Batukaru lies in Bali’s heartlands - an incredibly fertile and idyllic environment spread across the shallow slopes of a mountain. Batukaru’s higher reaches are jungle clad, but lower down what appears to be jungle is in fact a vast garden where everything from vanilla, coffee, cocoa, cloves, tropical fruit and of course rice is grown. What’s more, it’s a mere hour and a half’s drive from the southern resort areas of Seminyak and Kuta.
• Batu Karu is Bali’s second highest mountain at 7468 feet. It is also home to Bali’s second largest rainforest.
• Pura Luhur Batukaru, one of the biggest of Bali’s six royal temples, is found here.
• Recently declared a World Heritage Site, Jatiluwih Rice Terrace offers some of the most spectacular rice field views in the world.
• It’s possible to climb Gunung Batukaru. It takes four to six hours to reach the summit and three to five hours to return; guides charge Rp700,000 per small group for a day hike or Rp1,000,000 if camping overnight: trekkers must bring all their own food, water and sleeping bags. Many accommodations on Batukaru also offer climbing packages.
• Eco lodges and boutique hotels can be found on Batu Karu, all of them with expansive views.
Getting there:
By car or motorcycle via Tabanan
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Saturday, July 5, 2008
Pupuan Batukaru
Sanur Amateur Golf Tournament
The 4th annual Sanur Amateur Golf Tournament is taking place at Bali Beach Golf Course on August 8 & 9 2008, in conjunction with the Sanur Village Festival. Tee Off is at 0700 and 1300 and the tournament fee is Rp.750,000 – for which you also geta goodie bag, green fee, coffee break, lucky draw and dinner. Better than that, you stand a chance of landing yourself a luxury car, and a cash prize amounting to more than 100 million for a hole in one! For more information contact Kayobi or Jeanie on (0361) 287 733
www.balibeachgolfcourse.com
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Bondi Rescue Watch for Kuta Beach
Award winning Australian reality TV show Bondi Rescue has proved so popular with audiences, its producers are creating a spin off and guess where the eight part series is to be set? Right here in Bali. Bondi Rescue: Bali will feature show favourites Ryan “Whippett” Clarke, Dean “Deano” Gladstone, Andrew “Reidy” Reid and Anthony “Harries” Carroll. The four lifeguards will undertake a four month stint on our very own Kuta Beach, working with the local lifeguards. Expect thrills and spills galore as the Bondi boys try and adjust to the notoriously unpredictable tides and currents, as well as getting into some local Kuta culture no doubt. The show will air on Channel 10, Australia and in the UK, New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany. But you can catch it live on Kuta Beach!
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Bali Massive Scale Cremation
A new record is about to be set in Bali – though under somewhat somber circumstances. On 15 July 2008, Puri Ubud will be the site of a cremation ceremony (Ngaben in Balinese) on a massive scale, not only in terms of the number of people attending, but the size of the funeral bier. The ‘Bade’ is a cremation tower made of bamboo, papier mache and cotton., which is used to carry the corpse to the cemetery where it is to be cremated. This particular Bade will be a towering 27 meters in height, the tallest ever to have been constructed. The Ngaben is for Tjokorda Ngurah Suyadnya, aka Cok Wah, a prince of Ubud and is set to be the biggest Bali has ever seen.
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