Every time we go to Bali, we learn something new about the culture and the way of life on this popular Indonesian island. Therefore, we’ve gathered all the interesting facts about Bali that we’ve learned from our travels so far, and we’ve put them all into words in this blog post.
We’re firm believers that traveling truly is the best education you can get in life. And we’ll always encourage people to go and learn about new cultures and make memories for life. So today we’ll learn a bit about Bali.
We’ve decided to include all the informative, the fun, the interesting, but also the not-so-nice facts about Bali that we could think of. And you’re more than welcome to leave a comment with your own Bali facts if you’d like to add something else.
Now enough rambling! Here are the 22 interesting facts about Bali that we’ve learned from traveling in Indonesia.
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1. Bali has a big population for its size
There are more than 4 million people living on an island that’s not even 6.000 km2.
We compared these numbers to the country we live in, Denmark, which is almost 43.000 km2 with 5,8 million people living there. So when you think about it, there is actually a lot of people living in Bali.
But for some reason, Bali doesn’t seem too crowded – you often see more tourists on the streets in the big cities than locals.
During our travels, we’ve learned that a big part of the population in Bali actually lives in rural areas and are dependent on agriculture. Maybe that’s why you sometimes see more tourists in the cities than actual Balinese people.
2. Bali is dependent on tourism
Millions of international tourists visit Bali every year. So maybe this is why all you see in the big cities are sunburned, sweaty tourists walking about in their flip-flops and tank tops with the classic Bintang logo (The name of the most popular Balinese beer).
It’s said that more than half of Bali’s economy actually relies on these sweaty tourists making their way to the island every year. Sadly, we’ve witnessed how tourism has had a negative impact on the Bali. A lot of tourists are disrespectful to the Balinese culture and this is probably one of the not-so-nice facts about Bali.
3. It’s a Hindu Island in a Muslim Country
We think that one of the most interesting facts about Bali is that it’s mainly a Hindu island while the majority of the population in Indonesia are Muslims.
More than 80% of the Balinese population is Hindu. This means that you can see the Hindu influence everywhere in Bali: In the architecture, in the religious ceremonies, and in the way of eating (it’s easy being a vegetarian in Bali).
4. There is a big difference between North, Central and South Bali
We’ve learned that the Southern part of Bali is way more touristic than the remaining parts of Bali.
Cities such as Kuta, Denpasar and Canggu have many places directed towards tourism such as fancy vegan restaurants that serves avocado toast, Hard Rock Cafés that’s got everything American, and big malls for shopping international brands.
But if you go further North in Bali, towards Sidemen and Amed, you’ll see absolutely nobody there but locals and the occasional tourist. We find these parts way more authentic, and we encourage everyone to visit the more local parts of Bali.
5. There are only four names in Bali
This is one of the most fun facts we’ve learned about Bali.
In Bali, everyone is named the same.
Why spend countless of hours racking your brain to find the best name to your newborn baby, when you can just do like the Balinese people?
There are four names available in Bali: “Wayan”, “Made”, “Nyoman” and “Ketut”. And all babies are simply called these names by the order of their birth. So the first born is named Wayan, second born is Made, third born is Nyoman, and fourth born is named Ketut.
If you then have a fifth child, you’ll just restart the circle again and call him “Wayan Balik”, which means “Wayan again”. And both men and women are named the same, only women have a “Ni” in front of their name such as “Ni Wayan”.
Isn’t this fact incredibly smart and hilarious at once? Definitely one of the more interesting things we’ve learned about Bali.
6. Bali is home to the World’s most expensive coffee
Kopi Luwak (also known as Civet Coffee or Poop Coffee) sells for hundreds of dollars because of its unique and delicious taste. However, the story behind how the coffee is made is rather grim.
The coffee beans are made from the poop of Asian Palm Civets which are little weasel-cat-looking mammals. Yes, you heard it right … Poop is included in the process of making this expensive coffee.
So the coffee berries are fed to the civet, then they undergo a natural fermentation process within the civets body, and thereafter the berries allegedly come out as delicious coffee beans.
However, it’s pretty clear that this is animal abuse – so we wouldn’t suggest you to drink this coffee.
7. You have to drink palm wine from a shared glass
Palm wine is an alcoholic beverage that’s made from fermented sap of palm trees.
We’ve never seen it or tasted it anywhere but in Bali where it’s common to share a bottle of palm wine with your friends. So we were honored when our guesthouse owner offered us palm wine.
However, the rule is that you drink the palm wine from the same glass. You fill up the glass, drink it, and pass the glass on to the next in line until it’s your turn again. It’s not very hygienic, but it’s a way of showing that there is equality among you and your drinking buddies.
It’s honestly not one of my favorite drinks, it tastes like a sweet watery glass of milk. So I’ll probably pass in the future. However, it’s still one of the more interesting facts about Bali that we didn’t know before we had the opportunity to try it.
8. There are 20.000 temples in Bali
There are temples everywhere in Bali. In every little town you pass by, you’ll find a Balinese Hindu temple (also known as a pura). Most of the temples in Bali are really beautiful and they’re easy to go explore as a tourist.
You can actually find a lot of beautiful Hindu temples all over Indonesia because Hinduism was once one of the main religions before Islam became Indonesia’s biggest religion.
Anyways, if you’re looking to experience the religious part of Balinese culture, then you have plenty of choices. It’s said that there is a total of 20.000 different temples in Bali!
Just remember to dress appropriately before you enter any of the temples. That means leave the tank top and shorts at home, and make sure to cover your shoulders and knees before entering.
9. Bali has two active volcanoes
One of the most interesting facts about Bali is that it’s home to two of Indonesia’s active stratovolcanoes: Mount Batur (1717 m) and Mount Agung (3031 m). The latter is also the highest peak on all of Bali.
You can actually climb both volcanoes and watch the sunrise from up here. Doesn’t that sound amazing?
Back in 2016, I climbed to the top of Mount Batur and experienced one of the most beautiful sunrises of my life. It’s still one of my favorite solo travel memories and someday I hope to also climb Mount Agung for sunrise.
That being said, people only recommend you to hike Mount Agung if you have a very good fitness level and experience in hiking. It should be a pretty tough hike! So stick with Mount Batur if you’re new to hiking.
10. Bali has two calendars – one is only 210 days
Bali has two different calendars with two different amounts of days in it. This is honestly super confusing to us, but we’ll try to do our best to explain what’s up with the Balinese calendars.
So, the first is the Saka calendar which is based on the moon cycles and it has 12 months with each 29-30 days in it. It’s actually quite similar to the Gregorian calendar, which most of the people use around the world (us included).
However, the second calendar in Bali, the Pawukon calendar, is completely different. Here one year consists of 6 months with 35 days in each, making a total year count as only 210 days. This means that Balinese people celebrate their birthday every 6 months. That’s pretty great! Am I right?
11. The Balinese New Year is celebrated in silence
When we celebrate New Year’s Eve it’s often with friends and fireworks, too much champagne, and a raging headache the following day. However, the Balinese New Year is quite the opposite.
The Balinese New Year is also called Nyepi, and it’s a ceremony which takes place to mark the end of a year in the Saka calendar. Nyepi means “Keep silent” and on this particular day, the whole island closes down. During Nyepi, most of Bali is silent, fasting and meditating – it’s a day of self-reflection and cleansing.
We actually love this idea! We think everyone in the world could use a full day of self-reflection every year. No talk, no work, no stress – just focus on how you can become a better self.
12. Traffic jams are inevitable
If you’ve ever been to Bali, then you know what I’m talking about… There are too many cars and motorbikes on the small roads of Bali, and on top of that, every other day a religious ceremony clutters up the road for a few hours.
But it’s completely normal, so just accept that going anywhere in Bali takes much longer than it should. If Google Maps says 1 hour, then expect it to take 2-3 hours.
Twice, we’ve been stuck in a car behind a religious ceremony that took up the whole road – one of them was a funeral of someone important to the community.
Now imagine how many people die every day, plus the weekly religious ceremonies… The roads are just always blocked. The good part about this is that you get to experience some Balinese culture while you wait in the car. The Balinese ceremonies are actually pretty interesting.
13. Uber and GOJEK is not allowed by the taxi mafia in Bali
So… crazy story, but Bali has a taxi mafia.
We’ve heard stories of Uber and GOJEK drivers who had their tires slashed because they were working in the wrong neighborhood. In Kuta, Canggu and Ubud they even have signs that says you’re not allowed to use any of these apps.
Instead, you have to wave down a taxi, haggle for about 20 minutes and eventually settle on an overpriced ride with the Blue Bird taxis. It’s not like we’re big fans of Uber, but we really don’t like the whole taxi scheme in Bali. If we can avoid taking a taxi, we will.
Taking a taxi in Bali is just such a rip-off! So prepare yourself and your wallet for this.
14. Balinese people give the best massages
During our travels we’ve always loved a good massage now and then. We’ve had massages in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka – yet we’ve found that the Balinese people gives the most comfortable and smooth massages ever.
So make sure to spend an hour or two on the massage table if you ever find yourself on Bali. It’s so worth it!
15. Working in the rice fields of Bali is hard work
If you have Instagram, then you’ve probably seen a lot of influencers taking pictures in the incredibly beautiful rice fields of Bali. But even though Bali has a big tourist industry today, the island is actually still dependent on agriculture and rice farming.
The rice fields provide a lot of work for the Balinese people. In fact, Indonesia is one of the biggest rice producers in the world. When we stayed in Sidemen, we learned about the life of a rice farmer – and man, it is hard work.
We 100% encourage everyone to get out of the cities and go visit the “real” rice fields which aren’t tourist attractions but instead important work places in Bali.
16. Traditional Balinese weaving is a lost art
During our last trip to Bali, we also visited a traditional weaver who had learned the art of weaving from her mother. We never knew how much work that actually goes into weaving, it’s just incredible.
Apparently it takes 8 hours of work for 30 days in a row to weave enough meters to make one sarong. The woman we visited was weaving a sarong with 2.200 threads… It looked so complicated!
One handmade sarong sells for at least 2.200.000 IDR. Knowing how much work that goes into this beautiful piece of clothing, we would definitely pay that amount of money.
17. The classic local food is sold in a buffet style
A local restaurant in Bali is called a “Warung”. So, when you see that sign, the food will most likely be cheap, local, delicious, and often vegetarian.
The Warungs are serving buffet-style, so you have several options to decide what you want to eat. “Nasi” means rice and “Mie” means noodles. So just choose either Nasi or Mie, and then point to a few different dishes in the buffet (at least that’s how we do it), and then they’ll make you a nice plate of mixed goodies.
It can be hard to find a Warung in the big tourist spots. But you can often spot them walking down the side streets. If you want to try to eat something authentic Balinese, then you should definitely go look for a Warung.
If you want to learn more about the Balinese kitchen, then join a Balinese cooking class during your next trip.
18. Bali is part of the Coral Triangle
The Coral Triangle is a marine area that’s rich with beautiful corals and a ton of fish species. The Coral Triangle consists of Malaysia, Indonesia (Bali), The Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, and the Solomon Islands.
So, if you’re a keen diver or if you just love a good snorkeling trip, then you should definitely check out the ocean around Bali.
Twice, we’ve spotted big sea turtles just off the coast of the Gili islands which are a 2 hour boat ride away from Bali. We literally just walked straight from the beach into the ocean and saw several sea turtles! It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip to Indonesia.
If you want to go and experience some of the incredible wildlife in the sea around Bali, then check out this snorkeling tour to Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida.
I hate to be a buzzkill but PLEASE remember DO NOT touch the wildlife in the ocean. We’ve seen quite a few tourists who’s been touching sea turtles and other things in the ocean just for the fun of it.
19. Bali has black sand beaches
Have you ever been to a black sand beach before? No? Well if you’re heading to Bali, here’s your chance!
The black sand beaches are there because of the volcanoes in Bali. Apparently volcanic minerals and rocks are dark-colored and they leave some of Bali’s beaches completely covered in black sand.
You can experience the black sand beaches several places around Bali such as in Keramas, Amed and Lovina.
It’s not that common to find black sand beaches around the world, so this is definitely one of the cooler facts about Bali and Indonesia!
20. Bintang is the most popular beer in Bali
Just like Thailand has Chang, Vietnam has Bia Hanoi and Japan has Asahi, Bali also has a popular beer.
The most popular beer in Bali is called Bintang, and you can buy it everywhere for about 20.000 IDR. There’s even a saying among backpackers in Bali called “It’s Bintang Time!”, which basically means it’s time to get wasted in Bintang.
Bintang is part of the Heineken group. So even though it’s an Indonesian beer, it’s not like it has a very interesting taste – it’s quite like regular Heineken, and it even has the same red star on the logo.
21. Bali may be David Bowie’s final resting place
We all know the man behind “Life on Mars” and “Let’s Dance” – David Bowie – What an absolute legend!
Bowie was always fascinated with Bali, and so he requested in his will to be cremated here, or at least to have his ashes scattered on the island.
When the musical genius passed away in 2016, he wasn’t cremated in Bali – but who knows, maybe his family went to spread his ashes in Bali? Either way, make sure to honor the legend and put on your favorite Bowie song next time you’re in Bali.
22. Our favorite fact about Bali
One of the best facts about Bali is that the people living here are so nice!
To be honest, we were never really a big fan of the cities in Bali. But as soon as we get into the more rural areas, we feel so welcome, and we easily become part of a Balinese family.
We had palm wine and food with our guesthouse owner once, and he didn’t want us to pay a thing for it. He even invited us over for karaoke night with his closest friends and family.
Anyways, our point is that if you leave the cities of Bali and venture into the more rural areas, it’ll be hard to leave again because the Balinese people are just so welcoming. And THAT is the best and most important fact about Bali.
We hope you enjoyed this blog post about all the interesting and fun facts we’ve learned about Bali in Indonesia.
If you want to add a few extra facts, then don’t hesitate to leave a comment below – we’re always eager to learn more about all the amazing places in this world.
If you’re still not convinced about why you should visit Bali, then go read our blog post: Is Bali still worth visiting? Here we share our honest opinion about Bali.
Thanks for reading and happy travels!
