Nusa Penida: More Than A Day Trip Destination- Part 1

Every traveler in this world has his or her own bucket list – of destinations to visit, foods to eat and cultures to experience. We are not much different in that context as we too have our own list of travel experiences. Nusa Penida in Indonesia, is one such destination which we had always wanted to visit. During our recent trip to Bali, we traveled to Nusa Penida and by the end of our trip we were completely mesmerized by this beautiful island. After staying here for two days, we realized that Nusa Penida is much more than a bucket list destination. This island is where we had our second “Is this real?” moment while traveling and were sometimes left absolutely speechless by it’s abundant natural beauty. We recommend staying on this island for at least two days and not just explore but connect to this place. 

A small island located off the south eastern coast of Bali, Nusa Penida is one of the most popular travel destinations in Southeast Asia. Although much smaller in size than Bali, traveling on this island does take longer than expected because of the hilly terrain and narrow but well made roads. Mostly famous for the diverse landscapes, this island also has the beautiful aura of Balinese culture. There are a lot of temples all over the island, and the people here have a very strong and pure connection to the land, sea and nature in general. Just like Bali, the local people of Nusa Penida are warm, kind and generous. As is the case with us while traveling, it’s the people and culture of any destination appeals to us the most and here too we connected to this island for the same reasons more than anything else.

We stayed at Nusa Penida for almost two days and explored the island at our own leisurely pace. Staying true to our resolve of not wasting too much time at the homestay, we did get to see some stunning landscapes and also got off the tourist trail to an extent. On our first evening here, we witnessed a truly remarkable sunset at the picturesque Crystal Bay. Probably the easiest to get to among other places on the island, Crystal Bay is one of the most beautiful beaches to watch the sun go down as this place is exactly west facing. This is also a very popular snorkeling spot and a lot of tours commence here earlier during the day. The waters here are not that crazy which makes this beach one of the few spots in Nusa Penida to get a good swim. It is during the early evening though that the entire scenery transforms into a stunning spectacle. Located just about a thirty minute drive from Toya Pakeh harbour, Crystal Bay is the perfect spot to grab a bottle of Bintang and enjoy one of the best sunsets you will ever see. 

After having witnessed numerous sunsets during our travels, catching the sunrise at Nusa Penida is something we really wanted to do, hence we drove off to explore the east coast of the island as early as 5:30 the next morning, looking to explore two of the most iconic landmarks located at the southeast part of the island – The Diamond Beach and the treehouse. Enjoying a scenic drive along the coast and eventually through the hills, we had the roads almost entirely to ourselves. It was a refreshingly beautiful 40 minutes journey as we admired the changing landscapes at every few hundred metres, from the fishing villages along the coast line to some really beautiful temples on the cliffs. Although we could not reach the tree house before sunset, the air was still cool enough to go ahead with what followed. 

The famous treehouse which is located on the edge of a cliff boasts of stunning views of the ocean and the mountainous coastline on either side. However, the one thing that nobody tells you is that the treehouse is actually perched a fair distance down the hill which could be reached by a not so subtle stairway along the cliff with only a thin rope to hold on as a makeshift railing. We felt sorry for the two girls who checked out of the tree house that morning, trying to climb all the way up with their backpacks. Then again, at the end of a tough journey, awaits a fitting reward. This is the beauty of traveling and this too is the beauty of Nusa Penida. The views from the tree house and from the top of the small hill a few metres ahead were absolutely incredible, and totally worth our efforts. To get a few clicks at the tree house, there is a fee of IDR 50,000 which we thought was fair considering the fact that the treehouse does have guests staying there who would have to bear with visitors at the door every few minutes.

After a tiring way back up the hill from the treehouse, we were quite short of breath, not because of our fitness level but the scorching heat. Yes, the heat was damning at 8:30 in the morning and it does take a lot out of you especially when you’re going up and down a hill. Thankfully, our visit to the Diamond beach a few hundred metres down the road made us completely forget the heat for quite some time. Diamond beach is a masterpiece of nature and surreal to say the least. Although the actual beach is a long way down the cliff with a well made stair way, the views of the bay from the top of the cliff were some of the best sights we’ve ever seen in our entire lifetime. Such was the magnificence here that this place became my new personal favourite spot in entire Indonesia. However, again you really feel literally being baked by the sun as you start going down the stairs along the cliff. It was unbearable enough for us to abandon our plans to get down to the beach and instead we chose to stay a few more minutes on top of the cliff and soak in the views of this unbelievable landscape. The tree house in fact felt a bit underwhelming after visiting Diamond beach and we realized that we should have come here for the sunrise instead.

The ride back to our homestay was as pleasant as it was in the morning. We had the luxury of stopping our motorbike at random spots such as a small religious shrine that went into the sea off the coast. At our own pace, we were enjoying the laid back tropical island vibes as we rode off through the small villages and swaying palm trees on either side of the road. To top off the memorable morning, we had a wonderful healthy breakfast with refreshing smoothies at a lovely cute cafe Penida Kekinian. The food here was such a welcome gratification for our worked up appetite and we couldn’t have been more happier to have such a wonderful end to our morning or as we can also say, a great start to the rest of the day. Little did we know that we would be gifted with even more such memorable moments on the rest of our time on this island.