Pantai Mas in the region

Pantai Mas has a role in the keeping and guarding of the typical traditional culture of Bali. This role that Pantai Mas has been assigned can be seen as an ‘example role'. Local people visiting Pantai Mas can experience how a mixture of people from other cultures and countries come here with an eye for the Balinese culture and with a great openness to experience the special character of this island's culture. The mix and respectful interaction at Pantai Mas within the diversity of cultures and religions can certainly be called unique.

Also in a spiritual/energetic sense Pantai Mas has a clearly perceivable influence, also because of the grounds Pantai Mas has been built on. Of old this land is a sacred place, where people come to pray.

Since the Pantai Mas centre has taken shape in the North of Bali, the direct surroundings have become a lot more colourful and harmonious.

Lovina

Lovina Beach is a 3 km long coastal strip that lies 10 km west of Singarajah, stretching from the village of Anturan to the village of Kalibukbuk. This holiday area with its black beaches and shallow seawater - where one can swim without any danger whatsoever - is especially preferred by holidaymakers who don't like the crowds of South Bali. Off the coast lies a reef, where the local fishing boats will take you for diving or snorkelling.

Sunset will definitely bring you into a romantic mood, with the beach glowing in red light and the fishing boats gliding onto the sea. In the North of Bali you will find relatively more Muslims; at night and in the morning you can hear the call to pray from the mosque.

But here too most Balinese are Hindu and all the traditional customs can be seen here. North Bali is an area where a mix of diverse cultures and spiritual traditions live together in harmony and respect.

In the village Banjar, south-west of Lovina, on a hill– nearby the holy hot springs, Air Panas – lies the temple and convent of the Hinayana Buddhists. There is a wonderfully serene atmosphere in this place. The buildings are grouped around an inner court with a lilly pond. On top of the hill is a big stupa. The view all the way to the sea is magnificent. A visit to the ‘buddis temple' can very well be combined with a bath in the hot spring water. The convent regularly offers meditation retreats, that are also open for western visitors.

Bali Barat National Park

Monkeys, hornbills, porcupines and wild pigs, deer and rare bird species – including the extremely rare and beautiful bali starling, white with blue eyes – have this 80.000 ha large jungle area as their habitat. The whole region is one of the most beautiful landscapes of the island. A range of hills streches from the east until the far point in the west, the cape around the Prapat Agung mountain, north of Gilimanuk. From Gilimanuk you can take the boat to Java, only a short crossing.

The Bali Barat park, that was founded in 1983, offers several hiking trails that can be walked with a guide. You can visit the tropical rainforest or the monsoon forest. It is also possible to make a trip in a traditional wooden boat through the mangrove forests along the coast.

The small Menjangan island (“deer island”) also belongs to the national park. The coral reef around this island is magnificent and one of the best places for snorkelling and diving.

( derived from: “Bali ontdekken en beleven” by Eva Gerberding, Deltas )

Singaraja

De Dutch made Singaraja their headquarters for ruling Bali, and the first waves of tourists to the island disembarked here from their cruise ships. The Japanese also based themselves here during World War II, but after the war the focus shifted to the more heavily populated south. Today, Singaraja is still the largest city outside of Denpasar and, although most visitors tend to pass through it on their way to Lovina, it deserves a closer look.

Singaraja is worth visiting simply for the expereince of a Balinese town that is not catering to tourism.

There is a library that has a unique collection of some 3000 lontars : ancient manuscripts inscribed on the leaves of the lontar palm, covering subjects like religion, astrology and traditional medicine.

The old harbour is now little used, but the ancient and now empty warehouses remind of the colonial times when ships full of spices set off to the west from here.

( derived from: “Travelpack Bali & Lombok” by Sean Sheehan, Periplus )

Dolphins

In Lovina you can visit the dolphins out in the sea, just off the coast where they they come every morning to eat and to play. At 6 o'clock in the morning you go out to sea in a local fisherboat, a prahu. The sunrise already makes the trip worthwhile, but when just a moment later you see the dolphins swimming and jumping in geat numbers, you might just feel so touched and happy that you'll cry a little tear.

Usually there are many boats at the same time and you look for the dolphins together, with the dolphins appearing and then disappearing again, but all goes in a relaxed and ‘dolphin friendly' atmosphere. Sometimes you can't help thinking the dolphins are playing with us...

Restoration of the coral reef

The coral reefs of Bali have been severely damaged in recent years due to use of bombs and cyanide by fishermen, excessively high water temperatures linked to global warming, and other stresses.
In a protected marine area off the coast of Pemuteran village (40 km west of Pantai Mas) 28 special „biorock“ coral nursery structures have recently been installed. This was done in cooperation with the Municipality of Pemuteran, Gahawisri (the Balinese Watersports Federation), local dive shops and hotels, and other local stakeholders. 
The structures are made of steel bars, charged with a very low electrical current, which makes the coral grow many times faster than normal.
With a total length of 300 metres situated in an area of 2 hectares, this is the largest Biorock coral reef nursery and restoration project worldwide, exceeding the combined sizes of all other ongoing projects in the Pacific, Caribbean, and Indian Ocean.
The project, although still in the early stages, already has the majority of local coral species in cultivation. Their enhanced growth rate, reproduction, and resistance to environmental stress provides a critical reservoir of healthy corals to resist future hot periods caused by global warming and to restore damaged reefs and vital fishing areas once destructive human practices can be halted.

( derived from: http://www.globalcoral.org/pemuteran_coral_reef_restoration.htm )

Another beautiful project in the same area is called the „Reef Gardeners“. A team of young people, recruited from the local fishing community, have been trained as scuba divers (up to rescue diver) and were also trained in methods of protecting and repairing the coral reef. Also education is given to the local fishermen about protecting the coral reef (what methods of fishing are and are not damaging) and why hat is important for their livelihood. A fruitful example of an approach that serves all interests: the environment, the economy and tourism.

( derived from: http://www.pemuteranfoundation.com )