One would think that spending 10 days in Bali would be enough for you to say that you’ve seen everything and there would be no need to come back for another visit. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
There is just so much that desires to be explored in Bali. Let alone the whole of Indonesia, especially the Nusa Islands. Among the three islands, we chose to go to the bigger Nusa Penida to stay one night after five nights in Canggu where I’ll share the story in another article.
From Canggu, we hired a private driver, Mura, to take us to Sanur which is the port or jump-off point from the mainland to the Nusa Islands. Similar to Samal Island in Davao City, the Nusa Islands take around 45 minutes by boat, and the trips are hourly up until 4:30pm.
Compared to other ports in the Philippines with smaller marine vessels, this was on-time. We boarded by 10:00am and found ourselves in quiet, unpopular Nusa Penida, the biggest island of three. The most popular is Nusa Lembongan since it’s closest to Bali, followed by Ceningan which is connected to the former by a cute yellow bridge.
Thanks to Instagram, our primary goal was Kelingking Beach (Secret Point) in Nusa Penida. This majestic work of nature enchanted me the first time I saw it on Instagram, and I knew, I really want to see this for myself.
Kelingking Beach is a hidden beach in the village of Bunga Mekar, on the southwestern coast of Nusa Penida island. It’s been told to have one of the most breath-taking views over the hills, with a small strip of white sand from atop a hill of the same name.
The view offers a limestone headland covered in green, against the deep blue waters of the open Indian Ocean. This unique formation is reminiscent of a Tyrannosaurus Rex head, hence its nickname ‘T-Rex Bay’ though for me you’d have to refresh yourself on what a T-Rex looks like once you do, you could easily see its mouth and tail wrapping the whole point!
Those who aren’t fond of heights should ready yourselves for this view because getting the desired photo means having to dangle to the edge of the 400m cliff and it is quite a long drop down. There were safety precautions in place like bamboo railings, but I would strongly suggest you don’t go crazy for the Instagram shot of perfection if you can’t handle heights.
It is a 30-minute to an hour downhill hike to get to the Kelingking’s beautiful secluded beach. I thought I could handle the steep hike, but upon seeing the conditions, this is definitely recommended only for the fit and adventurous. I am adventurous, but I had to admit I wasn’t that fit for something extreme like this. Instead, I took it upon myself to make sure that my next visit to Bali would allow me to go down the cliff and enjoy the purity of this island’s wonders.
I’d go back again and stay maybe half a day in Kelingking and wait for the sunset. It rained after were taking photos from the cliff viewing deck and there were a lot of tourists that day but still, the view alone was too beautiful, it left me speechless. I am definitely going back and to make a point, this place is not overrated because it got famous on Instagram, you have to check it for yourself.
