Candidasa

Candidasa can be a good alternative if you're looking for a pleasant place to stay a few days while you explore East Bali. This tourist area is about three km long and located on a narrow area along the main road from Semarapura (Klungkung) to Amlapura. A large part of the business here is owned by people from the Bali-Aga village Tenganan not far from here. The name Candidasa is probably derived from "Cilidasa" which means "three children".

The tourist industry here probably grew from the first visitors to a Hindu religious society, Ashram Candi Dasa, who came here to meditate in the middle of the 70's. This society still exists today, and people still come here to pray, meditate and study the philosophy of Gandhi. This is said to be the only society of it's kind in Indonesia.

Like Kuta this area can offer a large number of accommodation in all price layers, but this is a much more relaxed place where you are left alone and people are more pleasant. The most negative aspect is the lack of a good beach, caused by a good example of human greed and lack of respect for the nature. In the 70's this was the beach everybody should be at on Bali, and the tourist industry flourished. To speed up the development the coral reef just outside the beach were dug up and used to make cement. This should not come as a surprise, but the sand was washed away and suddenly the beautiful beach had disappeared. To try to rescue what was left some ugly T-shaped concrete barriers were built, some of the sand has come back, but the beach is narrow and the currents caused by the large barriers makes swimming almost impossible. Fortunately this experience has been taken into account during other developments on Bali.

On top of the hill overlooking the village is an old temple, and on the opposite side of the road a large freshwater lagoon full of lotus-plants. The temple is dedicated to Shiva and Hariti (se Goa Gajah), and serves both Hindus and Buddhists. The fertility goddess Hariti was always surrounded by children (after she converted to Buddhism and stopped eating them), and many couples who wants children come here to pray. A statue of Hariti stands by the road, and a long stairway leads up to the temple.

Candidasa is not far from the other attractions on East Bali. You do not have to drive a car to explore the nearby area, you can rent a bike or just take a walk in the hills behind the village or to Tenganan, were old rituals in a traditional Bali Aga society still is being maintained. The walk to Tenganan will take about 2.5 hours and is 5 km long. In Candidasa you can also enjoy the view towards Nusa Penida or all the way to Lombok on a clear day. Other activities here can be shopping and of course to enjoy a good dinner in one of the many restaurants. There is a large variety of seafood here. In the evenings there is often dance performances.

Even if the beach is not much to look at there are many other possibilities for water sport here. Not far away there are several good beaches where you can swim, and outside Candidasa there are some small islands where the water is very clean and the conditions for snorkeling and diving is said to be good. You can get there in 30-40 minutes by boat, preferably with some locals who knows the ever-changing currents.