Five Places to Visit in North Bali

Five Unique Tourist Destinations in North Bali

image courtesy of Baliwunderbar

Who doesn’t know Bali? This small island located between Java and Lombok island is is always full of tourists, whether domestic or non domestic. The island that is inhabited by around 4 million people has various choices of tourist objects. Sadly, most of tourists who come to Bali, spend their visit in famous and crowded places like Denpasar and Badung and go to nearby beaches, such as Dream Land, Kuta, Nusa Dua, Sanur, and Pandawa beach. The thing is, there are so many other places which are not less interesting, but less explored like tourist destinations in Buleleng regency, the regency situated in North Bali.

Buleleng is an old regency which was once the center of governance of Bali and Nusa Tenggara. The capital city of Buleleng is Singaraja which literally means the King Lion (Singa = lion, raja = king).  The mascot of this city is Singa Ambararaja, a winged lion. Singaraja is also known as the city of education since there are plenty of colleges and universities there. Besides, the best public educational university is located in this city.

Aside from having dozens of institutes, Buleleng regency also has abundant tourist destinations which are commonly situated in countryside, far from the city, which is why those places are rarely visited by tourists. Do you want to know what those places are? Check this out!

1.    Sekumpul Waterfall

Sekumpul waterfall is a tall waterfall found in Sekumpul village, Sawan district, in the east of Buleleng regency. This waterfall is quite hard to reach since it is located in the hills area. To go to this place, we need to drive motorcycles along a narrow path that is why we cannot drive cars here. After that, we must descend hundreds of steep stairs extra carefully. Then, we will see a quite big river. We can use a bridge to cross it. After we arrive on the other side of the river, we need to walk again a few hundred meters on muddy path, and then we’ll see another river which is smaller than the first one. 

Image courtesy of Balicheapesttours

There is no bridge on this river, so we need to cross it by stepping on it, or jumping from one stone to another. And then here we are! All of the tiredness will be swept away by the beauty and the freshness of the waterfall. We can climb a big rock in front of the waterfall and take pictures there. Besides, we can also swim beneath it. You don’t need to worry because the water is not too deep. For those who feel tired, you can relax your muscles under the waterfall, near the cliff. You can stand there, leaning on the cliff and enjoy the sensation the water bring to your shoulders. Totally worth it.

2. Twin Lakes: Lake Buyan and Tamblingan

Image courtesy of balitoursclub

Even though located not far from the icon of Bali, Indonesia, Lake Beratan, these two lakes in the far south of Buleleng are rarely visited by tourists, maybe because they are not located by the main road. These two small likes are often referred to as twin lakes because they are only separated by a narrow land.

Generally, these lakes are used as camping spots for school scouts, nature lover clubs, etc, on the weekends. The ramp lakeside and the ease to find firewood and food, like fish, make this place a perfect place to build your tend at. Besides, there are also some shops selling or renting camping and fishing equipment. Another activity that is usually held in this area is “pre-wedding section”. To make unique and uncommon pre-wedding photos, the couples usually rent jukung (small boats) just like the one you can see in the picture.

3. Brahmavihara Arama Buddhist Monastery, Banjar

Image courtesy of Balihellotravel

Brahmavihara Arama monastery, or more well-known as Banjar monastery is the place where Buddhist people in Buleleng conduct their prayers. This place is open for public as long as the people wear appropriate clothes and take off their foot wears on before entering some sacred points. At the monastery, there are some candi (temples) which look similar to those temples found in Borobudur, but a lot smaller in size. These temples are surrounded by a fish pond in which there are some lotus plants. Next to the pond, there are some Japanese frangipani plants. The quiet and cool atmosphere in this monastery is really appropriate for those who seek peace. There are also monks and other people who perform meditation and yoga. Aside from the beauty inside the monastery, you can also enjoy the beauty of the hills surrounding the monastery.

      4. Ancient villages: Julah and Sembiran village

Image courtesy of Paketbalimurah

In Bali, there are few ancient villages which are very traditional and a bit different from other common villages, like Trunyan in Bangli regency and Tenganan in Tabanan regency. Buleleng regency also has some, two of them are Julah and Sembiran village. These two villages are claimed to be the first villages in Bali. There found big old rocks which are believed to be the remains of the civilization from two centuries back. In Julah, there is a site called Batu Gambir Upit site in which there are some artifacts, meanwhile in Sembiran village, there found 40 old equipments made of stone and iron, in form of cutting devices like axes and hammer. Moreover, in Sembiran village, you can also find 17 archaic temples which were built using rocks. Those rocks were predicted to be built in the Megalitikum era. The most important thing is the discovery of 20 bronze inscriptions which told the stories of these both villages during the reign of Ancient Bali dynasty.

      5. Gedong Kirtya Museum

Image courtesy of Disbud Buleleng

Gedong Kirtya museum is estimated as the oldest museum in Bali and the only one in the world which has thousands of lontar (books made from papyrus leaves) collections. At first, this museum was functioned as a library restoring important documents, then in 2008 this library was developed to be a museum and inaugurated by the former Buleleng regent, Ketut Wirata Sindhu. This museum located in the center of the city has original and copied manuscripts which are related to Balinese literature, myth, traditional medication, mantras, and religious literature. Besides, there are a few old coins made of metal and the first pothograph ever taken in Bali. In front of this museum, you can find a small park in which there is a statue of a man riding a horse. That man was once the most famous ruler of Buleleng, named Ki Barak Panji Sakti.

Well, those are a few unique tourist destinations you can visit if you are planning to go to Bali. Bali is not only about beaches after all. You can find many other tourist destinations and attractions all around this beautiful island. You will be able to enjoy a different sensation and learn new things as well. Have fun!!