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We started our day bright and early at 7:30am. We had a few places we wanted to visit and our plan was quite ambitious.
We met our driver, Simanta, and headed to our first stop, the now very famous Kelingking Beach.
We arrived at around 8:35am and were pleased to see it wasn’t too crowded yet. The beautiful formation, which resembles a T-Rex, set against the turquoise waters was wondrous. Seeing this place in so many photos beforehand didn’t do it justice.
We opted not to make our way all the way down the ultra steep footpath to the beach below and stopped halfway, preserving our energy for what else the day had in store for us.
Hot tip: We explored the area to the right of the main pathway where we had a different view of the iconic formation all to ourselves.
Angels Billabong is a naturally formed infinity pool overlooking the ocean. We were warned against going in for a swim but it was safe to dip your feet in.
Broken Beach, just a short walk away, boasts an incredibly distinctive coastal line. As it’s name suggests, it feels as if the coast started breaking apart to reveal a beautiful beach below.
An archway stretches over the middle allowing you to admire the view from many angles, opening up a lot of photo opportunities.
As with Kelingking Beach, be warned that this area gets very busy in the morning as it’s on most tour companies itineraries.
An area more off-the-beaten-path, Tembeling Forest hides a natural pool and secluded beach at the end of an incredibly steep and rocky trail. From the entrance point, you have a few options on how to reach the bottom:
We opted for the return taxi ride. Riding down yourself requires a high level of skill, so only do so if you are extremely comfortable riding a motorbike.
The natural pool itself is the first part you’ll walk past and the area around it serves as a place of worship for locals. There were locals cliff jumping into the pool.
Pressing forward will take you past a second pool which is much smaller in scale.
Our next stop was possibly the highlight of our west coast tour. A 300ish step walk down a rickety set of stairs anchored to the cliff side takes you to a small waterfall, worship area and stunning views of the coastline.
You will be required to rent a sarong before beginning the trail, which cost 15k each.
We had to muster up all of our courage to face the heights and stay focused on the walk down. The walk down feels worse than going back up. You will feel a great sense of accomplishment when you reach the bottom.
We were walking behind a group of Balinese people who were making their way down to make offerings and prayers. I wonder how often they make this trip down?
Our last stop was the somewhat underwhelming Crystal Bay. Whilst not that spectacular (by Nusa Penida standards) it served its purpose as a place to unwind with a couple of Bintangs and watch the sunset.
There is a small island in the bay that appeared to have a small temple on top, giving off some similar vibes to Tanah Lot in Bali.
No visit to Nusa Penida would be complete without visiting sone of the spots on this list.
Whilst Kelingking Beach is essential, if you’re short on time you could easily drop Crystal Bay and even Angels Billabong & Broken Beach (Especially if you are planning on visiting the east coast as well).
Tembeling Forest and Peguyangan Waterfall were much quieter and were more enjoyable as a result.
