Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
There are no cars (though the number of accommodation pick-ups has increased), so getting
around means joining villagers on motorbikes or bicycles, which are widely available for
rent. The island is just 4km long and less than 3km wide, so if you were supremely keen you
could
walk
around it in a long hot day. Good luck with that.
Jungutbatu and Mushroom Bay
Strung out along the northwest coast, the village of
JUNGUTBATU
spreads out along the
beachfront from its core of accommodation and restaurants. The
beach
is glorious and though
it is no great shakes for swimming it looks gorgeous: a strip of white sand that arcs before an
aqua sea filled with wooden boats and rectangular seaweed plots. It's an ideal place for sunset
drinks or just for losing days gazing out to Gunung Agung on the northwestern horizon. For
a bit more activity, you can walk 1km south to Mushroom Bay in 30-45 minutes via a scenic
west-coast path
that begins at the steps at the far southern end of the beach. You'll have to
improvise a path at points - just keep the coast on your right - but the reward is a couple of
small beaches en route. A crescent of white sand behind a turquoise bay,
Mushroom Bay
is
small and lovely. The downside is that it's often crowded with boats and day-trippers. If you
ask locally, you should be able to find a path to Sunset Beach and its
restaurant
, though the
easiest access is by road via
Lembongan
village.
The north coast
Village life and seaweed farming dominates on the
northern tip of the island
- a flat 3km
that's easily covered by bicycle from central Jungutbatu. There's also a chance to explore the
mangrove forest that fringes the northeast coast. Most of the warung beyond the unremark-
able sea temple,
Pura Sakenan
, will organize a
trip
;
Mangroves Warung
at the end of the
road 1km beyond the temple offers a thirty-minute
mangrove boat trip
for Rp120,000 for
up to four people.
A MANGROVE SAFARI
Given Nusa Lembongan's focus on diving and surf, a trip into the
mangrove swamps
that
fringe the northeast coast is one of the more unusual diversions on a visit. It's an eerie
Amazonian experience: boats are punted with bamboo, so there's no engine noise to disturb
the crabs and birds that inhabit the muddy forest floor - the trip is best at low tide when the
roots are exposed.
The east coast
A fork in the road 200m west of Pura Sakenan takes you down the
east coast
, past
Pura
Empuaji
(700m southwest; dawn till dusk; free, own sash and sarong required) and its two
monumental ficus trees. This is the most venerated temple on the island; you'll need a sarong
and sash if you want to visit. The road wends its way between mangrove forest and the occa-
