The Island of Bali is part of the Republic of Indonesia and is located between Java in the West and Lombok also the Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba and Timor in the East. Flying time to Jakarta is about 1.5 hours, to Singapore and Perth (Australia) 2.5 ’till 3 hours, to Hong Kong about 4 hours. Bali has an area of 5620 sq. km, measures approximately 140 km by 80 km.
Located only two kilometers east of Jawa, Bali’s climate, flora and fauna are quite similar to its much larger neighbor. The island is famous for its beautiful landscape. A chain of six volcanoes, between 1,350 meters and 3,014 meters high, stretches from west to east.
Gunung Agung known as the ‘Mother Mountain’ is over 3000 meters. There are tropical forests, pristine crater lakes, fast flowing rivers and deep ravines, rice terraces, and fertile vegetable and fruit gardens. The south beaches consist of white sand, while other parts of the island, beach are covered with gray or black volcanic sand.
South and north of the central mountains are Bali’s fertile agricultural lands. The southern region is a wide, gently sloping area where most of Bali’s abundant rice crop is grown. The south-central area is the true rice basket of the Island. The northern coastal strip is narrower, rising more rapidly into the foothills of the central range, but the main export crops – coffee, copra and rice – are grown here.
Bali is noted for the great beauty of its landscapes. Hills and mountains are everywhere. Except for the coastal plains, there are few flat areas.A west-to-east volcanic chain (an extension of Java’s central range) divides the island in half. Crater lakes are found at Batur and Bratan, Buyan and Tamblingan in the rich rainforest area around Bedugul.
Bali’s mountains, floating amongst the clouds and covered in tall forests, stand in contrast to the wild and rugged beauty of the volcanic craters, some of which are still active. The south-central plains are intensively cultivated. Terraced rice fields dominate the landscape-myriad small rectangles of still water mirroring the clouds. As you leave the heavily farmed southern plains and head north, the landscape changes from cascades of rice fields to gardens of onions, cabbages and papayas thriving in the cooler climate.
