Amed – a hidden gem undiscovered by many tourists in, and outside of, Bali

Your destination for the best swimming in Bali

“Four hours for four photos” – a disappointed traveler remarked on a bus descending from Lempuyang Temple, the temples proper name is Pura Penataran Agung Lempuyang. My response was: “Have you heard of Amed?”

Amed is at the easternmost point of Bali. It’s next to the sea and at the foot of an active volcano. The volcano Mount Agung pictured above, had her last eruption 2019, it happened when I was on my way to Bali but I thought it might be a bad idea to travel to a place where a volcanic eruption was happening. Since 2019 she’s been sleeping but is ever so present since you can see her from most places in the east. Amed competes with Övertorneå in the north of Sweden, my birthplace, for the title of the most beautiful place I’ve visited.

The journey to Amed, especially from Kuta, Ubud, and Canggu, traverses mountains, picturesque villages, and winding roads with breathtaking views of rice terraces. As you approach the quaint village, the road descends, unveiling the sea and the majestic Gunung Agung – which is also Bali’s highest mountain besides being an volcano.

Amed’s serene charm and proximity to popular tourist spots, especially spots for snorkeling and diving, makes it an ideal choice for a holiday. The east has lesser traffic compared to places like Canggu and Ubud which ensures quicker and easier access to other destinations besides being a wonderful destination itself.

One place I visited while in Amed was Lempuyang Temple, the temple is known as “Gate of Heaven”. Right now the temple is a very popular and busy destination. The temple sits high on the mountain where you have majestic panoramic views of the surroundings. You can have your photo taken at the gateway with Gunung Agung as a backdrop. If you opt for having your photo taken, be prepared to wait. You might get disappointed. That’s the place where I got the comment from the guy in the bus going down the mountain. He and his girlfriend had travelled for four hours from Ubud, apparently with the purpose of having their photo taken. Which might be the cause of his disappointment. Since I only had been in a car for 30 minutes from Amed, and didn’t want to have my photo taken, I only wanted to visit the temple, I enjoyed my visit to the Gate of Heaven. A tip for your visit, take the bus up to the temple. The temple is situated quite far from the parking, and the bus ride is not expensive in any way. While going down the winding road from the temple to the parking, we met some tourists walking up the hill. I wanted to shout to them, “Go back to the parking and take the bus!” since I knew how far they had to climb. When you get down from the mountain to the parking lot there are small shops selling snacks, furthermore there’s food and drinks at the many restaurants at the foot of the mountain. You have to remember to re-hydrate. It’s warm and humid in Bali and you lose a lot of fluids. I usually buy oral rehydration salts, or electrolytes as they are also called, at the pharmacies and mix with drinking water to rehydrate. There’s also a drink called Pocari Sports, it used to be called Pocari Sweat, available at many supermarkets but it’s cheaper to buy a small sachet of the electrolytes. Environmentally friendlier too since you can use the water you’ve bought in large re-usable bottles to mix it with.

When I travel in Bali, I stay at different locations and explore the local attractions in that area. That way I spend less time on the road. There are so many people complaining about the traffic in Bali. And it’s true, it’s horrible in some places. So, in order to avoid spending half my day in traffic, I stay at one place that’s close to what I want to explore. And then move on to the next destination.

I’ve arrived in Amed in by three different modes of transportation; coming by car from Lovina driving along the northeastern coast, I’ve traveled across the mountains from Canggu and, by sea from Lombok which is very close across the sea to the east. Amed, contrary to perceptions, is in the middle of everything. Mount Agung, is suitably called the Axis of the Universe. The name also adds a mystical touch to the experience.

Another famous, and beautiful, place to visit while in Amed is Tirta Gangga, The Water Palace. As the name suggests, it’s related to the Ganges river and the hindu concept of holy water. The proximity to Mount Agung nearly destroyed the temple during Agungs eruption in 1963. As many of Balis historical sites, this is a popular tourist destination but none the less I enjoyed my visit there. The temple grounds are amazing.

What sets Amed apart is the freedom to swim in the sea whenever you desire. Snorkeling at Lipah Beach or exploring the wonders of Jemeluk Bay provides a unique marine experience. While I refreshed my diving skills in Jemeluk, I found snorkeling preferable due to its simplicity – you just take your snorkeling gear and head into the sea. Amed boasts numerous diving and free diving schools. There are many places to rent snorkeling gear and boats offering snorkeling tours. These business emphasize Amed’s focus on the sea and its inhabitants.

The beach in central Amed has beautiful black sand, it’s perfect during sunset since the scenery becomes even more dramatic with the volcano as a backdrop. While you can snorkel in central Amed and experience a dramatic drop covered with corals, I prefer snorkeling from Lipah Beach since I’ve stayed there many times and it’s a bit more quiet.

Although other beaches in Bali offer swimming opportunities, many cater to surfers. You have to be a good swimmer, and pay a lot of attention to what you do and how the sea behaves, when you are swimming at surf beaches. At surf beaches, if you’re past a certain point, you can’t get back to the beach. One time in Echo Beach I saw some drunk tourists in the sea, just a couple meters from the shore, calling for help. The waves were too strong, moving away the sand underneath their feet, so they couldn’t get back in to the shore. At that time the life guards on the beach were the guys working at the beach warungs, restaurants. So a couple of them grabbed their surf boards and jumped into the sea and helped the tourists back to land. An hour later the drunk tourists were back in the sea again. So, they didn’t learn anything. But I did. Or, I actually knew that already because you can feel if the sand underneath your feet is being pulled away. If the sand moves, it’s not a good idea to go swimming. When staying in the south I always choose a hotel with a pool since I have a need to go swimming every day. Most hotels, and most small guest houses, have pools so it’s not really a problem in Bali.

Another thing about the hotels in Bali, many of them might not look like much from the street but once past the gates they open up to big gardens filled frangipani and hibiscus trees, swimming pools and small temples temples.

One morning at Lipah Beach last September I went looking for my favorite fishing boat. It’s my favorite because it has the best name. “Pejuang Rupiah” which mean bringing in the rupiahs. Sadly I got the news that it was broken. I just started chatting with one fisherman on the beach and showed him the photo I took of the boat last year. Within a couple of minutes the son of the boats owner came up to me on the beach. He told me that the boat was broken but that his father had been able to borrow another boat so he could go fishing. That was just a very nice experience, I talked to someone, who knew someone, and all of a sudden the son of the boats owner showed up. On the beaches in Lipah there are many fishermen who can take you out into the sea with their boats for watching the sunset or snorkeling.

What I love about Amed, and Lipah – besides the sea, snorkeling and swimming – is that its beaches haven’t been taken over by tourists. Amed’s beaches retain their authenticity, with more locals than tourists. But you might have to hurry to be able to experience it because Amed is rumored to be the “New Canggu”.

The island of Bali has swiftly reverted to its vibrant pre-pandemic state. “There’s people everywhere” was my first reaction at my hotel in Jimbaran. Last year I was basically the only foreign tourist in Nusa Dua which was the place I arrived at after my two nights of quarantine in Uluwatu. The woman who greeted me at the reception said she was nervous about speaking English because it had been so long since she had spoken it. I arrived on the island when the borders just opened and there was only one airplane landing each day. The skies were empty. It’s very different now, the pandemic changed the world for a couple of years but now the tourists are back in Bali. Us humans forget fast and Bali is definitely as busy as it was before the pandemic. I actually enjoyed being one of very few tourists on the island during the first part of 2022. I got to have museums and beaches to myself, in a place like Bali that’s very rare.

Last year I got to wander around at Museum Pasifika in Nusa Dua, enjoying the art of Henri Matisse all by myself. It was extremely special, and a once in a lifetime experience. I knew it then, and the memory of it is even more special now. If you get the chance, you should definitely visit the museum as it’s filled with artwork by artists, many of them Westerners, who spent time in Bali. I was showed a book with artworks by the Swedish artist Tyra Kleen who spent was there during the 1920s. Tyra Kleen was unknown to me. Later when I got back to Sweden I bought a book about her and discovered she was a very special woman who was way ahead of her times. Funnily we’ve visited the same countries in Asia, although she was there almost 100 years before me.

Most of this post was written in a car starting on the narrow and winding roads of Amed, passing through the mountains and continuing on the highway that passes Keramas on the way to Denpasar and Canggu. In Keramas I noted that the old airplane restaurant that’s between the road and the beach, has been replaced by a new airplane restaurant sponsored by Singaraja . I like to take the opportunity while traveling, or being stuck in traffic, to do some writing, edit photos, or other things that needs to be done. The mobile network is good in Bali and you can do things like that, I even did a job interview in a car.

Thank you boo for reading this post! The phrase is one of my favorite phrases in Bali, I get that a lot at restaurants and shops, and I love it. “Thank you boo!” makes me feel welcome in Bali.