Nusa Lembongan, Mushroom Bay & Jungutbatu Beach, Bali
Nusa Lembongan is a small island off the southeast coast of the main island of Bali. Nusa Lembongan is approximately 8km² in size and is one of three neighboring islands, the others being much larger Nusa Penida and tiny Nusa Ceningan. It is Bali many imagine but never find: simple rooms on the beach, incredible sunsets, day spent surfing and diving, and night spent rifling through a favorite book or hanging with new friends. Nusa Lembongan becoming one of Bali’s most popular attractions, this island paradise is a world away from the hassle and hectic pace of South Bali. Nusa Lembongan, grows in popularity each year, but even as rooms for travelers proliferate, it remains a very mellow place. The 7000 hard working locals welcome the extra money brought by visitors and time is marked by the crow of a roster and the fall of a coconut.
Jungutbatu beach is a lovely arc of white sand with clear blue water, has superb views across to Mount Agung in Bali. The village itself pleasant, with quiet lanes, no cars, and a couple of temples, including Pura Segara and its enormous banyan tree.
Most surfers, divers and budget travelers stay at Jungutbatu Beach in the island’s northwest, while more upmarket accommodation is farther south towards Mushroom Bay, where many of the day-trip cruise boast stop. About 4km soutwest along the sealed road from Jungutbatu is Lembongan village, the island’s other town. Leaving Jungutbatu, when heading towards Lembongan village, you climb up a steep knool that offers a wonderful view back over the beach.
Mushroom Bay is gorgeous little bay, unofficially named for the mushroom corals offshore, has a perfect crescent of white-sand beach. During the day, the tranquillity may be disturbed by banana-boat rides or parasailing. In the morning and the evening, it’s delightful. The most pleasant way to get here from Jungutbatu is to walk along the trail that starts from the southern end of the main beach and follows the coastline for a kilometer or so past a couple of little beaches.
