The Real Bali Guidebook – The ‘Wild West’

Overcrowded and overdeveloped, or still the world’s most beautiful island…? If you think you know Bali well, then it’s time to think again. For decades the travel press has been trying to search out ‘the new Bali’…yet ‘the old Bali’ never disappeared: it’s still thriving out west, where the people still maintain their traditional culture in villages that are bordered by deserted beaches, paddy terraces and jungles that, even today, are still haunted by deer, jungle pig, flying foxes and hornbills. This book was created to let sustainably-minded travellers in on the secrets that West Bali holds, and to offer some much-needed support to the families and small businesses that continue to maintain their cultural heritage in an area that is still overlooked by all but a handful of the millions of tourists who visit the island each year. More than 50 unique experiences are outlined in detail, along with 70 alluring hotels, resorts, homestays and eateries (to suit all budgets). Only the best have been selected out of the hundreds we’ve visited. They’re all either locally-owned or are committed to operating sustainably and to empowering the people who call this very unspoiled region home. In West Bali you’ll find ample justification for Bali’s continued place on the list of our planet’s most beautiful islands: wild volcanic beaches stretching for 30 kilometres yet completely devoid of sun-loungers; remote temples that few outsiders ever see; stepped paddy landscapes that descend like a giant’s staircase from the cloud-forested peaks to vast coconut groves that stretch as far as the eye can see. The traditional fishing fleet at Perancak – like day-glo psychedelic Viking longboats at anchor – has been described as the most spectacular fishing fleet in the world and yet relatively few tourists have ever set eyes on it. Take a glance at any map of Bali and you’ll see that the interior of West Bali is still unbroken jungle – roughly 600 square kilometres, occupying almost a tenth of the island’s total surface! Unmarred by a single road or dirt-track, this mountainous jungle is almost completely unknown and uninhabited. West Bali National Park is home to endemic ebony leaf monkey and Bali starlings, some of the world’s rarest birds – gleaming white avian dreams, with their flashing stripes of blue eye-liner. If you’re searching for off-the-beaten-track destinations and authentic Bali experiences this book could keep you travelling for months. By the author of Vagabond (one of National Geographic’s ‘6 top travel books of 2024’) and Kopi Dulu (one of Jakarta Post’s best books of 2022). — ISBN13: 9798326534972