Exploring Nusa Penida
On my island-hopping, backpacking trip, my second stop was in Indonesia. I spent most of my time on the small island of Nusa Penida, and a couple of days on the famous island of Bali. Cliffs, islands, and natural bridges were among the many things that captured my attention in Indonesia. And a possible scooter accident…
Upon arriving in Bali, I met up with my mom. She had flown in from California to explore Indonesia with me when I came from the Philippines. We spent our first night in Bali, and, the next morning, we caught our ferry to Nusa Penida. That ferry was going far faster than I would have thought, and my mom and I were sure that the next wave we hit was going to cause the bottom of the boat to cave in. We eventually made it to the island, where we took a taxi to our hotel. My mom isn’t the biggest fan of hostels, but it was admittedly nice to have a hot shower. That night we hung around our hotel, went into town to eat dinner, and went home for the night. The next morning, we rented a scooter from the hotel, and set out to explore Nusa Penida.
Once we got on our scooter, we made our way around the north side of the island, and stopped at the Goa Giri Putri Temple, which is a Hindu temple inside of a large cave system. My mom and I went up the steps, were given water, and then got to descend into the cave. We only took one picture, and spent the rest of our time looking around and observing.
After looking around in the temple, we got out, and went up the street on the scooter to stop for lunch. We ate at a small warung, where we sat on a balcony over the ocean. The food was great, and the view was amazing! Our next stop was the far east side of the island, so we hopped on our scooter.
Getting into the cave.
Inside of the Goa Giri Temple.
Somewhere between the warung and the hostel we were staying at, my mom and I got into a scooter wreck! We were making a tight turn up a pretty steep hill on a switchback, and didn’t quite see the gravel on the street, so we slid out, and ended up with a few scrapes and such. I have to say though, I would do it all over again for the experiences that I got on the east side of Nusa Penida.
When I was booking my accommodation for hostels and such before I left the US, the one place I really wanted to stay for at least one night was booked the entire time I would be in Indonesia. Once I got to Bali, I checked the availability one last time, and I completely lucked out. One of the days that I would be on Nusa Penida, the hostel was available, and I booked it immediately.
Once we got to the east side, we ate dinner, and walked down to the Rumah Pohon Treehouse. It sits atop the steep cliffs overlooking the Bali Sea. I knew the sunrise would be beautiful the next morning, so we showered and attempted to sleep in order to wake up early for the morning sun. The scooter wreck, heat, humidity, and mosquitoes that night were totally worth the view the next morning.
Sittin’ in the morning sun..
This was possibly the most magical morning I had ever witnessed, and I was lucky enough to have witnessed it with my best friend. I’ll be thinking about it for the rest of my life.
This day, my mom refused to scooter around anymore, so she got a guide to take us around the south portion of the island. We made a good handful of stops over the course of two days. We first looked over Manta Point, where many boats were in the bay in search of the rays. Then, we stopped at Banah Cliff Point, where our guide, Agung, lost a flip flop on our climb down to the cliffs. To finish out the day, we hung out on the beach.
My mom and I at Manta Point.
Banah Cliff Point!
The next day, we went snorkeling, visited Broken Beach, stopped at the iconic Kelingking Beach, and hiked down to the natural swimming pools of the Tembeling Forest and Beach. We had a great last full day on Nusa Penida.
Hanging loose at Broken Beach.
Got to play with some monkeys at Kelingking Beach.
A stroll beneath the Tembeling Forest.
After this day, we headed back to Bali, where we stayed in a hotel, enjoyed the beaches, the views, and the restaurants. Indonesia has a lot to explore; I didn’t even see all of the small island of Nusa Penida. I will come back someday, and hopefully I will see the sun rise and hit the clouds as perfectly as they did the last time.
If you have any questions about my experience on Nusa Penida, feel free to ask! I am always happy to talk about cool places like this. Until next time, Nusa Penida…
