Jakarta – For some people, the northern part of Bali may not be very familiar. However, several tourist destinations in this area are just as captivating as the more popular southern Bali, which is often crowded with visitors.
Northern Bali offers a variety of scenic views, from the coolness of its highlands to the beauty of its beaches basked in warm sunlight, with a coastline stretching up to 157 kilometers. Both can be enjoyed in this northern part of the Island of the Gods, particularly in Buleleng Regency.
“Northern Bali is very pristine. Our topography happens to be mountainous, where mountains and beaches are located very close to each other with steep slopes. It has tremendous potential—marine potential, forest potential,” said Head of the Buleleng Tourism Office, Gede Dody Sukma Aktiva Askara, when met in Buleleng.
Recommended Destinations
1. Handara Golf & Resort
Offering a cool highland atmosphere, it’s perfect for golf enthusiasts seeking a fresh environment. Located in Singaraja, Buleleng, visiting tourists can also stay overnight and try a variety of traditional Indonesian dishes as well as Western cuisine.
At the entrance, there’s a popular photo spot at the main Balinese-style gate. Visitors who wish to take photos there can pay an entry fee of IDR 30,000 for domestic tourists and IDR 50,000 for foreign tourists, with a photo session lasting up to three minutes. The iconic Handara Gate, often called the Gate of Heaven, is best visited during daylight.
2. Pemuteran Tourism Village
Pemuteran Tourism Village offers a stunning marine tourism experience. Its underwater beauty is worth exploring. Visitors can go snorkeling or diving in the coral reef conservation area developed by a local non-governmental organization.
The village was nominated for the 2024 Anugerah Desa Wisata (Tourism Village Award) and received the UNDP Equator Award for its successful coral reef conservation using the biorock method, involving local fishing communities.
After enjoying the underwater sights, visitors can stop by the turtle conservation center in the village, home to baby turtles (called tukik) that have hatched at the site.
Admission is IDR 40,000 for foreign tourists and IDR 20,000 for domestic tourists, valid for multiple entries within a week. At 4:30 PM local time, guests can feed the turtles.
3. Lovina Beach
A well-known beach where visitors can watch wild dolphins in their natural habitat early in the morning.
Tourists can rent boats to see the dolphins at sea. The boat rental starts from IDR 125,000 per person, with each boat accommodating about 10 people.
To get the best deals, it’s recommended to stay overnight at a hotel near Lovina Beach, which often includes dolphin-watching in their packages.
4. Gedong Kirtya
Located in Singaraja, this is Bali’s oldest lontar manuscript museum and library, housing ancient lontar leaf manuscripts. It offers educational and historical tourism, where visitors can try writing on palm leaves and read content spanning cultural texts, mantras, wise teachings, and folklore.
Besides lontar, the library also holds Dutch colonial-era books neatly arranged on shelves.
5. The House of Soekarno’s Mother
In the Bale Agung, Paket Agung residential area in Buleleng, visitors can explore the love story between Raden Soekemi Sosrodiharjo (Soekarno’s father) and Nyoman Rai Srimben (Soekarno’s mother).
The site includes the house of Soekarno’s mother, with sturdy red-brick foundations. Nearby, a traditional Bale Gede is still used by the family for Hindu ceremonies.
6. Les Village, Tejakula
A trip to the area wouldn’t be complete without sampling its culinary delights. In Les Village, visitors can stop by Dapur Bali Moela to watch traditional palm wine (arak) distillation.
Smoke from the kitchen shows that the arak is still made traditionally. Other local products include palm sugar with a syrupy, caramel-like texture, traditional salt, and forest honey.
Boosting Tourism in North Bali
Northern Bali is undeniably charming. However, land access to this area still takes a considerable amount of time if traveling from southern Bali.
To address this, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf) has prepared the 3B tour package, covering Banyuwangi, Buleleng, and West Bali, aimed at increasing tourist visits.
The route via Banyuwangi to Bali is believed to save time compared to starting from southern Bali. Moreover, the destinations in these three regions are no less attractive than those in the south.
“This package includes Pemuteran (Buleleng), Mount Ijen, Bromo, Banyuwangi, and back to Pemuteran. It’s expected to draw around 24,000 tourists to northern Bali,” said Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno.
The tour package is projected to attract more tourists and generate an economic turnover of IDR 2 billion.
It’s also expected to help evenly distribute tourist visits, which are currently concentrated in southern Bali, to avoid overtourism.
In the first half of 2024, Bali welcomed 2.9 million visitors out of a 6.4 million target for the year. The 3B tourism strategy is seen as a way to help boost tourism numbers.
Buleleng Regional Secretary, Gede Suyasa, revealed that the distribution of both domestic and foreign tourists in Bali is still under 10% in the north. In fact, in the first half of 2024, Buleleng only received 270,000 foreign visitors and 500,000 domestic visitors.
Accessibility remains a challenge, as the journey is relatively long. The local government is now focusing on infrastructure improvements to revitalize tourism in Buleleng.
Article Source: https://www.antaranews.com