Explore Kuta

Kuta Beach is a sandy beach several kilometres long on the west coast of Bali's southern isthmus, facing the Indian Ocean in front of the town of Kuta. A fishing village until the mid-20th century, it drew surfers and backpackers from the 1970s. Its gentle breaks are used for surf lessons, and the shore faces west towards the sunset.

The Bali Bombings Memorial stands on Jalan Legian in Kuta, on the site of Paddy's Pub, one of the targets of the bombings of 12 October 2002 that killed 202 people. Dedicated on the second anniversary in 2004, the carved stone monument holds a marble plaque listing the names and nationalities of the victims.

Jimbaran Beach lines the curve of Jimbaran Bay at the fishing village of Jimbaran, south of the airport at the neck of the Bukit peninsula, about 6 km south of Kuta. Outrigger fishing boats are drawn up on the sand, and in the evening seafood stalls along the shore grill the catch over coconut husks for diners at tables on the beach.

Pura Dalem Sakenan is a Balinese Hindu temple on the north-western shore of Serangan, a small island south of Denpasar and about 6 km east of Kuta, now joined to Bali by a bridge. Founded according to tradition by the priest Mpu Kuturan in the early 11th century, it keeps old walls of coral and limestone and draws a large festival every 210 days.

Pura Jagatnatha is a Hindu temple in Denpasar, Bali's capital, beside the Bali Museum on the Puputan square. Built in 1953, it is dedicated to Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, the supreme god of Balinese Hinduism. At its centre a tall stone padmasana, an open throne shrine, rises from a base surrounded by a moat, inside walls with carved split gateways.

Sanur Beach is a stretch of coast on the east side of Denpasar, Bali's capital, facing east across the Badung Strait towards Nusa Penida and the sunrise. A reef offshore keeps the water calm, and a paved path runs along the shore past traditional outrigger boats. Dutch troops landed here in 1906, and Japanese forces in the Second World War.

Water Blow is a rocky point on the coast of the Nusa Dua resort area, south-east of Kuta, where Indian Ocean swells strike jagged limestone. A narrow cleft below the cliff edge channels the surges, which burst upward in sprays several metres high, and far higher in strong swell; a path leads out to viewing points above the rocks.