Bali is popularly known as the “Island of the Gods” for good reason. Abundant in flowers, intricate temples, prayer, and a rich and reverent culture that celebrates the essence of love, Bali is one of the most romantic places on Earth. Our top ideas as to why Bali is so romantic revolve around the beauty of flowers, the sensuality of spa treatments, the healing powers of water, the inspiration in arts and culture, the volcanic power of elemental energies, the array of intimate dining opportunities, and the exhilaration of adventure! Experienced deeply and in an original way, the Island of the Gods is full of opulent, secluded, extravagant and dreamlike experiences that take the idea of romance to a new level of fairytale-like reverie.
Also read:
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In Bali, all is colored by flower petals. Strolling hand in hand through the town of Ubud, past restaurants and yoga salas, you are bound to find intricate mandala art pieces of petals adorning the sidewalks.
There are flowers around water fountains, perched on Hanuman’s shoulder or decorating a stone elephant’s trunk, and flowers line the pathways to all types of unique places you might stumble upon.
Flowers will be found in your room on the pillows and beside the soap. At the spa, you are sure to indulge in a warm bath full of rose petals. Every morning, Balinese women make offerings of flowers, grains of rice, and perhaps sweets, all intentionally arranged to create balance and placed in a woven pandana leaves. The Balinese are innately artistic in all they do, adorning life with fragrant plumerias, vibrantly pink and purple gardenias, and deep yellow marigolds.
It is deeply romantic to care for oneself, for it allows you to share time with your loved one with a sense of fullness and well being within. Bali is abundant in various healing modalities and luxuriant spa treatments. You might try a mineral rich sea water detox or a traditional boreh body wrap of healing herbs and spices that create a soothing and penetrating heat to dissolve tension. Some treatments are designed for couples to experience together and might combine flower petals, sea salt, lava, aromatherapy, jade, diamond dust, and even champagne, all surrounded by stunning and dramatic nature to create mind, body, soul, and deep spiritual healing. Bali spa treatments are truly an oasis of opulence and a beautiful way to honor your union through the honoring of yourself.
On the shores of the Indian Ocean, the healing powers of water is at your fingertips by virtue of the surrounding sea, but also beyond.
Lake Batur, at the base of the volcano, is considered to contain holy water, and is surrounded by towering walls of the crater rim that whisper of the magnitude of ancient eruptions. Contemplate it all as you soak in the warm, mineral rich waters of the hot springs that line the lake’s shores.
Bali is also full of places where you can infuse your body with the vibration of fast flowing waters, such as Sekumpul waterfall, home to seven distinct flows all cascading down lush jungle of delicates vines.
You might also choose to experience water in a ceremonial way through a visit to the High Priestess of Bali. During a Melukat or water blessing, she will invite you to connect to Mother Earth and consciously release all that no longer serves you as she chants and pours Holy water over your body repeatedly. The water is infused with power and ancient memory, leaving you feeling cleansed and renewed.
Another special way to prepare for the intimacy of a shared life together, is to spiritually purify yourselves at Tampak Siring, a Balinese Holy Spring Water Temple. In Hindu culture, Holy water cleanses one of evil spirits, allows for prosperity, and purifies the body and soul.
The artistic tendency of the Balinese culture is naturally appreciative of beauty. Special places on the Earth are imbued with profound energy, and the ancients knew how to identify these areas and commonly built temples and places of prayer around them. One such place is Goa Gajah, a 12th century temple carved into a majestic cliff. The temple sits along a meandering stream lined with tropical vegetation, heralding a Jurassic Park type era, and surrounded by lush rice terraces. These special chambers etched out of rock were foundational to priests for fasting, praying, chanting mudras, and performing purification rituals.
Uluwatu Temple, one of six key sites thought to be Bali’s spiritual pillars, is perched on a steep cliff 70m above sea level. Of megalithic origin, the temple has been dated to the 10th century and provides a moving backdrop against which to watch the exotic Kecak fire dance.
Balinese artistry might even inspire you to develop your own artistic inclinations. A beautiful and personal way to show your devotion to your partner is take a jewelry class and make an individually designed and crafted piece for one another as a symbol of your love!
Balance your visit to the waters with fire. A volcanic island, Bali is imbued with the forces of creation and the perfect place to immerse in raw and elemental life.
Early morning hikes on Mount Batur allow you to witness the transition from a star filled night to dawn’s break at the peak, where the curtain of night lifts to reveal breathtaking views over the caldera’s lake and Mount Rinjani in the distance. There are also more gentle and less adventurous ways to explore nature in Bali, such as the allure and romanticism of evening rice paddy walks accompanied by dragonflies and butterflies.
Bali offers especially romantic dining seeped in culinary decadence and immersed in the elements of nature, the breath of the ocean, the blanket of stars, and the shelter of caves. Tender times are made of candlelit dinners and intimate moments of eye gazing, sharing silence, and opening to sentiments rarely spoken in the daily routine of life. Settings such as those lined with fire lit torches, or a floating dining setting atop an infinity pool with a picturesque view over the Ayung River Valley invite seduction. In a private niche, surrounded flickering candles and perfumed flower blossoms, with the river flowing beneath and the stars shimmering above, you might feel like the only people on Earth!
Adventure breeds laughter, curiosity, and deep bonding experiences full of joyful memories! Bali is a place of endless adventure, from white water rafting, paragliding, scuba diving, canyoning, or horse riding in mountain villages shrouded in mist and evoking an air of mystique.
An equally and delightfully unpredictable way to explore the hidden side of Bali is simply to rent a scooter and go for it! The Balinese are honest and welcoming and you are sure to meet wonderful people, see exquisite landscapes, and even happen upon a ceremony in the street. If you’d like more organization, you could have it all planned for you and join a Volkswagon safari or multi day combi trip as a uniquely romantic way to explore.
As an island rich in spiritual heritage, the laws of karma, and continual attention to balance, Bali is a place of holy reverence, honoring, and love. As a volcanic island home to a longstanding cultural tradition of meditation and prayer, Bali is an intense and powerful place full of ancient temples, charismatic villages, verdantly green rice paddies, beautiful beaches, and colourful offerings. Intricately carved gateways of stone and with the smell of incense wafting through the air everywhere make it easy to be instantaneously seduced.
Few life events deepen intimacy between two people with the same kind of potential that travel holds. To share the anticipation of exploration and exoticism in foreign lands, and also maintain one’s poise and patience amidst the challenges of the unknown, is a deeply bonding experience. Of course, ultimately any bond of intimacy is about the shared space between you, the way you regard one another, and hold each others hearts in reverence, but an ambience of romance certainly does not hurt, and there is no better place to create an atmosphere in which your love can unfold more deeply than the innately romantic island of Bali.
If your are eager to explore more, check out other experiences I have written about in Bali:
5 Luxuriant Spa Experiences in Bali
5 Spiritual Experiences only to be had in Bali
What to do in Ubud in one day
25 things to do in Bali you would have never imagined possible
By Joia Holman
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