Bali is an island in the Malay archipelago, in the group of the
Lesser Sunda Islands, as part of the province of the same name in
Indonesia. It is washed from the south by the Indian Ocean, from the
north by the sea of Bali of the Pacific Ocean. It is separated
from the west by the Strait of the same name from Java Island, from
the east by the Lombok Strait from Lombok Island.
The area of the island is 5780 km², its length is 145 km from east
to west and 80 km from north to south. The so-called Wallace line,
stretching east from Bali and Lombok Island, serves as the boundary
between the flora and fauna of tropical Asia and the natural areas
of Australia and New Guinea.
Relief
Bali is the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. A mountain
range stretches from west to east of Bali - a zone of high volcanic
activity. Two large active volcanoes Agung (3142 m) and Gunung Batur
(1717 m) are located in the north-eastern part of the island.
Volcanic activity determines the high fertility of soils and affects
the development of culture. The major eruptions of the Gunung Batura
and Agung volcanoes that occurred in 1963 led to numerous
casualties, devastated the eastern regions of the island, forcing
many Balinese to emigrate.
Among other mountain peaks are the highest Batukau (2278 m) and
Abang (2152 m). This mountain range with a limestone plateau located
in the south, which is called "bukit" - hills, divides the island
into two completely different regions. Northern quite rises from a
narrow coastline to the mountain slopes. The climate here is
relatively dry, conducive to breeding a coffee culture. In this part
of Bali there are two rivers irrigating rice fields around Singaraja
and Seririta. The southern region is a terrace stretching from north
to south on which rice is grown. Numerous rivers flow along gorges
with lush vegetation. Southwest are small, well-irrigated areas of
land and arid lands of coconut plantations.
Climate
The climate in Bali is equatorial-monsoon, instead of the usual
dividing into 4 seasons, only two are distinguished here: dry (June
– October) and humid (November – March); the greatest amount of
precipitation falls in January – February. In some areas of Bali,
the difference between them is almost imperceptible. During the wet
season, precipitation occurs locally, usually at night in the form
of short-term (1-2 hours) thunderstorms.
The average annual temperatures fluctuate slightly around 26 ° C. In
the lowlands and resort areas it is warm day and night; the
mountains are pretty cool nights, and generally fresher than the
rest of the territory. The water temperature in the ocean is 26–28 °
C.
Flora and fauna
In Bali, 4 types of forests grow: tropical moist evergreen in the
west, deciduous in the northwest in hard-to-reach areas, savannah
forests and mountain forests. Wet evergreen forests are represented
in the Bali-Barat park (translated as “western Bali”). Here you can
find rare species of plants, huge century-old trees, which are under
protection. Many plants of the ficus family, fig and banana groves.
Deciduous forests grow in the northwestern part of Bali. They change
their foliage depending on the season, among this flora sapot trees
predominate. Mountain vegetation is rarely located above 1500 m
above sea level; these are mainly casuarins and phylaos. Banana
plants in Bali are sacred, they grow very well, propagated by the
roots, and feed many animals: monkeys, squirrels, bats. A rare cave
crab Karstama balicum is listed in the IUCN International Red Book.
Palm trees are especially well represented in Bali. The leaves of
borassic palms, dried and pressed, go to the manufacture of
"lontars" on which they write sacred texts. From the leaves of sugar
palm trees make bouquets that are brought to the temples as ritual
offerings. There are other types of trees, for example, ebony, or
ebony, as well as balsa, extremely lightweight - a convenient
material for traditional masks. There are many bamboo trees, some
species of which reach 30-40 cm in diameter. They can be found
almost throughout the island, bamboo is also a universal building
material for the Balinese.
Garden architecture has become a real industry. An abundance of
labor and fertile soil, on which everything that is planted easily
takes root, contributes to the development of gardening, especially
in the south of the island and in the Bedugul area. Red, pink and
white hibiscus, jasmine, bougainvillea, white and pink laurels,
water lilies, lotuses and quite exotic plants such as angsoca,
champaka (yellow magnolia), manori and orchids.
After the recognition of independence, tourism was rather poorly
developed, and the infrastructure was in its infancy. Even during
the hippies that flocked here from around the world, there were only
small bungalows without electricity on the beaches of Kuta, cheap
rooms without amenities and seafood for a few cents. Nevertheless,
in Sanur, tour operators have already mastered tourism for the rich.
The Indonesian government, whose economy was very dependent on oil
exports, needed to find other sources of income, and it greatly
contributed to the development of the tourism industry.
At first, these efforts were aimed at changing in the eyes of the
entire world community the unsightly image that had strengthened
behind the ruling elite of Indonesia after the military coup.
A professional analysis of the situation in Bali and a tourism
development plan was made in 1969. The project was funded by the UN
under the guarantee of the World Bank. Particular emphasis was
placed on the Bukit Badung area. In 1978, the Balinese governor Ida
Bagus Mantra invited interested parties to pay attention to the
island’s rich culture. Since that time, music, dancing, religious
holidays, sculpture and painting play the same role in the tourism
business as the continuous improvement of infrastructure. The
airport was reconstructed, luxury hotels and modest inexpensive
hotels are being built to cover the entire social spectrum of travel
lovers. Rice fields are being drained and water pipelines are being
built in the driest regions. Replaced inexpensive came elite
tourism. Now, world-famous stars come to Sanur at a wedding
ceremony, and European ministers spend their holidays at the
Mediterranean Club in Nusa Dua.
The development of surfing, diving, environmental and beach tourism.
The number of tourists visiting Bali is growing rapidly. In 2015,
4,001,835 foreign tourists visited Bali. In 2018, the number of
tourists increased to 6 511 610 people. Each year, the flow
increases by about 10%.