Natural Beauty in Bali
“Bali may be small in size – you can drive around the entire coast in one long day – but its prominence as a destination is huge, and rightfully so. Ask travellers what Bali means to them and you’ll get as many answers as there are flowers on a frangipani tree. Virescent rice terraces, pulse-pounding surf, enchanting temple ceremonies, mesmerising dance performances and ribbons of beaches are just some of the images people cherish.” – Lonely Planet.
I have long imagined Bali as a green paradise nestled between lush rice paddies with small streams and creeks of water coming from everywhere, and it did not disappoint. The reason behind my choice to visit this small Indonesian island was to capture the natural beauty of its countryside, namely the stunning rice terraces and powerful waterfalls.
Jatiluwih and the surrounding area have some of the most spectacular terraces in Bali and so it was here that I ventured to first. The terraces carved into the landscape here are still perfectly intact due to the fact that the farming techniques being used today are very similar to the way it was millennia ago, the area was also named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The terraces surrounding Pupuan and Blimbing are equally as stunning and much less visited, making a walk through the fields a wonderful and solitary experience. The weather was constantly changing during my stay here, sometimes hourly, which meant a wide range of skies presented themselves for my shots – I think I actually prefer the stormy photographs that little bit more as the grey clouds really make the green of the terraces pop!
As beautiful as the landscapes were it was time to start finding some of Bali’s beautiful waterfalls, some of which were signposted and very easy to find, others were not! My favourite part of finding the waterfalls was simply the noise, even if you could not see through the jungle to the falls location, you could always hear it, the closer you were the louder it became until it was the only sound for miles! The water was always ice cold which was the perfect antidote to the unseasonably hot weather, at one point I was waist deep in a natural pool (unfortunately in jeans, however it taught me to wear shorts when shooting waterfalls from now on!) and I could have stood like that for many more hours.
My time in Bali is coming to an end although I have saved the most photogenic place until last, the iconic and much photographed Tanah Lot temple – luckily I have two days there in the hope that the sunsets will be as spectacular as I have been told, you’ll know soon as my next blog should be ready by next week!
To see the full gallery of images from Indonesia please click here