Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Under the Volcano III
Toya Bungkah 0813 3860 0081.
There's a warm welcome and
great views at this small lakeside place. Though basic, rooms are quiet and clean, with cold-
water bathrooms and verandas overlooking the owner's vegetable fields and the lake. Canoes
are available for rent. Its restaurant is
a lovely is
pot for a relaxed lunch of charcoal-grilled fish
with
sambal
(Rp55,000; 8am-9pm).
Rp250,000
Danau Bratan and around
At weekends, domestic tourists come by the coachload to munch strawberries, enjoy the cool
temperatures and admire the lakes and cloud-capped hills around the upland resort region
of
BEDUGUL
(altitude 700m-plus). The area takes its name from the village of Bedugul,
one of several small settlements up here (and the most missable, incidentally). But it's also
referred to as the
Danau Bratan
area after the largest and most visited of the three spiritu-
ally charged crater lakes around Bedugul. Just below
Candikuning
, Lake Bratan lies beneath
Gunung Catur (2096m), the caldera's highest peak, and on its shores is
Pura Ulun Danu
Bratan
, not just an exceedingly photogenic temple but also an important pilgrimage site for
the Balinese. Temples and fruit and vegetables aside, the other major sight here is the
Bali
Botanic Gardens
, with its
Bali Treetop Adventure Park
.
For all the fuss made over it by islanders, Candikuning is not Bali's most inspiring base.
More appealing for foreign visitors is the little hilltown of
Munduk
, 20km northwest; often
misty, always mellow and a shining example of sustainable village tourism, with several good
places to stay and a range of activities to while away a few lazy days. Munduk also offers
the opportunity to walk around the area's smaller, less commercial lakes:
Danau Buyan
and
Danau Tamblingan
.
