Over the years, the beauty and grace of Bali and its inhabitants has won numerous sobriquets of praise and homage to this tiny Indonesian island, like Island of the Gods, The Last Paradise, Land of a Thousand Temples and Morning of the Earth.
A diverse landscape of hills and mountains, rocky coastlines and sandy beaches, green rice terraces and barren volcanic hillsides, all of which provide a scenic environment for its vibrant, deeply spiritual and peculiar people, is a place that is can be called paradise on earth.
Due to the deep-rooted spirituality and traditions, some places in Bali stand out. These are the five places on the Island that you should visit when you are in Bali.
The Sunken Temple of Devata Vishnu
30 meters under the water in North-western Bali, there is a Hindu shrine enveloped with coral, algae’s and other sea creatures. The folklores say 5,000 years ago it sunk into the ocean where it has rested ever since. It was recently discovered. But all this is untrue and actually it was made by a native organization called Reef Seed. They are basically a dive shop and wanted to create something to act as an artificial reef because apparently dynamite fishing and cyanide fishing was a big problem in the area. Not only as a tourist attraction, they built these very beautiful concrete structures but also as anchor points for coral and fish living spaces. There are things you need to consider if you’re going there.
Firstly, the location is 30 meters down, which means it’s an advanced scuba dive and you need your advanced certification for open water. Second, there’s another 18-meter dive site you can dive with your simple open water permit, but it’s certainly not something you can snorkel. However, it can’t be a quick trip because you’ve got to cross the mountain range to get to this location. If you want to go there, you can also plan a small visit to the nearby Turtle Rehabilitation Centre at Reef Scene and then visit the Sunken Temple.
The Ghost Palace Hotel
Located in the very center of Bali, right next to the main highway. There are a lot of stories about this, particularly beautiful hotel. One of them is that the owner’s corrupt business practices haunted the place and fell into ruins. The second is that one day after the hotel became fully operational, all just vanished. The third and most likely is the son of a very successful Indonesian president who designed this property and one of the most fanciful hotels in Bali. He was then charged with corruption by the Supreme Court. And he tried to have the chief judge assassinated, which failed, and he was imprisoned very soon, which is why he is now being abandoned.
The Temple of Goa Gajah
Famous for entry into its main chamber by the giant mouth. The origins of this position are not clear. Being a meditation chamber for ancient monks is suspected. One thing they’re pretty sure of is the seven statues that guard the front symbolizing the seven rivers of India, as well as the multitude of menacing faces that are said to scare away evil spirits, even though they look like evil spirits themselves. If this is definitely worth checking out near Ubud.
USAT Liberty wreck
Located in Bali’s north-eastern part, lies the only ship ever to be sunk by a volcano in the world. At the end of World War II, a US cargo ship was sailing from Australia all the way to the Philippines when it was torpedoed (exploded) by the Japanese. Nevertheless, it didn’t sink, but it was severely damaged and they were trying to continue their journey all the way to the Philippines. It wasn’t doing this. They had to take it to the sea and beach in Bali. All the cargo was cleared off the container, put to rest. The shallowest part of the wreck is about 8 feet, and the deepest part is about 30 meters. This means that with your flippers you can actually walk from the beach, and snorkel and scuba dive this incredibly huge shipwreck.
The Trunyan Cemetery
And the Trunyan Cemetery is the final and also creepiest of the list. Let us share a story with you. There was a guy who was moving through Bali. He smelled a beautiful scent, found a lake that seemed to be the source of the smell, and walked the perimeter of the lake to find a town. He noticed a multitude of people in the town, all trying to find the same scent that he was attracted to. He found a beautiful girl there, too. He wanted to marry this girl and the girl said I’ll only marry you if you can find and destroy the source of that scent. Too many people are loitering in my beautiful town. This lake is at the base of Mount Batur, and as the slope reaches the shore, there is a small alcove, and there is a tree in this alcove. It is apparently the only tree in this species ‘ world. It gives off an incredibly beautiful scent, it was the cause of the fragrance. The truth that everyone was trying to find. He went there and discovered that if you put dead bodies under the tree, the smell would be canceled. You’re not going to smell dead bodies, and you’re definitely not going to smell a tree. He married a girl after he figured out the source of the scent, and it’s been a love story for all ages. This still continues to this day. And you can still go see Trunyan’s elderly put underneath this oak, face open to be exposed to the elements. There are rules and regulations that have to be followed in one’s entire life so as to be laid down here. It is a privilege for locals in the town of Trunyan to be rested here. You’ve got to live a certain way to be able to have that happen. And the tourists can still go and see the spot. Alert though, it’s very off-putting if you’ve never seen a dead people before.
So, these were the five most interesting places to visit in Bali. If you have come across any other place like this in Bali do let us know!
