North Bali Beach: Hidden Gem in Les Village

YOEXPLORE, FAMILY TRIP – Bali is well known for its beaches. Surrounded by beaches, there are so many beaches you can enjoy while staying in Bali. Some beaches are well known such as Balangan, Nyangnyang, Suluban, and Pandawa Beach. Some others have just been discovered and become new attractions for visitors such as Virgin Beach in Karangasem. Besides the beaches that were already mentioned before, North Bali Beach is not really explored yet. Only the beauty of Lovina Beach is well known by the people. Now I would like to introduce you to the hidden gem of North Bali: Les Beach.

North Bali Beach: The beach in Les Village

Village Les is located in Buleleng Regency, the North part of Bali. We will drive for about 4 hours from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport to reach this village. Les village is a coastal village that has not developed as Kuta or Legian. This village is relatively quiet and does not have as many amenities as those in the south region of Bali.

Unlike the other beaches in other parts of Bali, this North Bali beach does not have white sand. Instead, there are black stones on the shore of the beach. Although it has no sand, this beach is very attractive because of the clean and clear water, and relatively calm waves.

On this North Bali Beach, you can also find many traditional boats called “Jukung”. During the day, you will see the Jukung parked on the seashore as the fishermen will use them to catch the fish during the night. Almost every day, you can see the salt farmers work in their fields to create premium-grade salt. The salt from Les village has been exported to many countries in Asia, Europe, and America.

Read also: Family trips 2019: Supporting Sustainable Tourism for a Better Planet Earth 

What to Do in Les Beach

This North Bali beach in Les village offers many things to explore. You can enjoy the beauty of the Bali Sea, explore underwater life by snorkeling, or enjoy the sunset from the open sea. Other experiences that you can do is interacting with the local salt farmer by observing the salt-making activity or becoming a volunteer for their coral reef reservation projects. In recent years, people in Les Village start the coral reef restoration project initiated by some people who then create “Sea Community Segara Lestari”. This community focus on the coral reef restoration project gives education to local people about the importance of the coral reefs for the ecosystem and the community and also teaches a foreign language to the villagers.

Snorkeling in Les Beach

You can observe the beauty of the underwater life of Les Beach by snorkeling. As the community started to conserve the coral reef several years ago, the result is quite beautiful. In some spots, you can see the reefs that grow and become home to several kinds of fishes and starfishes.

The clear water of the beach will also give a clear view to see the underwater life of Les Beach. The water is clean with minimal pollution, so you can see the underwater sea creatures without being disturbed by the debris in the sea.

The unique experience in the North Bali Sea: Watching the Sunset Behind the Hills

When you hear about sunset, you might think about the sun that disappears behind the sea. It will happen in the southern or western part of Bali. When you are in the North Bali sea, especially on Les beach, you will need to go to the open sea to see the sunset! Yes, it is a very unique experience that I do not believe at first. I doubted the experience, will it be worth the effort to see the sunset from the sea? After experiencing the activity, I fell in love with the beauty of the sunset behind the hill!

To enjoy this beauty, you will need to rent a traditional boat from the local people. You can rent many boats on the seashore and the owner will be happy to take you to the open sea to see the sunset. One jukung or boat can take up to 3 people plus one driver. Please be ready at the shore at about 5 pm so that you will have enough time to see the sunset. The boat driver will take you to the open sea about 1 kilometer from the beach. You can see the beautiful red sun set behind the hills. The beauty that you will never see in any other place in Bali.

Observing the Salt-Making Process

The people in Les also make salt their job. The salt-making in this place uses a semi-modern method. We can see the difference from the traditional process by looking at the equipment used for the process. They already use a pump to get the water from the sea, compared to the traditional method where they need to take the water from the sea using a traditional bucket. The place to dry the filtered water use a special black material that they obtained from the government. The traditional method will use a place made of a coconut tree trunk split into two. The farmers there still use both the place to get their salt ready.

The salt-making on this North Bali beach starts early in the morning. You will see the farmer preparing their field to get their salt ready. To make salt, the process is very long and takes a lot of effort to make the best quality salt. The salt produced in this place has a sweet aftertaste, compared to the salt produced in other places in Bali.

Visiting Yeh Mampeh Waterfall

Not far away from the beach, there is a beautiful waterfall known as Yeh Mampeh Waterfall. To reach the waterfall, you will have to walk for about 30 minutes from the parking lot. The way to this waterfall is quite good and you will need to go through a creek. There are many trees on the way and you will not feel exhausted because of the cool air around the waterfall.

The long journey to this waterfall will be paid off by the greatness of the waterfall. This waterfall is considered one of the highest waterfalls in Bali. people in Les believe that this waterfall is given by the Goddes of Batur Lake. Until now, the people in Les will pay respect to the goddess by bringing offerings to Ulun Danu Batur.

So, how about visiting this gem of the North Bali sea? Check this video below to see the beauty of Les Beach and the experience you can enjoy. Let me know what you think about this beach in the comment section.