Northwest Bali, locally called Buleleng, covers the largest part of Bali’s north coast and is one of the most untouched areas of the island. Most tourists never make it up there! The atmosphere is more relaxed and the lifestyle more traditional than in other regions of Bali. Development is sparse and the pace is slow, with images of waving palms, women carrying baskets on their heads and scenic rice terraces.

Our partnering resorts are located on a lagoon-like inlet of Banyuwedang Bay, right next to Bali Barat National Park, which extends throughout the region and covers around 770,000 square kilometers, or approximately 10% of Bali’s total land area. Menjangan Island (Deer Island in Indonesian), one of the most protected dive locations in Bali, is part of the national park.

The ride from Denpasar airport takes about 3 hours through some of Bali’s most picturesque landscapes: perched 1,000 meters above sea level, the highland of the Bedugul region is home to three lakes, then, tropical plantations of coffee, flowers and vanilla fill most views along the road.

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Menjangan Island (Menjangan) lies just 8 km off the coast of the Bali Barat National Park, and became Bali's first internationally known dive location in 1978. Puri Jati and Secret Bay, two other famous dive spots, are located to the east and west of Menjangan, respectively.

The 11+ dive sites in the area range in depth from 5 to 40 meters (16 to 131ft). Diving is conducted all year round, with optimum conditions being offered from April to November. The visibility is sometimes exceptional, reaching 40m (131 ft), with an average of 20m (66ft). Few spots, which are usually dived at dusk to observe mandarin fishes, can be reached within less than 15 minutes. It takes about 40 minutes to reach Menjangan, Secret Bay and Puri Jati. Because of their depth and moderate currents, most sites are accessible to Padi Open Water divers (or equivalent).

• Menjangan: the island, which is reached by boat, is surrounded by a reef and famous for its spectacular drop-offs. The shallows have been damaged by dynamite fishing, anchoring, and a crown of thorns starfish “attack” in 1997. Fortunately, the reef has been recovering very well over the last decade, and the walls were not impacted. The drop-offs are covered with gorgonians, soft corals and sponges, where pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs, and oran-utang crabs are often spotted. Crevices and caves are home to groupers, turtles and moray eels. Menjangan is a destination for fans of underwater sceneries and macro! However, there are occasional sightings of pelagics, such as reef sharks, tuna fishes, and dolphins escorting dive boats.

• Puri Jati (PJ) and Secret Bay (also called Gilimanuk Bay): these sites, which are both dived from the shore, are reached by A/C minivan. They both offer world-class muck diving experiences: in the shallows with average visibility and no corals, but wow!! So many rare critters: seahorses, frogfishes (sometimes hairy ones), ghost pipe-fishes, dragonets, banggai cardinal-fishes, wasp-fishes, octopus etc… We love them, but they might not be everyone’s cup of tea. If you like PJ, you will like Secret Bay, and vice-versa. 

For detailed information about what we have seen while diving Menjangan, you can review our logbook.

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Mimpi Dive Center, a Padi Dive Resort, is located within the resort’s facilities, less than 5 minutes walk away from all accommodations, next to the main restaurant and right at the water edge of Banyuwedang Bay. The dive center chose to operate fishing boats, which they rent from local fishermen, who can therefore earn money without impacting the marine life. These wooden boats are convenient for diving and can accommodate up to 8 divers. They are powered by 50hp Yamaha engines and fitted with first-aid kits and medical oxygen. The maximum number of divers on a dive guide is 8.

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Menjangan is a non-diver-friendly destination where a wide range of attractions is available. The Bali Barat National Park is a major highlight in the area. Yet, our partnering resort boast relaxed spa and large pools with spectacular views and offer various fun activities.

A typical day for a diver at Menjangan goes as follows:

• breakfast
• two dives, from 9:00 AM till 1:00 to 3:00 PM
• optional mandarin or night dive

Activities for non-divers and for divers’ dry days are the following:

- Excursions:

• Park Trekking: treks ranging from 2 to 5 hours are arranged to explore the lowland bush and forest of the Bali Barat National Park. These treks provide opportunities to observe some wilds such as black and macaque monkeys, various species of birds, giant squirrels etc… Recommended season: April to October
• Park Safari: the exploration is arranged by car and covers a distance of 12 km through an unpaved road into the heart of the Bali Barat National Park conservation zone. The area is home to an impressive variety of species: monkeys, barking deer, wild pigs, giant lizards, wild cats and eagles are among the vertebrates that populate the monsoon forest and savanna. Several floras include sawo kecik, panggal buaya and cendana.  The tour is only organized during the dry season from June to October, when the wild approaches the coastline
• Bird Watching: the Bali Barat National Park is the preferred habitat for approximately 300 species of tropical birds, both migratory and endemic. This guided tour of approximately 2 hours is a unique opportunity to observe jungle fowls, paoks, kingfishers etc… Best observation time is early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Recommended season: June to October
• Temple Visits: some of Bali’s major temples are located just a few minutes drive from the resorts, including the famous temples of Pulaki, Melanting and Pabean. These temples were built during the holy trip of the great Hindu missionary, Danghyang Nirartha who came from the great kingdom of Majapahit in Java, in the 16th century, to teach Hinduism to the people of Bali
• Pearl-Farming: pearl of high quality is intensively produced in the Menjangan area. Tours cover all stages of the production process, from hatchery to harvesting, and offer an opportunity to buy pearls at the best value for money and quality

- Snorkeling in Banyuwedang bay and around Menjangan Island is spectacular and might convince non-divers to discover scuba diving!
- Spa: both Mimpi and Novus resorts have spas offering a wide selection of treatments to rejuvenate body and soul after an active day
- Enjoying the Banyuwedang hot springs: the hot springs supply Mimpi resort with high quality water at a temperature of C 46.4. The water is comparable to that of other well-known thermal springs waters, such as Achen and Neuenahr (Germany), or Evian and Vichy (France).

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You will need to land on Bali’s international airport, which is located in Denpasar, where our local partner will be waiting for you. From there, it takes approximately 3 hours to reach your resort.

At the time of research, we found direct flights operated from the following cities:  Shanghai (on Thursdays and Sundays), Seoul, Perth, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Osaka, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei and Bangkok.

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Bali has been populated since early prehistoric times. Around 2,000 BC, the island was inhabited by Austronesian peoples who migrated originally from Taiwan. Culturally and linguistically, the Balinese are closely related to the peoples of the Indonesian archipelago, the Philippines, and Oceania. They were strongly influenced by Chinese, Indian and particularly Hindu cultures. Not much is known of a period that started in the 1st century, and the earliest records are stone inscriptions dating from 914 AD. Rice was being grown under a complex irrigation system, and some traditions still in existence today can be traced back to these times. Bali and Hindu Java then underwent several episodes of conquering each other. When the Majapahit Empire on eastern Java declined, at the end of the 15th century, most of its intelligentsia moved to Bali, including the priest Nirartha, who is credited with introducing many of the complexities of the Balinese religion. Artists, dancers, musicians and actors also fled to Bali.

In 1597, a group of Dutch explorers were the first Europeans to set foot in Bali, where prosperity and artistic activity were at a peak. As the Batavian colonial domination expanded across the Indonesian archipelago in the 19th century, the Dutch increased their political and economic control over Bali. After several assaults at the beginning of the 1900’s, the Dutch governors managed the administration of the island, but local control over religion and culture remained intact. Dutch rule over Bali was never as well established as in other parts of Indonesia and was short-lived, as Indonesia fell to the Japanese during WWII. Following Japan's surrender, the Dutch promptly returned to the island to reinstate their pre-war colonial administration and established Bali as one of the 13 districts of the newly-proclaimed State of East Indonesia. When the Netherlands recognized Indonesian independence on 29 December 1949, Bali became part of United States of Indonesia, which in 1950 became the Republic of Indonesia.

The 1963 eruption of Mount Agung killed thousands, created economic havoc and forced many Balinese refugees to relocate to other parts of Indonesia. Then, Bali saw conflicts between supporters of the traditional caste system, and those rejecting these values. An attempted coup in Jakarta was put down by forces led by General Suharto and the army became the dominant power. Suharto was able to maneuver Sukarno out of the presidency and relations with western countries were reestablished. In the early 1970’s, the tourism boom started and helped pay for improvements in roads, telecommunications, education and health. Though tourism has had some adverse environmental and social effects, Bali’s unique culture has proved to be remarkably resilient. Beginning in the 1990's there has been vocal public opposition to some controversial tourist developments, which indicates that Balinese people will play a more active role in the development of their island.

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