Eleven Places You Must See in Bali

Bali is possibly one of the most enchanting island on earth. One of the more than 13,000 islands of Indonesia and Bali is revered as one of the world's most popular and interesting tourist destination.

Some fast facts: Bali covers an area of 5,620 km2, about 140 km from west to east and 80 km from south to north. The southern part consists of sand with beautiful soft white sand along the beach, while the east, west and north is mostly volcanic layer of soft black sand beach.

Bali has a tropical climate with average temperatures around 30 degrees C (80 degrees F) throughout the year. It has only two seasons, the dry season began April to October and wet season from October to April. It is always nice and cool in a mountain side, while even warm around the coastal area, but there is still a nice breeze all the time. The dry season is always sunny with stunning views of sunset and sunrise, while the wet season is not too wet, as there is still much sunshine to enjoy during the day time.

Here are eleven things to see if you are in Bali.

Barong Dance - It is approx. 1 hour long religious dance represents the eternal struggle between good - Barong and the evil symbolized by an awful witch called Rangda. The costumes and sets are elaborate and nice. The trick is to get there early so you get front and be close enough to see facial expressions of the dancers

Celuk (gold & silver smith), Mas (wood carving) and Stone carving villages - you would pass these three villages and see the array of shops selling gold, wood and stone. As you enter Celuk, all gold and silversmith shops flank the roads, you can also stop by their factory to take a look at the production process. The same goes for wood carving and stone carving

Mount Batur (Kintamani) - This is the second largest active volcano in Bali. It is 1717 meters from sea level, and bearing the remains of the black lava from the eruption in 1917 and 1927th There is a lovely scenic crater lake there. You can do buffet lunch at one of the restaurants and admire the breathtaking views while you eat. The buffet lunch costs about S $ 10 and has a reasonable spread

Trita Empul - Tirta Empul means "bubbling water" and is a holy water temple built in 960 AD. Temple is beautiful temple and the holy water fountains for different purposes of purification and blessing. There were people in the fountain makes their purification, since we were there. Further inside the temple area, you can see the source of water - a source where the water bubbles up through the black sand. In total, it by nature. The legend says that one of the gods shot an arrow from the sky to look for water, and the place where the water bubbles up now, the exact place where the arrow hit

Goa Gajah - Means "elephant cave". Discovered in the 11th century, this cave was dug in the peaceful river valley in a hard sand stone. Entering inside T-Form cave, there are some niches used by Buddhist monks for meditation. Among the many historical traces found around this cave is the holy statue of Ganesh (a human body with elephant head), who believed that God Purification and Evil Controller. The cave can be quite claustrophobic for some people, but is worth a quick look inside

Sebatu Holy Spring Temple - Is the name "Gunung Kawi" in Balinese. It is a beautiful village temple lies in a peaceful valley with its sacred source. Something resembling Trita Empul, large fountain outside the temple area where villagers use to take a bath.

Taman Ayun - Is the largest royal family Temple Complex built in 1934 in the village of Mengwi, Badung Regency. The area of this temple is surrounded by a moat with water lilies and lotus. The place is still in use during prayer sessions and important ceremonial events.

Tanah Lot - One of the most famous temple in Bali. Lot Tanah means "sea country" is a fascinating Hindu temple built on a piece of rock in the Indian Ocean coast. This temple is dedicated to God Ocean "Baruna" built by a high Hindu Priest name Dang Hyang Dwijendra in the 16th century. During high tide, the cliff surrounded by water and the temple looks like it is floating. In the bottom of the cliff is a fresh water holy spring, while on the beach cave there are some sacred serpents that guard the temple. In southern and northern parts of the temple is absolutely beautiful view and good to watch the sunset

Uluwatu Temple - Also built by the same Hindu priest who built the Tanah Lot, Uluwatu temple is another magnificent temple built up on a rock. The entire temple stretches over a vast area and is flanked by the fabulous Indian Ocean. Here you can also see a large number of monkeys, mostly naughty kids who grabs food from visitors

Lake Beratan & Pura Ulun Danu - Beratan is a name of the Lake and Village. There is a spectacular floating temple called "Ulun Danu Temple" and is a very interesting sight. The weather on the lake is cool, which is a nice break from the mostly warm sun during our trip. There were people who rented a traditional paddle boat or speed boat to go around the lake, even though our driver said that there really is nothing much to see around the lake

Jatiluweh - A place where you can see lots of terraced rice paddy fields. Sights are breathtaking as you see the green terrace, meandering around you. This place is supposed to one of the few in the world to have such nice terraced paddies. These terraces are probably cut decades ago and now leads fascinating views today.