[:en]Thousand Islands Viewpoint[:ro]Thousand Islands Viewpoint[:]
Nusa Penida is a small island southeast of Bali in Indonesia. Although tiny, it is very hilly, reaching heights of over 500 meters. For this reason, you will have incredible views from any corner of the island.
Two full days are enough to visit the most beautiful corners of the island. If you want to enjoy a few hours of sunshine on one of the beaches below, it would be a good idea to extend your stay.
The most famous natural beauties of the island are in the western part of the island. One hour away from the harbour. That’s why most tourists come to Nusa Penida for a day trip.
Of speechless scenery, you have to visit the eastern part of the island. A lot of people do not get here because it’s on the other side of the island. So you will not be fighting with all the tourists to admire the wonderful landscape.
We chose to visit the eastern part of the island first. After we negotiated for a scooter and two helmets, we went exploring the island. I read everywhere that the roads of Nusa Penida are not the most friendly. To get in the east we chose the most northern road that runs along the coast, and it was almost entirely well-paved. The only difficulties were some tight curves and the last part of the road that was full of holes. Here’s what we visited the first day we arrived on the island:
Two beaches with incredibly white sand at the base of incredibly tall rocky formations. The two are separated by a peninsula, from where you can admire them both.
There are paths/steps dug in the rock to reach both beaches. And the way down is not as tedious as it seems at first glance, climbing is a little tiring.
You can just imagine what it is like to be on Diamond Beach with the blue water in front, white sand under your feet and the imposing rock cliff behind you. And, of course, what makes this beach special, immense and diamond-shaped rock that comes out of the middle of the water.
Parking and visitation costs 20,000 IDRs
Close to Diamond Beach is an incredibly beautiful viewpoint, called Thousand Islands Viewpoint. Entrance and parking cost 20,000 IDR.
The best part of this place is that near the viewpoint, were built a few treehouses. For the sights and pictures, you can take here is definitely worth a stop. The houses, from what I understand can be rented, but I do not know if I would personally do it because they did not seem very cared for / safe. But I imagine is worth it to have that scenery at sunrise.
Nusa Penida is truly well-known for the sceneries from where the sea meets high cliffs. But there are plenty of spectacular places inside the island. One of them is the Teletubbie Hills. They are round and covered only by grass. If on your way, to another place on the island, you pass by them, it is worth to take a break and admire for a few minutes nature’s diversity.
The next day we headed in the southwest of the island. And we understand now why other people have complained that Nusa Penida has bad roads. At the end of the day, I’m not sure what’s hurt us worse – the feet from walking, or our backs because of the pits we took with the scooter. But the following landscapes deserved every bump in the road:
Certainly, the most popular place on the island is Kelingking Beach. And you will not be disappointed, the stretch of land definitely resembles a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Although Kelingking’s direct translation is the little finger, it looks more like a T-Rex.
If you don’t want to wait in the queue to take pictures, we recommend that you get here as early as possible, before the wave of tourists arriving with the first boat from Bali. The parking/visit fee is 11,000 IDR.
To reach the beach at the base of the cliff it will take you an hour’s, the path is not very easy, being very narrow and slightly dangerous. We just climbed down a few meters to see T-Rex from a better angle. And on the way back the trees were filled with monkeys that were too curious. And we passed them quite worried and scared because they tried to touch us or to grab something.
A truly unique place, as we have never seen before. Angel’s Billabong is a natural pool that flows directly into the ocean. The incredibly clear water lets you see each rock formation below the surface.
Everywhere there are posters that specify that swimming is dangerous and is done at your own risk. And the only people we saw entering this pool were with a guide. If you want to try the water of this pool, you have to come here at low-tide. We didn’t want to risk it because we read about some unfortunate situations that have taken place here.
Another great place on this island is Broken Beach. The name of this beach is very intuitive, the water penetrates into the bay through an opening in the rock that seems to have collapsed many years ago. The rock that surrounds the bay is too steep to allow descent. So you just have to admire this work of nature from the height.
Broken Beach and Angel’s Billabong are next to each other, a few minutes away. So you only have to pay one parking/access fee: 10,000 IDR.
After an incredibly destroyed road that has us wonder more than once whether to continue or go back or if we are on the right track. We arrived at a parking lot where we paid 5,000 IDR and we started exploring.
On the right side of the parking lot, there is a viewpoint on a slightly shaky wood structure, from where the view is incredible.
On the left, it begins the path for the waterfall at the base of the rock. The trail is very narrow, and bounded by a wooden fence that prevents you from falling into the abyss, and on the other side is the rock wall. But if you’re afraid of heights, I would not recommend you come here. The waterfall can’t say that it’s worth the effort, it’s just a little water strim. But the view will leave you speechless.
There are only two ways to travel in Nusa Penida:
Rent a car with a driver for a full day. The experience will be more comfortable and you will have air conditioning.
The price varies depending on what you want to visit and how many people you are. Indicative price: 600,000 IDR for 10 hours.
You can even find car rental tours online for Nusa Penida. And so you skip the stress of negotiating with drivers when you get to the island.
Rent a scooter. The price will be slightly higher than Bali, about 60-80,000 IDR. And scooters are a little more worn out. And you have to be very sure of yourself if you want to cross this island on the scooter. It’s not the right place for your first scooter adventure.
Although it is full of spectacular landscapes, Nusa Penida still has a lot to improve when it comes to infrastructure. Some roads are even dangerous.
From the accommodation, Nusa Penida is developing very fast, there are constantly new options appearing. Idealy is to stay close to the harbour because in this area are the most options when it comes to restaurants, shops and one of the few (if not the only) ATMs on the island.
We rented a small and cosy bungalow 5 minutes’ walk from the harbour. And the owners have a restaurant right next door. We found out in the first evening that it was even one of the most popular dinner places on the island.
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Lovely Pictures! Thank you for the over view of Nusa Penida :) I would recommend making the link easier to see/ click on for accommodations at the bottom.
Thank you for the advice, hope now it is better :D