Traveling in Nusa Penida – Day 2

Life in Nusa Penida is as laidback as it can be. On this island, there is nothing that even remotely resembles a fast paced life. In a stark contrast to the Gili islands, the evenings here are very quiet with the crashing waves and live music at Penidacolada beach bar being probably the only sounds you might hear. However, it is during the day when all the magic happens in Nusa Penida. Some of the most ethereal landscapes reveal their magnificence and the beautiful temples all over the island come to life with the soothing sounds of prayers. The coastline thrives with numerous fishing boats and vehicles with travelers cruise to the popular landmarks. On our first day here, we spent a good part of the early morning exploring the eastern coast of the island and trying to catch the sunrise from one of the best viewpoints. We were already quite mesmerized after exploring some stunning places such as the Crystal Bay and Diamond Beach. During the remaining few hours of our stay in Nusa Penida, we were to meander down relatively uncharted paths and some unreal gems of nature.

The diverse landscapes of Nusa Penida is one of the reasons why this island is one of the best places to travel. From the majestic cliffs, beautiful beaches and waterfalls, lush green forests, natural pools and peaceful villages, this island is a nature lover’s delight. The Tembeling natural pools located in the southeast of the island was one such natural attraction which was a hidden gem for us. Considered as one of the best kept secrets of Nusa Penida, the two natural fresh water pools have strikingly crystal clear waters. Reaching this place however can be tricky as you will need a good sense of direction while driving, besides having the location fed in to google maps. It takes a good one hour drive from the Toya Pakeh and Ped areas in the northern coast to reach Tembeling forest. The drive itself is quite pleasant as you meander through the beautiful villages, temples and quite a few picturesque viewpoints of the valleys. It is just the last stretch of around 2-3 kilometers which is very rough as there is no concept of a proper road. We parked our motorbike somewhere along the rough road inside the forest and walked the remaining path as even I wasn’t feeling that confident driving the rest of the stretch. However, all our tiredness disappeared once we reached our destination as we realized how stunningly beautiful the surroundings are with the ocean on one side and the lush green mountain forest on another. The second pool just a few steps away from the sea has some amazing views of the bay which in itself is quite magnificent with rocky cliffs and a small beach

After spending a wonderful couple of hours getting some respite from the scorching heat, before we had to head back up the treacherous ride up the hill and through the forest and drive off trying to reach the homestay to catch the sunset. However, we found ourselves being lost somewhere deep in the interiors of the island trying to navigate our way back. Unexpectedly, this is when we experienced the real beauty of Nusa Penida – the interiors and rustic villages. There is a sense of serenity and peace that exists in those mountains where small villages with several beautiful Balinese Hindu temples are nestled within the lush green forests. Away from the popular tourist attractions, these interior places of Nusa Penida provide a pleasant change of mood and vibe to the rushed restless minds. As we finally found our way to our homestay, we realized that truly this is where we found the essence of this island.

With a late afternoon boat to catch for Sanur, we had planned to explore the supposedly best locations of Nusa Penida in the early hours of the morning. However, an unexpected breakdown of our motorbike had us delay our morning start by a good three hours which meant that we could no more beat the heat and the tourist rush at three of the most popular attractions – Kelingking Beach, Broken Beach and Angel’s Billabong. Probably the only comforting factor for us was these three places were located in close proximity to each other in the West coast of the island. After a forty minutes ride when we reached the Kelingking beach, to say that we were mesmerized would be an understatement. This place was so marvelous that we were in sheer disbelief of its mere existence. Popularly known as the T-Rex beach/viewpoint due to its resemblance to the Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur, this was hands down the highlight of our trip to Nusa Penida. The actual beach which is a very long way down the hill looks absolutely magical from the top with some spectacular colours of the sand and sea. The several viewpoints on the hill were already filled with tourists and some courageous few were seen making their way down the treacherous path to the beach. Since we were already on the clock we added yet another activity to our to-do list for our next visit to this place – going down to the beach. The Kelingking beach is where we had our “is this real” moment and we drove off to our next destination a few miles away.

The landmarks of Broken beach and Angel’s Billabong are located roughly 8 kilometers from Kelingking beach and it took us a half an hour ride to reach there. Here too we were greeted with a two kilometer stretch of dirt road filled with broken small rocks and loose sand. Sometimes we still wonder how we managed to drive through that part on our already dodgy vehicle without even a scratch on us. However, the sheer beauty of the place more than made up for the rough road leading to it. Angel’s Billabong is a natural pool with crystal clear water surrounded by rocky cliffs overlooking the rough sea below. Sure it would be a wonderful feeling taking a dip there while enjoying the views of the endless ocean, but the queue of people waiting to get in and take that perfect Instagram shot was absolutely ridiculous. This was probably the only place we decided not to get in as we did not feel it was worth waiting for half an hour just to get in the pool for five minutes. Hopefully, next time we can beat the crowds with a very early start to the day.

It was the Broken Beach where I in particular explored to the fullest. The heat had already taken its toll on Ruzin and she stayed in the shade while I went around the place by myself. The Broken Beach is more of a Broken Cliff as there is no actual beach. This was like a giant sinkhole with a broken gap in the cliff leading to the ocean. Still, this place was no less stunning and unique to say the least. On a lucky day herds of Manta Rays can been seen swimming in the waters within the Broken Beach area. A few meters beyond the Broken Beach, there is a stunning cove with huge waves crashing on the rocky shores and the views were spectacular from the edge of the cliff. This particular place was uncrowded and it was a perfect place to catch some great uninterrupted shots of the surroundings. It was the most fitting conclusion to our journey in Nusa Penida. Yet, we were left with a feeling that just one or two days is not enough to truly explore and experience this magical island. Nusa Penida will probably remain the best island we have traveled to for a very long time.