Balinese Life

Nature’s Splendor:
Ramble in the Jungle of Bali

Bali Island’s lush tropical jungle retains a stunning charm. It spreads from the west to the east along the highland and its back is embellished with mountains. It is a place of rare and awe-inspiring beauty, inhabited by exotic plants and animals, including the popular grey monkeys and flying foxes.

The Bali Barat National Park is famous forest territory in the conservation area of West Bali. It is the sweet home to the very rare bird, the Bali Starling and sawo kecik (Manilkara kauki) fruit. Both constitute the fauna and flora mascot of Bali province. The 20,000 ha National Park is flooded with the image of pristine nature. It also offers a challenging adventure for nature loving forest explorers and divers. The latter can admire the magnetism of Menjangan Island (belonging to the park), a renowned diving site that is favored best by diving enthusiasts from across the globe. It is surrounded by white sandy beaches. Fascinating coral formations near the shore make it excellent for snorkeling and scuba diving. This island, as its name implies, is the primal habitat of cute deer or menjangan in Balinese language.
Other parts of the island also offer challenging tracks like the Mount Batukaru and Mangu Peak (Tabanan) and invites expedition into the tropical forest around Lake Tamblingan (Buleleng), climb to Mount Agung (Karangasem) and Mount Batur (Bangli). This will not only enable visitors to appreciate and admire the distinctive local nature at close range but they also could take an aerial view of the surrounding nature from the heights. If visitors prefer to combine it with spiritual interest, it would become a very delightful adventure. Some foreign visitors also show a great interest in climbing the Mount Lempuyang (Karangasem) whereupon lies the Lempuyang Temple. From here, visitors can discern the lure of Mount Agung in the west and Bali’s east waters.
According to Balinese Hindu beliefs, every mountain’s peak is considered to be sacred and at such places holy shrines are also established. On that account, every mountaineer is advised to speak politely during the climbing or tracking. Speaking the words ‘tired’ and its variants should be avoided as, pursuant to local belief, this could become reality. And it is suggested that women who are menstruating should not undertake any climbing activity because it is believed their condition could upset the sacredness of the sanctums and may also have a poor impact on the women themselves.
By the way, tourists who have a limited time still can observe the uniqueness of local forests through some ‘mini forests’ at tourist objects throughout the island. There are a wide variety to choose from such as the forest with nutmeg trees hundreds of years old and grey monkeys at Sangeh; the forest with grey monkeys and flying foxes at Alas Kedaton and for educational interest, the tropical forest at Eka Karya Botanical Garden at Bedugul which has some rare plants. In South Denpasar the Mangrove forest is found adjacent to the muddy beach inhabited by various birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects and spiders. It is good for relaxing while enjoying a leisurely stroll along the wooden track. Meanwhile, at the southernmost tip of this island is the Uluwatu forest near the temple, offering a magnificent vista with the background of sunset over the ocean and 70-meter high limestone cliffs. Here too some grey monkeys can be seen.
Indeed, there are more similar places offering intriguing appeal. To sum up, other than the splendor of its cultural richness, Bali also has the exciting charm of its nature that is worth exploring while spending your holiday in Bali. On your island excursion why not combine its culture with the ramble to its nature.
(BTN/pun)