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North Bali

Buleleng — the quiet half of the island: black-sand coast, jungle waterfalls and hot springs, with a fraction of the south's crowds and a long mountain road to get there.

By Kadek Surya, Bali-based writer⚠ Researched carefully — but I haven't walked this one myself yet · July 2026

North Bali — the old regency of Buleleng — is where you go to escape the version of Bali you've seen on Instagram. There are no beach clubs, little traffic, and black volcanic sand instead of gold. The catch is simple and worth saying first: it's a long way over the mountains from the south, and most people try to do it as one brutal day trip when it really wants an overnight.

The one thing to get right: don't day-trip it from the south

From Seminyak, Ubud or the Bukit, the north coast is a 2.5–4 hour drive each way, climbing over the central volcanoes on winding roads. People book a "waterfalls and dolphins" day tour, spend eight hours in a car for three hours of sightseeing, and arrive home wrecked. Stay a night — in Lovina, Munduk, or up near the lakes — and the same sights become relaxed instead of a forced march. If you only have a day, pick one zone (the waterfalls or the coast), not both.

The road north is the whole catch: a winding, walled mountain highway climbing over the central volcanoes — 2.5 to 4 hours each way from the south.

Watch out

The classic mistake is pairing sunrise dolphins in Lovina with Sekumpul waterfall and the lake temples in a single day. On paper it's four hours of driving; in practice, with stops and mountain traffic, it's closer to seven. Something always gets cut — usually your patience.

Pura Ulun Danu Bratan on its misty crater lake at Bedugul — the classic pause on the route up and over to the coast. — The crossing via Bedugul: the misty lake temple of Ulun Danu Bratan, highland benches and crater lakes, farm-plot villages and a central volcano at dawn — the cool green country the drive threads on the long haul north. Tap any image for its source and licence.

A highland bench looking out to a volcano through the mist — the cool, quiet country the drive climbs through. — The crossing via Bedugul: the misty lake temple of Ulun Danu Bratan, highland benches and crater lakes, farm-plot villages and a central volcano at dawn — the cool green country the drive threads on the long haul north. Tap any image for its source and licence.

The coast: Lovina and the dolphins

Lovina is the north's main resort strip — a string of quiet black-sand villages with cheap , faded guesthouses, and a slow, un-fussy feel that's a world away from Canggu. Its famous draw is the dawn dolphin trip: dozens of outriggers motoring out at sunrise to find wild pods. Be honest with yourself about it — it can be magical, but on a busy morning it's a flotilla of boats chasing the same dolphins, and some operators crowd the animals hard. Choose a calm-paced operator and manage your expectations. The real north-coast pleasure is snorkelling and just slowing down.

Wild spinner dolphins off Lovina at first light — on a calm morning the dawn trip really can deliver. On a busy one it's a flotilla chasing the same pod.

The LOVINA sign and its dolphin statues — the town's cheerful, unmistakable marker. — The town and its coast: the LOVINA sign and its dolphin statues, the small jukung outriggers that run the dawn trips, a lone dawn fisherman, and the grey-black volcanic sand and quiet jetties that are the north's real pleasure. Tap any image for its source and licence.

A dolphin-tour outrigger heading out at sunrise, loaded with hopeful watchers — the small jukung boats that run the dawn runs. — The town and its coast: the LOVINA sign and its dolphin statues, the small jukung outriggers that run the dawn trips, a lone dawn fisherman, and the grey-black volcanic sand and quiet jetties that are the north's real pleasure. Tap any image for its source and licence.

The waterfalls and the highlands

The interior above the coast holds Bali's biggest, greenest waterfalls. Sekumpul is the headline — a fan of tall cascades in a jungle gorge, widely called the island's finest. It's also become notorious for aggressive, confusing fee collection: touts set up "checkpoints" and push overpriced compulsory guides, so read up before you go. Nearby Munduk is cooler coffee-and-clove country, with mist, ridge walks, and its own set of more easily reached falls. Gitgit, the most accessible waterfall, sits right off the main road — easy, but correspondingly busier.

A fan of tall cascades in a jungle gorge — the Sekumpul-style falls that make the north's interior the island's greenest. (A north-Bali jungle waterfall.)

A single tall ribbon of water in dense jungle — the roadside-accessible kind, like Gitgit off the main road. (A north-Bali fall.) — The interior's falls and coffee country: single ribbons like roadside Gitgit, aerial cascades and emerald plunge pools, and the misty Munduk ridges where you drink the coffee with a waterfall in view. Some frames are specific, some generic north-Bali jungle — captioned honestly. Tap any image for its source and licence.

Aerial over a cascade threading a green valley — the country the waterfall loops string together. (A north-Bali jungle waterfall.) — The interior's falls and coffee country: single ribbons like roadside Gitgit, aerial cascades and emerald plunge pools, and the misty Munduk ridges where you drink the coffee with a waterfall in view. Some frames are specific, some generic north-Bali jungle — captioned honestly. Tap any image for its source and licence.

Singaraja, hot springs and the Buddhist monastery

Singaraja, the old Dutch colonial capital, is now a workaday harbour town — worth a wander for its faded port architecture and near-total absence of tourists, but not a destination in itself. West of Lovina, the Banjar hot springs are carved stone pools of warm sulphur water in a garden setting, and the nearby Brahmavihara-Arama is Bali's largest Buddhist monastery — a serene, un-touristed stop that makes an easy pair with the springs.

The carved stone naga spouts of the Banjar hot springs, pouring warm sulphur water into garden pools — the signature stop west of Lovina.

The stupa terrace at Brahmavihara-Arama, Bali's largest Buddhist monastery — an un-touristed 'mini-Borobudur' that pairs easily with the springs. — The easy west-of-Lovina pair: the stupa terraces of the Brahmavihara-Arama monastery (Bali's 'mini-Borobudur'), and the dragon-mouth spouts, garden pools and geothermal steam of the Banjar hot springs. Tap any image for its source and licence.

A bather under one of Banjar's dragon-mouth spouts — the warm sulphur water everyone comes to sit beneath. — The easy west-of-Lovina pair: the stupa terraces of the Brahmavihara-Arama monastery (Bali's 'mini-Borobudur'), and the dragon-mouth spouts, garden pools and geothermal steam of the Banjar hot springs. Tap any image for its source and licence.

Is North Bali worth the drive?

Yes — if you give it time. Skip it if you have three days in Bali and want beaches and nightlife; the south does that better. Come if you've seen the crowds and want the opposite: cooler air, real village life, and waterfalls you might have half to yourself. Treat it as its own trip, not an add-on.

Where it is	Buleleng regency, the island's north coast — over the central mountains from the south.
Getting there	~2.5–4 hrs by car from south Bali; the Bedugul lakes route is the usual way up.
How long	One or two nights. A single day is possible but rushed.
Best base	Lovina for the coast; Munduk or the lakes for waterfalls and cool air.
Best time	Dry season (Apr–Oct) for waterfalls at their clearest and roads at their safest.

Tip

The easy way to see it is with a private driver for a day or two — you avoid the mountain roads yourself, and a good driver knows which waterfall checkpoints are legitimate and which are shakedowns.

Hire a private drivervia ViatorCheck availability