Jembrana, Bull Racing Center

Towering Lontar Palms in West Bali National Park

From Denpasar head towards the western side of Bali, following the main road in the Gilimanuk direction passing through Tabanan. Ten kilometers after Melaya market, you will meet the cross road of Cekik, on the left side is the Head Quarter of West Bali National Park. In this office area, there is a Tourist Information Centre, guest houses and local guides are available. Gilimanuk Harbour is 3 kilometers from here. New resort hotels are available; Waka Shorea and Menjangan Jungle and Beach Resort.
West Bali National Park is situated in the North West of Bali covering an area of 19.002,89 hectares. It stretches between the regency of Jembrana and Buleleng, acting as natural resources preservation area for research, education, recreation and tourism. This beautiful and unspoilt park is only 3 hours from Denpasar. Amongst the abundant wild life lives the greatly endangered leucopstar rothschildi) endemic to the park and declared as fauna mascot. This is a crucial considering factor in making Bali Barat National Park, a naturally preserved region.

Cultural and Natural Tourism
There are a few temples located in the National Park such as the temple of Perapat Agung on the North-West tip and the temple of Gili Kencana in Menjangan island. They were both built in relation to the holy journey of the high Hindu priest, Dang Hyang Nirartha from East Java to Bali in Gelgel Dinasty in the 15 th century. At the time, the king of Gelgel was Waturenggong. The Hindu devotees from both Bali and East Java go to the temple during a temple festival and full moon. The unique temple is called Makam Jayaprana ( Jayaprana's grave). The temple is based on the legend "Jaya Prana- Layonsari", similar to Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'. There are also smaller ones such as Bakungan and Tirta Empul.
Tourists may choose their own favorite tourist attraction in this park such as jungle trekking, mountain biking, bird watching, horse riding, snorkeling, kayaking and the most favorite is diving at Menjangan.
Wildlife is every where in this protected area. Ant eaters (Manis Javanicus), Porcopines (Hystrix branchyora), Leopards (Felis bungalencus), Barking deer (Mantiacus muntjak), Black monkey ( Presbytis cristata) , Giant Squirrels (Ratufa bicolor), Monitor lizards and of course the Bali starling (Leocopsar rothschildi).Towering Lontar Palms (Borrasus flabelifer) and impressing trees such as sawo kecik (Manilkara kauki) and Dipterocarpus hasseltii will shade your walk through the Park. There are a lot of towering lontar palm trees growing in the park, especially in Cekik, around the naval monument. The young fruit of the palm is suitable to drink. The Balinese love to make palm sugar locally known as Balinese sugar, the lontar palm sugar is included.
Last but not least, the lontar palm leaves are used for Balinese decorations in ritual offerings, and as handicrafts, however the most important function of the leaf is as a media to write books locally known as "lontar".( Lanus Sumatra)