utensils. Apart from that, you may need to prepare sun block, thick or warm clothes, sun glasses, and raincoat by yourself.

Kecak is the name of a popular Balinese dance among the tourists. Foreign tourists usually call this dance as “Monkey Dance” because they think that the sound from the dance is like the sound of monkey. Besides that, in the dance there is also indeed a figure of monkey named Hanuman and Sugriwa. Some favorit places for watching Kecak Dance show is in the area of Batubulan, also in Uluwatu and Tanah Lot where this dance is performed with a background of amazing sunset.

Kecak Dance was created around 1930’s by a famous Balinese dancer named I Wayan Limbak, and a German painter named Walter Spies. They were inspired after watching performance of dances in ritual of Sanghyang which the dancers were dancing in a trance condition. The ritual of Sanghyang itself is an original ritual of Balinese which came from the tradition of pre-Hindu people with a purpose for expel evil spirits. This ritual then adopted and integrated into the dance that I Wayan Limbak and Walter Spies had created, and then which was performed for an art tour in various nations of Europe.

Kecak Dance is usually performed by a number of male dancers from 50 until 150 persons for 45 until 60 minutes. This dance combines the voices of the dancers (like an a cappella) with percussive sound of “cak, cak, cak..” as they throw up their arms to the air. The dance is like an accompanist to the fragment of Ramayana that performed as the main story. As explained above, because the unique chants of the dancers are like monkeys’ sound, so the foreign tourists called this dance as “Monkey Dance”.

Ever wondered why the name of this dance is Kecak? Actually, by listening to this dance directly we could easily conclude that it is named after the sounds that the dancers produced (“cak” becomes “kecak”). This word is chanted rhythmically which produces a unique and harmonic voice combination which sometimes added with typical accents and shouts. Uniquely, Kecak Dance does not use any musical instruments to be performed with the dance. It only uses the chants which imitates the sounds of musical instruments. This aspect has made Kecak Dance different from the other Balinese traditional dances.

The fragment of Ramayana epic which becomes the source story of this dance is the story of Dewi Sita (the wife of Rama) abduction by King Rahwana from Alengka Kingdom. Kecak Dance focuses on the struggle of Rama freeing his wife which is kidnapped and taken away by Rahwana. In his effort, Rama was assisted by his brother Laksmana, Hanuman (white monkey) and Sugriwa (monkey king). The dancers of kecak which play role as the chanters only uses checked cloth (kamen poleng) around their waist. Meanwhile, the main characters like Rama, Sita, Laksmana, Rahwana, Hanuman, and Sugriwa use complete dancing costume.

Besides performing the epic of Ramayana, Kecak Dance also performs other dances called Sanghyang Dedari and Sanghyang Jaran as the closing dances. Sanghyang Dedari Dance and Sanghyang Jaran Dance are mystical dance which the dancers are possessed by spirits, so they are immune to fire and could easily dance on top of the embers. Sanghyang Dedari is a dance for repelling evil spirit which is performed by two virgin girls. Meanwhile, Sanghyang Jaran is a dance performed by trance men who dance and jumping like a horse on top of the embers. Because of its identical relation with Sanghyang Jaran, Kecak Dance is also called “Kecak and Fire Dance.”

For years, Kecak Dance keeps changing and developing. Since 1970’s this dance has undergone development in the aspect of story and show. From the aspect of story, the performance has not depended only on one fragment of Ramayana story, but also the other stories. Thence, from the aspect of the show, the dance performance could now be seen in every part of Bali after could only be seen in Bona Village – Gianyar. Besides that, various activities involving Kecak such as art festivals are often held by government or art institute to preserve and develop this dance. For your information, there was also a record made for the most Kecak dancers involved in a show in 1979, when 500 dancers were involved in this record breaking effort. At that time, the story which was used was not Ramayana, but Mahabarata. After that, in September 29th, this record was once again broken in a show held by the Government of Tabanan Regency who performed a colossal Kecak Dance involving 5000 dancers in the exotic area of Tanah Lot.

Kecak Dance is a dance which is rich with the value of tradition and beliefs of Balinese. It is good to know that this dance does not lose by the modernization and keep growing with the life artistic life of Balinese.

Kapoposang Island is a popular marine tourism object in Indonesia. This island is one of the small islands group located in the line of Makassar Strait or also known as “spermonde”. Administratively, this island is located in Pangkep Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. From Makassar City, this island is approximately 68 kilometer.

This island has an area of 50.000 hectares and length of 103 km. the geographical coordinates of Kapoposang Island is 118o 54’ 00’’ E – 119o 10’ 00’’ E and 04o 37’00’’ S – 04o 52’ 00’’ S. This area of islands which has a full name, “Taman Wisata Perairan Kepulauan Kapoposang” consists of three habited islands namely, Kapoposang, Papandangan, and Gondong Bali. Besides that, there are also three inhabited islands, Suranti, Pamanggangang, and Tambakhulu which are all have beautiful white sand.

This island is indeed an attractive tropical recreation island. Besides enjoying the beauty of its nature, the tourists could also do diving, snorkeling, and fishing. Many people believe that the fishing spot around Kapoposang Island is one of the best in Indonesia. Besides that, the waters condition around the island is very clean and the coral reefs are also healthy and pretty, so this site is perfect for diving and snorkeling. Besides that, various kinds of colorful fish could also add more beauty for its underwater panorama.

In the holiday seasons, this island will get a lot of visits from both local and foreign tourists. The beauty of this island does not only comprise the “blue” water but also the “green” from the lush trees grow around the island. The usual activities which are done by the tourists in this island are diving, snorkeling, fishing, observing turtles’ life, and enjoying sunset and sunrise panorama. As a mainstay marine destination in South Sulawesi Province, Kapoposang Island offers a lot of underwater potentials which are ready to be explored. There are many diving spots available for you who want to enjoy the beauty of Kapoposang’s underwater panorama such as Cave Point, Shark Point, and Turtle Point. For the turtle point, Kapoposang Island has one special spot which is the natural habitat of the Hawksbill Turtle (Erethmochelys imbricata).

These Hawksbill turtles in Kapoposang Island are very benign because rarely disturbed by the local residents or fishermen. If in the other places you can only see turtles on the shore, here you can swim together with them, take photograph, and even touch them directly inside the ocean. To see this benign animal, you must dive into 500 meter depth for about 1.5 hour. There you will be able to see a lot of Hawksbill Turtles with various sizes swimming free between the beauties of the coral reefs. Besides that, these turtles could also be seen resting between the cave in the coral wall. Some locations in Kapoposang Island are the Hawksbill Turtle’s place for laying eggs. In the spawning seasons starting from December until April, you can see this animal lays egg around the area of Kapoposang Island.

In the southern area, there is a big coral in the middle of the ocean which is called Takabakang. This place is the favorite spot for fishing and spear fishing. The strong current of this area is preferred by the big fish like a group of tuna, schooling grouper, giant trevally, and cod. Similar like Kapoposang Island, this area also has a natural habitat of turtle. If the spawning season is arriving, they will head to the Kapoposang Island’s beach to lay eggs. Tourists could watch the activities of these turtles, but could not disturb them because this animal is endangered and protected by law.

Various kinds of hard coral, soft coral, coral fish, and invertebrate animals which live under the water ecosystem in Kapoposang Island are very completed, even it could represent the whole species in South Sulawesi. For the professional divers, the profile of coral reefs here which are in form of wall with hundred meter depth is a challenge and attraction, especially for them who want to do deep diving.

Facility

For accommodation, this island has already completed with resort. This resort has complete facilities like restaurants, sports facilities, and so on. Tourists could also rent a 20 ton cruise ship for crossing the vast ocean to the favorite diving sites or fishing spots.

Access

There are many routes for heading into Kapoposang Island, for instance from Port Paotere and POPSA Dock in Makassar, Kalibone Dock in Maros Regency, and Tonasa Dock in Pangkep Regency. If you use a traditional boat, the estimated time for cruising is around 6 hours from Makassar, 7 hours from Maros, and 8 hours from Pangkep. However, if you use speed boat that can be rented in POPSA Dock Makassar, you will need only 3 hours trip to go to Kapoposang Island.

Once again, we will discuss a tourism object from Yogyakarta which always offers beautiful and unique place to be explored. As one of the favorite destinations in Indonesia, Yogyakarta indeed offers various tourism choices for the tourists and travelers. Some of the tourism objects of Yogyakarta have even been popular worldwide such as Borobudur and Prambanan. Besides that, the other objects like Malioboro, Parangtritis Beach, or Keraton Yogyakarta have been being favorite destination, especially for the domestic tourists.

Besides those famous places, apparently there are still a lot of interesting destinations in Yogyakarta. The kinds of them are starting from natural destination, cultural destinations, culinary destination, until spiritual destination. For you who are fond of adventure and outdoor activities, you should try to visit Cerme Cave. Indeed, this tourism object is not as famous as the other objects mentioned above, but the exoticism and adventure that this place offers are worthy to be tried. Cerme Cave is located in Srunggo Village, District Imogiri, Bantul, Yogyakarta. From the downtown of Yogyakarta, this cave is located approximately 20 km south. Cerme Cave is a natural cave which has a length of 1.5 km and ends until the area of Panggang, Gunung Kidul. Actually, besides this cave there are also the other caves with smaller size such as Dalang Cave, Ledek Cave, Badut Cave, and Kaum Cave.

Reputedly, this cave was functioned as a meeting place for the Islam missionaries in Java Island which are called Walisongo. In their holy journey spreading Islam, they found this cave and then decided to use it as the meeting place for discussing their plans. After that, the cave is called Cerme Cave. The name “Cerme” is derived from the word “Ceramah” which means preach.

For reaching the entrance of the cave, the visitors must struggle a bit to climb the hill by going up the 759 stairs that become the main way there. Because of its height, the landscape viewed from outside of this cave is superbly amazing, especially at night. Meanwhile, inside the cave, you could see a lot of wonderful stalactites and stalagmites. Due to variations of water forming process, these stalactites and stalagmites also have varied and different forms. The types of these forms are curtains, shield, and canopy. All of these rocks are so beautiful in decorating the cave. There is also a small river flows along the cave which is also the main access for exploring the cave. This small river also has its own historical value because in the colonialism era, this river was used by the Dutch to generate electricity. The remnants of the utilities still exist until now.

For exploring this cave, the visitors must be prepared to be soaked wet because as it said before, the main access for exploring this cave is only through the river. However, you do not need to worry because the depth of its river is only 0.5 until 1 meter. Although this river is shallow but the visitors must always be careful because in some spots the roof of the cave is very close to the surface of the water so particular techniques are need to pass it. Apart from its extreme and challenging condition, Cerme Cave has been often explored by the villagers or the visitors even until the end point. It is not surprising that this cave always get visitors because its beauty and safety especially for the beginners who wants to try caving here.

Inside this cave, you will be able to see a lot of misleading intersections and alleys. Because of that, for your own safety and comfort, it is highly suggested that you use a guide which has been familiar with the cave. Complete lighting equipments such as flashlight, torch, or portable lamp should be brought because the situation inside the cave could be blinding dark. Related to its history, this cave has a lot of rooms with different functions such as meeting room, holy water, gamelan (musical instrument), paddy barn, kraton, stage, and many more.

Cerme Cave is categorized as an active cave. The meaning of active here is the rocks and ornaments of the cave will keep growing and changing. Cerme Cave is also categorized as wet cave because along the cave’s route a river flows with small debit but could be big in the rainy season. The ornaments inside the cave are also complete, starting from stalactite, stalagmite, gourdam, gordin, flowstone, canopy, and the other beauty of a cave. Besides possessing natural beauty, this 5 meters high cave also has two gate, entrance and exit so it is easy to be explored in one way. Like the other caves in Indonesia, in particular months there will be a special ritual held in this cave. This ritual would be very attractive for the visitors, especially the tourists from foreign countries.

Anak Krakatau Mountain is located on Sunda Strait, in between the island of Java and Sumatera. Anak Krakatau could be said as the most famous Indonesian mountain in the world. It has become famous because of her mother’s (Krakatau/Krakatoa Mountain) devastating eruption in 1883. This massive eruption happened in August 1883 causing giant tsunami, volcanic dust, darkness for two days, and temperature decrease because of blocked sun. The blasting sound of the eruption could be heard until Australia. Moreover, the heat, dust, and cloud even covered some area of Europe. After that eruption, Krakatau Mountain was destroyed and disappeared. However, slowly a new mountain rose from the sea where the Krakatau was located and then called as Anak Krakatau (The Child of Krakatau). The unique history of this mountain has attracted so many people to visit the site. Not only Indonesian, foreigners also attracted to come to this mountain to see the beautiful panorama that it offers and also to do some research.

In 1927, the Anak Krakatau Mountain began to rise after her mother disappeared from the map. Apparently, the lava from the former Krakatau Mountain’s crater rose from under the water with one meter height. However, this crater is getting bigger and higher, creating a small island in form of a mountain. Until now, Anak Krakatau Mountain is still active and often ejects volcanic materials like sand and lava.

The fact that Anak Krakatau Mountain is still active, does not make the surrounding area is lifeless. Various kinds of plants and biota live in the area of the mountain. Besides that, the area of Anak Krakatau Mountain is a nature laboratory for gaining more knowledge about geological science. The visitors of this place do not only get amazing natural panorama, but also could study various kinds of natural phenomena, such as the forming process of island, mountain, and forest. Although this area has a barren coast, some trees grow well for example: pine, hibiscus, ketapang (Terminalia catappa), sea kale, and cogon grass.

Different from the barren situation found in Anak Krakatau, lush green environment could be seen in the Krakatau Besar Island (Rakata Island) and Krakatau Kecil (Panjang Island). In Krakatau Besar Island, grow some tropical vegetation like evergreen, hibiscus, ketapang, and dadap (Erythrina variegate). Animals which are often seen in this area are tropical birds, lizard, and other small reptiles.

Anak Krakatau Mountain is very attractive especially when it ejects volcanic dust, smoke, and glowing lava from its crater. However, its status as an open tourism object does not mean that the visitors could go in this mountain carelessly. Visitors are only allowed within a radius of two kilometers from the crater. If you want to climb this mountain, the chance is still possible but the permission from the maintainer could only allow you to do climbing until the edge of the slope because of its extreme condition, like slippery sand and possible gale. The monitoring post of Anak Krakatau Mountain is usually very strict in issuing this climbing permission.

Apart from its unfriendly situation, Anak Krakatau Mountain has been becoming a very interesting place to be visited. The beauty of a tropical island surrounded by greens and twitters of the birds become very attractive side aspects. The beautiful panorama around the island surrounded by sea, the line of shiny black sand, and amazing scenery observable from top of the mountain could be an unforgettable experience for every visitor of this place. Not to forget the exoticism of this mountain when it spews the entrails of the earth in form of yellowish red lava sprinkle which looks like a fireworks of the nature. Besides that, the underwater panorama of this area is as great as the other regions of Indonesia.

Besides Anak Krakatau Mountain, there are also some alternative tourist destinationa which are worthy to be visited. You could go to the islands located near the mountain such as Sebuku Kecil, Sebesi, Umang, or Rakata. However, from those islands the Rakata Island or also known as Krakatau Besar is the nearest from Anak Krakatau Mountain. In Rakata Island you could also enjoy the beauty of underwater ecosystem by diving or snorkeling. The experience of exploring the bottom of the sea in this place with its colorful fish and natural coral reefs would be very amazing.

From Jakarta, Anak Krakatau Mountain is located on its West. You could drive through the route of Jakarta – Merak highway. When you arrive in the highway gate of Cilegon barat or Cilegon Timur, you must continue your trip to Anyer. After arriving in the beautiful beach of Anyer, get ready for crossing into the Krakatau area. In this beach, you could rent a fisherman’s boat or cruising boat which is available along the coast of Anyer.

Bangli, is the only regency in Bali which does not have beach as tourism object. However, Bangli also has other potentials that is very unique which could only be found in this regency, such as nature panorama and unique customs of its people. One of the villages which have unique customs in Bangli is Penglipuran Village. The location of this village is easy to be reached. It is located near Kintamani and Bangli famous attractions, Tampaksiring Palace and Tirta Empul. This village is located in the Bangli District, Bangli Regency, around 45 kilometers from the capital city, Denpasar.

When you enter this village, you will be amazed by the architecture of the houses which are all the similar. The similarities are in the form of gate which has bamboo roof and 2.5 meter high, slim door in a size of one adult, and the color of house which use the natural brown color made from dirt. Another similarity is in dividing parts of a house. A house in Penglipuran Village must follow the arranging rule of bale (small hall), room, and kitchen. Almost all of these buildings use bamboo as their part.

According to the headman of this village, the similarity that exists in here is designed to create togetherness amongst the villagers. Besides that, they hope that they could preserve the nature by keep using natural elements in their life. Due to its commitment, this village got Kalpataru Award (award for environmental conservation) from Indonesian Government. However, because of modernization some of the villagers now begin to use bricks to build house instead of bamboo. Related to this situation, the headman stated that he understands and allow some of them using bricks because it is still natural and the form of the house still obey the rule of this village.

The harmony of this village is not the only attractive thing here. The natural surroundings are also interesting. With entrance ticket starting from Rp 7,500 until Rp. 10,000 per visitor, you could enjoy a great atmosphere of this classic Balinese Village. Since becoming one of the mainstay tourism objects in Bali, more than 100 people visit this village every day.

This village possessed a beautiful panorama, fresh air, comfort, silence, peace, and uniqueness of village layout. It is supported by the hospitality of the villagers and their awareness in conserving the nature. Moreover, they have their own system in managing the use of water from its source.

In Penglipuran, the village is divided into three areas/zones: parahyangan (head), pawongan (body), and palemahan (foot). Parahyangan is the most sacred and highest area in this village around 700 meters above sea level. In this area there is a temple called Penataran Temple. Down the stairs from this area of temple, you will enter the pawongan zone which consists of west and east settlements. These settlements are divided by a main road with 3 meters width which stretch out from north to south. In pawongan zone, there are 226 patriarchs with average livelihood as farmers, ranchers, and bamboo artists. The ancestors of this village taught them to be friendly with the environment. Thus, 40 percent of this 112 hectare village is bamboo forest. Moreover, cutting down bamboo in Penglipuran could not be done haphazardly. The person who wants to cut down his bamboo tree must get permission from the village’s priest.

Respect for Woman

According to a humanist Ketut Sumarta, the characteristic of Bali Aga (Ancient Bali) people is their high respect for woman. The form of this respect is realized in an “Awig-awig” (village rule) of Penglipuran Village.

According to this awig-awig, any man in this village is only allowed to marry one woman. Polygamy is strictly prohibited. If a man is out doing polygamy whether it is known by his wife or not, he will still get punishment. The one who breaks the rule will be excommunicated. He will not be allowed to live in his wife house. Even, he will not be allowed to enter the temple.

In Penglipuran, the excommunication place is called Karang Memadu. The size of this place is very narrow. From long ago, until now Karang Memadu has never been occupied, so it shows that no one ever break the rule of this village.

Besides polygamy, stealing or robbing is also strictly prohibited. If someone is found stealing anything, the punishment is also severe because he/she will be asked to give at least 5 chickens for offerings with various colors to every ancestor’s temples that he/she has.

Another unique thing of this village is the custom of their villagers who do not cremate their family who pass away. This is uncommon thing in Bali because cremation or also known as Ngaben is a tradition for the other Balinese people. The corpse of the villager will only be buried without cremated. The reason behind this custom is apparently related to the effort of conserving nature. It is said that, cremating the corpse could result environmental pollution, so they prefer burying the body of their passed family under the ground.

The effort of this village’s residents in conserving nature is a great example for everyone. This village has lived in harmony for a long time because of that effort. Penglipuran is a village that you must visit when you spend your holiday in Bali.

Sundak is a beautiful beach located in Sidoharjo Village, Tepus District, Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta. According to the story which is told by the local residents, the name Sundak was taken and then used after in this location there was a fight between a dog and a hedgehog. The fight was initiated when a stray and hungry dog met a hedgehog in this beach. This hedgehog was chased down into a cave and then ended up eaten by this dog. The owner, who was looking for his dog saw his dog went out of the cave soaking wet with half of the hedgehog’s body. Curious, he checked into the cave and found the other half of this animal’s body and also a spring. After that fight, the owner of the dog called this beach as “Sundak.” Sundak is the combination of two words, “asu” which means dog, and “landak” which means hedgehog. Besides that, the spring that was found in that location was used as the water source for the local residents. Now a water pipe is installed here to flow the water into the settlements around there.

After accidentally named, this beach was getting famous and could attract visitors. It is not only because of the unique name, but also because of the beauty of this beach with its white sand and peaceful ambience. Now, this beach even has been visited by both local and foreign tourists. Because of that, Sundak Beach has been developed by the local government as the mainstay tourism object especially in the region of Gunungkidul. Although becoming mainstay tourism object for its region, this beach is still administered by the local residents, not the government.

Features

No wonder this beach is one of the most attractive places located in Yogyakarta, because the beauty of Sundak Beach is real. The coastline is covered by clean white sand combined with clear water of the sea. Besides that, the beach is shallow and could be explored until 30 meters from the coast. Under the water, there are some small corals and rocks as the home for the tiny sea biota that you could see in this beach.

There are also some rock hills and limestone cliffs in the north of this beach with height around 12 meters. These hills are like decorating the beach which adds another beauty for this beach. In one of these hills, the spring that was mentioned above could be found.

In the afternoon, the tourists could enjoy the amazing view of sunset in the horizon of Indian Ocean whilst enjoying the peaceful ambience of this beach.

Access

From Yogyakarta to the capital of Gunungkidul Regency, Wonosari, you could get on a public bus departs from Giwangan Terminal, Yogyakarta. You could also choose between minibus and big bus with charge starting from Rp 4,000 or more. The trip could take around one hour. After arriving in Wonosari Town, the passengers will be deployed around Wonosari Market. From here, you should get on a minibus heading to Baron or Krakal Beach. It will take around 40 minutes until 1 hour before arriving at the location.

However, if you go to this beach by personal vehicles directly from Yogyakarta, it will be easier with approximate travelling time around 2 hours.

Entrance Ticket

The entrance ticket into the area of beach in Gunungkidul is Rp 1,500 per person. It will be charged in the main road before entering the beach area. However, when you enter the Sundak Beach Area, no entrance ticket will be charged, except the parking ticket for Rp 1,000 or Rp 2,000.

Accommodations and Other Facilities

Sundak Beach is still in the category of newly opened beach, so you will not find any resort or lodge around here. However, in the other beaches located in the west of Sundak Beach there are a lot of lodges enough for spending nights, such as in Kukup Beach, Krakal Beach, or Baron Beach. Moreover, the room charge for one night is also cheap starting from Rp 20,000 – Rp 50,000. There are also some homestay around these beaches.

For dining option, you could try some food shops or taverns made for attracting tourists. In these places there are wide selection of seafood and other dishes. The food stalls lining up in the beach offers you various kind of local seafood dishes which are worthy to be tried.

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