Java Fantastic Trip

Bali, the famed Island of the Gods, is the most visited part of Indonesia. Its diverse landscape of mountainous terrain, rugged coastlines, sandy beaches, lush rice terraces and barren volcanic hillsides provide a picturesque backdrop to its unique colourful and spiritual culture. Home to world-class surfing and diving sites, and a large number of cultural, historical, and archaeological attractions, Bali is one of the world's most popular island destinations which consistently wins travel awards. While most of Indonesia is Muslim, Bali is unique in that most of its local people are Hindu. Hinduism was the dominant religion in the country before the arrival of Islam and is one of the six official religions of Indonesia today. Nevertheless, Hinduism in Bali is not quite the same as Hinduism in India and other parts of the world, shown in the differences of the architecture of Bali's temples. Hinduism came to Indonesia in the 1st-century through Indian traders, sailors, scholars and priests. A syncretic fusion of pre-existing Javanese folk religion, culture and Hindu ideas, that from the 6th-century also synthesized Buddhist ideas as well, evolved as the Indonesian version of Hinduism. Bali is part of the Coral Triangle, the area with the highest biodiversity of marine species, especially fish and turtles. In this area alone, over 500 reef-building coral species can be found which is about seven times as large as in the entire Caribbean. Surrounded by reefs, wrecks, and coral gardens, Bali is a pure heaven for underwater explorers with snorkeling and diving activities. The best snorkeling beaches are on the East, Northeast and West side of the island such as Padang Bai, Tulamben, Amend... In these areas, the sea is calm and there are vibrant coral reefs close to the shore in shallow water offering perfect conditions to explore the underwater world.