After my 2 days in Nusa Penida enjoying the landscapes and surviving the highways to hell, I felt like I still wanted more. To that extend, because I still had one more night booked at Hostel Nusa Penida and I also had my moto for one more day, I decided to go check the smaller Nusa Islands: Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan.
How to get from Nusa Penida to Nusa Lembongan?
As I had done the previous day, I met Bony (the guy who helped us out with the roads and the snorkelling) at Toya Pakeh Harbour early in the morning. Again, he seemed to know pretty much everyone in the island. With someone like him around, it is not hard to get a boat to take you to Nusa Lembongan or to any other place around Nusa Penida. If you ever feel like you need his help, hit me up and I’ll pass you his mobile number 🙂
We had to wait for quite some time before the tide was high enough so we could jump on the boat without sink it. After discussing with Bony for a bit, he agreed with the captain I would be paying 50 K for the trip to Nusa Lembongan. I felt it was alright. We were like 15 people on the boat, all kind of packed but all kind of happy.
Driving around Nusa Lembongan
The ride to Nusa Lembongan was beautiful and calm enough. It took around 30 minutes or so. As soon as we disembarked in the second biggest island of the Nusa trio, plenty of locals gathered around to try to sell me some stuff or get me to rent one of their motos. I bargained for a while and ended up renting one for the whole day for 70 K.
I drove from the Yellow Bridge port to Dive Concepts. Unfortunately I wasn’t going to take another diving certification, like back in Tulamben. I was going to the diving school to meet Vanessa at her hostel, right in front of Dive Concepts. As you might remember from my time in Amed, Vanessa was the French girl I met at Black Sand Hostel. Back then, we both mentioned we would be going to the Nusa Islands. So, after my 2 days in Nusa Penida, I decided to meet her and spend the day checking Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan.
It was a pretty hot day. I still remember it as if it was yesterday. I also remembered that, compared to Nusa Penida, the roads to the beaches were a thousand times better. Some of them would also be made of soil, rather than pavement but, still, the surface was much more even and flat.
Sandy Bay Beach
The first stop in our beach hunting journey was Sandy Bay Beach. In my opinion, the name was not super accurate. There was a somehow tiny strip of sand while the bottom of the beach was full of reefs and rocks. The waves were constantly impacting against the rocks, leading to the creation of cliffs on the left and hand side of the beach. The currents were kind of strong, so it wasn’t the perfect beach for a swim. Nonetheless, people seemed to enjoy the views while having some fancy food and cocktails at Sandy Bay Beach Club. Apparently, Sandy Bay Beach is the perfect spot to see the sunset in Nusa Lembongan.
Devil’s Tears
We didn’t spend much time at Sandy Bay Beach. After walking around the tiny beach for a while, we went back to get our moto and we drove to our next destination. The drive was very short. Devil’s Tears was just around the corner. Thus, after parking our moto again, we started walking to see what the Devil’s Tears fuss was all about. On the way though, we were surprised by a pretty nice smell. We turned around and saw a small shrine with a priest inside. We asked him about the source of the smell and that’s how we learnt about Dupa.
Dupa is an incense stick that releases its smell when lit. For the Balinese, apart from the smelling function, it is widely used in their religious rituals while doing offerings. I liked the smell so much that next day I bought a packet in a shop in front of my Nusa Penida Hostel. The packet contained 10 small packages, and each one of them had around 20 sticks of Dupa. I paid 20 K for the whole packet and I brought it home as a nice souvenir 🙂
After thanking the priest we walked for a couple of minutes and we made it to Devil’s Tears. What we saw this time wasn’t a beach, but the power of mother nature. The force of the water crashing against the rocks reminded me a little bit to what I felt back at the Figure 8 pools during my Australian Trip. This time though I didn’t get to see any tide pool, but just the water being smashed against the rocks, then held for a bit in the caves it had itself created and finally rejected back to the sea with a huge strength and a peculiar sound.
Mother nature is capricious. Sometimes it destroys us with catastrophes and sometimes with awe and beauty. In our case, back at Devil’s Tears, apart from enjoying the water crashing against the rocks, we could see now and then tiny glimpses of rainbows. We didn’t get to see any tide pool but I think there were some a little further away, just in case you don’t feel like going to Sydney to check them out 😉
Dream Beach
For a second, when I saw the sign at the entrance of the beach, I thought I was back at Dream Beach festival in Villaricos and I hadn’t even realised. I didn’t hear any music or see any stages so I figured I was still in Indonesia, spending my journey between Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan.
I liked the beach better than Sandy Bay Beach. Maybe because they were different after all. The way I saw it, Sandy Bay Beach was mostly the restaurant, the pool and the club. Dream Beach on the other hand, felt like a bigger sandy bay where you could lay down and enjoy the sand and the views. I found more tourists there than in Sandy Bay Beach, I guess it was mostly due to its proximity with Devil’s Tears. The current was kind of strong so it wasn’t the perfect spot for swimming either. All in all, I felt like Dream Beach was one of the nicest beaches in Nusa Lembongan.
Checking out the smallest Nusa: the beautiful Ceningan
How to get from Nusa Lembongan to Nusa Ceningan?
I couldn’t leave the Nusa trio without checking Nusa Ceningan. To that extend, we drove our moto over the Yellow Bridge. The original one collapsed in 2016, causing the death of several people. It was rebuilt in 2017 and ever since it has been known as “The bridge of Love”. While it is still kind of narrow (it allows only pedestrians and motorcycles), its infrastructure has been improved to deal with the strain it is subject to every day. The Yellow Bridge (or the Bridge of Love) is the only straight link between Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan, unless you want to reach any of them by boat.
Blue Lagoon: no black and white in the blue
Once in Nusa Ceningan, we drove our moto to Blue Lagoon. Again, the roads on this island were pretty good, especially compared to some of the roads in Nusa Penida. After a short drive, we parked our moto and walked to yet another speechless show by Mother Nature. They say comparisons are odious but, because I know some of you like to have a “best one” or a “favourite one”, I would pick Blue Lagoon as my favourite spot in all three Nusa Islands. You don’t agree with me? What about now?
Blue is my favourite colour so I felt like Messi at the Camp Nou, or Naruto at Ichiraku, or Vegeta at the Room of Spirit and Time or… you get the idea, don’t you? I felt like at my place in the world. I felt like I could stay there for hours just watching the beautiful tones of blue come and go with every subtle push of the waves. There were some people there but not too many. You could take some decent pictures without having to wait and the atmosphere was calm and chill. The only downside was the heat. It was extremely hot and there was no shade around but, nothing is perfect, is it?
After enjoying as much as we could and taking my typical picture, we decided to leave behind such an stunning landscape to keep on going with our adventure and see what else Nusa Ceningan had waiting for us.
Secret Beach in Nusa Ceningan
Our next stop was Secret Beach. If you have taken a look at our “Itinerary for Nusa Ceningan” you might have seen the Secret Beach marked there. Thus, you might have guessed it right: the beach is not that secret. Nevertheless, after the short drive and walking down to the beach, I liked what I saw.
Like the previous ones (and I’d guess like most of the beaches in the Nusa Islands), the beach was not huge. It was a small bay of sand and the beach’s bottom was full of rocks and reefs. Nothing new at this point. Even if it wasn’t the perfect spot for swimming, I found it a nice place for laying down and enjoying the views. And it might be that after all the name doesn’t come from the beach’s location, but from the hidden treasure you can see from there: Crystal Bay in Nusa Penida.
Lunch at Ria Warung: enjoying the views
We had been beach hunting for some hours and we started to feel hungry. After leaving Secret Beach behind, we drove around trying to find a place to eat. The “problem” was that the island was kind of small and that meant that every now and then you had amazing landscapes that made it really hard not to stop. Something like this:
We eventually managed to overcome the temptation and made it to Ria Warung. The place was touristic, that’s something I can’t deny. But neither I can deny the amazing location, the setup and the views from there. The food, even if it was a little pricey (compared to other less touristic Warungs) was very good. We spent sometime eating and drinking and eventually we made it to a some short of small beach the restaurant had to themselves. They had some sofas and we could lay down for a while, just enjoying the peace and the ambience.
So long Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan!
It was around 16:00 when we left Ria Warung. I had spent 8 hours between Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan and I was really happy with what I had seen. I would say that, if you just want to check the islands around and do some beach hunting, one day is enough for Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan. The roads are much better than in Nusa Penida, specially the ones heading to the beaches. Thus, it should take you way less time to move around.
I had the boat back to Nusa Penida at 17:00 so we started to drive back to Nusa Lembongan. After dropping Vanessa at her hostel and thanking her for the journey, I drove back to the Yellow Bridge port where I had disembarked earlier in the morning. On the way though, after driving through a steep road, I decided to stop to take a last glimpse at Nusa Lembongan. That’s when I realised Bali was once more waiting for me 🙂
I made it back to the port and, after returning the moto, I went to the ticket booth. I bought my ticket back to Nusa Penida for 60 K (it had been 50 K from Nusa Penida to Nusa Lembongan) and patiently waited until the boat came. Once on board, we started the ride back to Nusa Penida.
Last evening in Nusa Penida
By the time I made it back to Toya Pakeh Harbour, I felt like I still had time to check some more stuff from Nusa Penida before sunset. I had read that there was some sort of a view point on the summit of the island and I wanted to check it out. Thus, I started driving to Pura Puncak Mundi.
Pura Puncak Mundi: the highest point on Nusa Penida
Being the highest point on the island I guess it’s no wonder that the way there is kind of steep. But, fear not, because the roads are overall in good condition. Nothing to do with the ones to some beaches like Kelingking and Sebele. I found some small shrines and villages on the way. That, and the typical yet incredible scenery: palm trees, the sea and Mount Agung.
I made it to the peak of Mundi Hill (the temple is placed there) without any issues. The peak of the hill, with an altitude of around 525 meters, is the highest point on Nusa Penida. Sometimes it felt like the moto was struggling to keep up with the steep roads, but it resisted bravely until we reached the summit. Once there, I realised I wasn’t wearing a sarong. I remembered the funny situation I had at a temple outside of Ubud and and I didn’t try to go inside.
The temple is a complex of three temples: Pura Beji, Pura Dalem Krangken and Pura Puncak Mundi. I didn’t find any tourist whatsoever, just some locals praying. I also ran into some monkeys. They looked far from tamed so I kept my distance with them. In the surroundings of the temple I found plenty of garbage. This is a problem that, unfortunately, we still see in many places in the world. The way I see it, it is a matter of education, culture and social awareness. We all have to do our best to fight it and eradicate it.
I kept on walking around trying to find the viewpoint, or a place that would allow me to see the whole island from above. Unfortunately, I never got to find it. I tried to follow some paths inside the forest but, by the time I realised, I was back at the starting point. Thus, I never got to learn whether there was a truly viewpoint at Pura Puncak Mundi, but, at least, I enjoyed my ride there 🙂
On the way back, I still felt like I wanted to find a place where I could enjoy the sunset. I kept on driving downwards but I couldn’t just find a “nice” spot. Due to the huge amount of vegetation on the island I couldn’t find a clean gap. I started to lose sight of the sun and, eventually, when I realised, I was already back on the flat side of the island. I checked my phone to find my way back to my hostel and, after turning left to take the right road, I ran into this:
It seemed that my efforts paid off. I didn’t get to see the sunset from the highest point on the island, but what I saw from the lowest one was not too bad 😉
So long Nusa Penida!
Back at Hostel Nusa Penida, I took a shower and sat on one of the sofas in the lounge. I started to do some research to plan the next days of my trip. This is something that you would have to face (unless you have everything planned before leaving) now and then. Sometimes it pissed me off because I felt like I was wasting my time. Little by little though, I learnt to understand that this was just another part of travelling solo.
I started to speak with two girls: Fabiana (from Brasil) and Eleonora (from Italy). Fabiana had quit her job and decided to go on a trip to discover the world and to make up her mind. That sounded familiar lol. Eleonora was a tour guide in Italy and was on holidays in Indonesia because she loved Southeast Asia. After talking for a while, as I started to feel hungry, I asked them if they wanted to join me.
They had already had dinner but Eleonora decided to come with me. We found out most of the places were already closed and I ended up having some fried bites at the Night Market. The market was also about to close but there were some locals still around. Some of them approached us and asked us where we were from. They spoke a few words in Spanish and Italian. Eleonora already knew some words in Bahasa and I felt like I wanted to learn some as well. I already knew a few numbers and the locals taught me some more. It was a good way to finish my last night in Nusa Penida. Terima Kasih!
Nusa Penida or Nusa Lembongan? Where to stay?
There is a big size different between Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan, and even more between Nusa Penida and Nusa Ceningan. When I first decided I wanted to go to Nusa Penida, I didn’t know if I should stay there or in any of the other two Nusa Islands. In case you are struggling to decide, I’ll try to help you out 🙂
Staying in Nusa Penida
I spent 2 days in Nusa Penida and saw several beaches, went snorkelling for half a day and checked different eating options around the island. I couldn’t check all the beaches, mostly due to the roads’ condition. Being the biggest island of the three, you have more accommodation choices. Being the highest island of the three, you have chances to see some spectacular landscapes, like Kelingking Beach or Atuh Cliff. Most of the snorkelling spots are closer from Nusa Penida than from the other Nusa Islands. Thus, going snorkelling should take less time from Nusa Penida. Depending on what you want to see, if you decide to stay in Nusa Penida, I would spend a minimum of 2-3 days. To sum up:
Pros:
- Amazing landscapes like Kelingking Beach or Atuh Cliff
- Closer snorkelling points
- Adventurous feeling driving around a big enough island
Cons:
- The roads to some beaches are pretty dangerous
Staying in Nusa Lembongan
I didn’t stay in Nusa Lembongan, but spent a day visiting both Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan. I manged to see different beaches and stunning natural spots, such as Devil’s Tears and Blue Lagoon. The roads’ condition is a thousand times better compared to some of the ones in Nusa Penida. During my day in Nusa Lembongan I felt there were enough accommodation options. The island of Nusa Lembongan is way smaller than Nusa Penida, thus, in a couple of hours or three you can go around it. Nusa Ceningan is really small, so you can even walk around it. It is also directly connected to Nusa Lembongan by the Yellow Bridge. If you decided to stay in Nusa Lembongan, I would spend a minimum of 1-2 days. To sum up:
Pros:
- Good roads’ condition
- Beautiful natural spots such as Devil’s Tears and Blue Lagoon
- You don’t need much time to check both islands as they are small and connected
Cons:
- Going snorkelling can take longer than in Nusa Penida
- Less “impressive” landscapes, due to the size and height of the island
- You might feel less adventurous while travelling around the island
