The limestone tip of the Bukit peninsula: the Uluwatu temple on a 70 m cliff with its sunset Kecak fire dance, cliff-backed coves such as Padang Padang, Bingin and Melasti, world-class surf and the island's most dramatic resorts. Beaches are down long staircases. Mind the temple's macaques, which snatch glasses and phones.
Highlights
- Uluwatu temple on the cliff
- Kecak fire dance at sunset
- Padang Padang and Bingin coves
- Melasti Beach under white cliffs
- Surf at Uluwatu and Padang
- Cliff-top sunset bar
- Jimbaran seafood dinner
- Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue
Things to do
- Uluwatu temple and Kecak fire danceEvening · 3h
- Padang Padang and Bingin beach hopMorning · 3h 30m
- Melasti Beach swimAfternoon · 2h 30m
- Garuda Wisnu Kencana cultural parkMorning · 2h 30m
- Cliff-top sunset drinks at Single FinEvening · 2h
Tours & tickets
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When to go
Best time: April – October
Plan around this
Nyepi: Bali Closes for 24 Hours
⚠️ On Nyepi (Monday 8 March 2027, from 06:00 to 06:00 on 9 March) all of Bali stops: Ngurah Rai airport is closed to every flight, roads, beaches and shops shut, the internet is switched off, and visitors must stay inside their hotel. Don't book a flight, boat or transfer for that day, and allow for full flights and boats on the days either side.
Heads up
Bali Wet Season
December to February are the wettest months: heavy afternoon and night downpours, humid days, and flash floods on low roads in Kuta, Legian, Seminyak and on Sunset Road to the airport. Mornings are often clear. Allow extra time for the airport, and plan beach days flexibly. Hotels are cheaper, except over Christmas and New Year.
Heads up
Peak Season Crowds
July and August are Bali's busiest months (European and Australian school holidays): villas cost 30-50% more, Ubud's rice terraces and Uluwatu's Kecak are crowded, and south-Bali traffic is at its worst. Book rooms early and visit sights at opening time.
- Nyepi (Balinese Day of Silence) and the ogoh-ogoh parades — The Balinese New Year. On the eve, villages parade huge ogoh-ogoh demon effigies through the streets and burn them, worth seeing in Ubud, Kuta and Denpasar. Then for 24 hours the whole island stops: Ngurah Rai airport closes, no traffic, no lights, beaches shut, and visitors must stay inside their hotel (hotels keep serving guests indoors). Do not plan to land, leave or travel in Bali that day.
- Galungan and Kuningan · Galungan 17 Jun, Kuningan 27 Jun — Bali's biggest Hindu festival, every 210 days: ten days when the ancestors are believed to visit. Every street is lined with tall bamboo penjor poles, families in temple dress fill the temples, and the island looks its most beautiful. Some shops and drivers take the main days off, and temples are crowded; wear a sarong and sash to visit.
- Christmas and New Year peak — Bali's dearest fortnight: villas and resorts set minimum stays and gala dinners on 24 and 31 December, and Indian, Australian and Indonesian holidays overlap. Book rooms and the Gili and Komodo boats by October, and expect rain: it is the wet season.
Part of a longer route
Uluwatu is a stop on a curated circuit through Indonesia.