West Bali National Park covers some 770 square kilometres and is the dominant feature of this region. All visitors should check in and purchase permits (Rp 25,000) at the main park ofice in the village of Cekik south of Gilimanuk. Visitors intending to visit only Menjangan Island (part of the national park), please see below. For treks through forest and into the hills of the national park, proceed to the ranger station at Sumber Klampok about 20 minutes west from Cekik. A guide is mandatory and will cost between Rp 200,000 and Rp 500,000 depending on the length and nature of your trek. Discuss all of this and make plans with the staff at the Cekik park office. If you are very lucky you might get to see a Bali Starling, Bali's only endemic vertebrate species.
Vibrant marine life. Uninhabited Menjangan Island is a renowned diving and snorkelling destination. This is part of West Bali National Park and boats with a guide can be chartered at Labuan Lalang just to the west of Pemuteran on the north coast. Dive operators in Pemuteran can arrange everything for you as well as other dive trips along this very attractive stretch of coastline. If the water does to appeal so much, then you can walk around in the island in about one hour and there are lots of good photo opportunities.
Remote black sand beaches. The south coast of this region is fringed by black sand beaches and fishing villages that attract few visitors. The most well known of those is Medewi Beach. This is a surf destination but also a great place to experience laid back life in a tiny Balinese fishing village. Just relax and do not expect to see too many other visitors. On the north coast at Pemuteran there is a more developed but still very relaxed beach scene which centres on diving, snorkelling and marine conservation. Lots of accomodation options here to suit all budgets.
Buffalo racing (Mekepung) in Delod Berawah about 9 km east of Negara town. Thought to originate in Madura, Java, the buffalo races were originally held as part of the harvest festivities in Negara. The colorfully decorated carts and buffaloes race on a four km course every 2nd and 4th Sunday morning starting at 7.00 AM.
Rambut Siwi Temple (Pura Rambut Siwi). About equidistant between Negara and Medewi Beach. Located on a low cliff top overlooking a breathtaking panorama of paddy fields and the mountains of West Bali National Park on one side and black sand beaches on the other. The temple itself was built by the 16th century Javanese sage Dang Hyang Nirartha, also the creator of Tanah Lot temple. According to legend, he made a gift of his hair to the temple. Hence the name Rambut Siwi, which literally means ” Hair Worship”.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about West Bali
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in West Bali - updated May 2024
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West Bali Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
