Must visit places in Bali: Don’t miss these 5 destinations on the ‘Island of Gods’

Indonesia has over 17,000 islands and is one of the largest archipelagoes in the world. But when you talk about Indonesia, it is mostly associated with Bali.

Famously called the ‘Island of Gods,’ Bali is home to a diverse landscape of hills and mountains, rocky coastlines and sandy beaches, lush rice terraces, and volcanic hillsides. Every nook and corner of Bali oozes with colour, culture, and picturesque views.

On our latest trip to Indonesia, we spent a week in Bali, exploring places in Southern Bali, Central Bali, and all three Southeastern Islands of Bali – Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Ceningan, and Nusa Penida.

It was difficult to list just five must-visit places in Bali. But here is our top five list:

#5 Art/flea market

Shopping is definitely fun in Bali. Avoid the malls, head to art and flea markets in places like Kuta, Ubud, Seminyak, etc. Take a stroll around the area to check a variety of beautiful paintings, key chains, magnets, clothes, footwear, and other local products. Bring in your best bargaining skills!

#4 Southern Bali

We spent a day in the southernmost part of Bali. For this, we took a day’s accommodation in Kuta as it was close to the airport and not very far from the southernmost beaches in Bali. We hiked a bit from the parking to reach Pantai Gunung Payung. The next stop was Melasti Beach, where we stood at the southernmost tip of Bali; we ended our day by watching the sunset at Uluwatu temple. Because of the rain, we could not see the Uluwatu sunsets’ famous orange colour.

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There are a few other beaches that we missed at southern-most Bali that you may want to visit: Karma Beach, Pandwa Beach, Green Bowl Beach, and Nusa Dua Beach. Towards West Bali, you may visit Tanah Lot.

#3 Ulun Danu Beratan Temple

One of our favourite sights from the Bali trip was the Ulun Danu Beratan temple – a mesmerising temple situated on the shores of Lake Beratan with the background of Bedugul Highlands. It is around 40Kms from Ubud and over 50Kms from Kuta or Seminyak. Approximately 1,500m above sea level, the weather at the temple is a bit like mountains with cool and fresh air. A thin mist rises from the lake and hangs in the air, surrounding the temple, giving it a slightly surreal appearance.

Ulun Danu Beratan Temple:

Entry fee: 70,000 IDR

Timings: 7AM – 7PM

If you drive to the Beratan temple, you may also go a little ahead and see the humungous Handara Gate. Not that humungous, you know. Honestly, it was a bit letdown this whole hype about Handara Gate. This structure, which is actually just an entrance to a golf resort, has become one of the most famous tourist spots in Bali because of Instagram.

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There are usually long queues to take a picture in front of the traditional Balinese gate and every person is given a maximum of five minutes to take their photo. Luckily for us, we went just before the sunset and there was nobody there but us. Otherwise, the views around it are beautiful, with lush green trees on either side of the road at the gate.

Handara Gate:

Entry fee: 3,000 IDR

Timings: No timings

#2 Rice fields

Ubud is landlocked and is known for its endless views of green fields, as far as the eyes can see. While rice fields are all over Bali, one of the best places to go and admire Bali’s beautiful rice fields in Ubud, and we couldn’t agree more. Since Ubud was the last leg of our Indonesia trip, we decided to keep it low-key and not go all-out exploring like we always do. So, we just chose to check out the Instagram-famous Tegalalang Rice Terraces, which is also home to the popular Bali Swing.

However, Sakshi definitely regretted missing out on Campuhan Ridge Walk – a pathway situated on top of a ridge that offers the most stunning views, and a walk there could have been so peaceful and stunning.

#1 Nusa islands

Our most favourite part of the Bali trip was exploring all three Nusa islands. We took our accommodation in Nusa Lembongan, from where we crossed a bridge on a scooter to reach Nusa Ceningan. From Ubud, we took a day trip to Nusa Penida and explored the western part of the gorgeous island.

List of places we wanted to see but couldn’t due to time constraints:

Waterfalls: One of the adventurous things to do in Bali is chase waterfalls.

Pura Penataran Agung Lempuyang: Again, this temple has gained popularity, thanks to social media. The gate of the temple, fondly called the epic ‘Gates of Heaven’ looks like a picture frame for the sky and the Mount Agung volcano. While we missed a chance to pose in front of a temple, with the background of a volcanic mountain, we did walk to the crater of an active volcano! You can watch our incredible experience here.

To find out more about our Indonesia trip, click here.