For a long time now, I’ve had "see Lovina" on my Bali to-do list. I’d heard it was different in many ways from the Southern Bali beach resorts I’ve known. Today I finally got the chance to see for myself.

The drive to Lovina from the Kuta area is about three hours, depending on how many stops you make, and there are a lot of places worth a stop. To get to the north coast of Bali, you have to drive up and over the volcanic peaks at the center of the island. The southern slope is quite gentle, so before you know it you’re looking back down on the entire southern coast. Well, if there’s no clouds or fog, which is something of a rarity.

With the cooler climate that altitude brings, there’s a lot of cool weather produce grown around the mountains, like lettuce and strawberries. There are markets in Bedegul and Candi Kuching where you can stop and see for yourself.

My first stop is the lake temple of Ulun Danu Bratan, set on the shores of Lake Bratan, one of three lakes in the crater of an old volcano. The temple has a couple of shrines set on small islands out in the lake, so it’s a much photographed sight.

From the lakes, we head up over the north rim of the crater and down into North Bali. There are a lot of monkeys along the road as we climb to the rim of the crater. The north slope of the mountains is a lot steeper than the south, so the road is quite winding on the way down into Singaraja, the old capital of Bali. On the way is another interesting sight, the Git Git Waterfall. Actually, there are a lot of falls in Git Git. There are three or four places where you can stop and see them.

From Singaraja we head west a few miles to get to Lovina. If you want the Bali experience without the crowds, then it looks like Lovina is the place you should consider. The beach here is black sand and the water is extremely calm most of the time. There are several hotels to choose from, most of them reasonably priced, and there are a few restaurants as well. What’s missing is big crowds, nightclubs, and touts chasing you down the street trying to sell you a t-shirt or transport.

While I may have crossed "see Lovina" off my list, it hasn’t gotten any shorter. I’ve had to add "spend more time in Lovina" to the list.

Posted by michael under Just back from...