The volcanic island of Bali is one of the most physically beautiful and culturally rich places in the world. The balmy climate, lush, green rice fields, and lavish productions of the Hindu Balinese cultural calendar never fail to charm visitors.

Beautifully situated on the eastern part of Bali, the ancient village of Candidasa is home to many cultural attractions. Candidasa in Balinese means “Ten Temples”. History tells that the local temples were built by King Sri Aji Jayapangus Arkajalancana in the 12th century.

Candidasa is an ideal base for explorations of eastern Bali, as well as a quieter alternative to the southern tourism centers. From here one has access to Bali’s spectacular unspoiled beauty: a dramatic view of sacred Mt. Agung; lush green rice terraces clinging to steep and sweeping valleys; traditional villages following old-age customs; colorful ritual ceremonies; and crystal clear seas rich in coral and marine life. Candidasa seems timeless as its ancient culture and traditions remain unchanged.

Set in a peaceful lush garden, Lotus Bungalows is located at the entrance of Candidasa and is only 1.5 hours away from the Ngurah Rai International Airport near Denpasar. With a very high international standard of service and comfort, Lotus Bungalows is the perfect place for honeymooners, nature lovers and diving enthusiasts.

20 well-appointed bungalows, comfortably decorated, have a spacious verandah overlooking the ocean and the Lombok Straits. All rooms are equipped with the many features you'd expect to find at a first class resort.

The Lotus Bungalows embrace the mystique of Bali, with its bewildering natural charm, beauty, and culture. The friendliness and hospitality of its people provides you with an exotic and relaxing holiday.

Feel the warmth of the tropical sun at the large swimming pool overlooking the Lombok Straits while enjoying the cool ocean breezes.

This unique pool provides a great venue for fun and relaxation.

The restaurant serves a wide choice of international and local dishes to delight your taste buds, centered around fish dishes, as would be expected from a tropical island resort.

Lotus Seaview - For guests wishing to try more Asian and international cuisine, the Lotus Seaview Restaurant, just 800 metres away, will welcome all Lotus Bungalows guests for their dining pleasure.

Dive courses at Lotus Bungalows are given by professional instructors. The Diving Center is perfectly located in the best position to reach interesting dive sites in Bali.

“Bali’s greatest charm, perhaps, is its wide range and variety of sites. You can dive in Bali on a steel shipwreck, or over sand slopes, off vertical drop-offs, along deep, coral, covered ridges, in roaring currents, in a quiet bay. In short, all diving preferences are accommodated here.”

Amuk Bay, with the villages of Padang Bai in the south and Candi Dasa in the north, is about 6 kms across and located along the south side of Bali's eastern point. Close to Candidasa there are two larger islands, Tepekong and Biaha, as well as an area with small rocks called Mimpang or Batu Tiga. The diving in this area is astonishingly rich with marine life.

A beautiful blue lagoon, Tanjung Sari, is found off a small beach northeast of Padang Bai. You start the dive on a sandy slope then dive on a large wall and on several large coral blocks. It is a very good place to view small animals like nudibranchs and flatworms, but you also always find frog fish as well as ribbon eels and sometimes a cat shark. But the most interesting sight is the redish Rhinopias scorpion fish (Rhinopias eschmeyeri).

Gili Biaha (Likman Island) There is a blowhole which spouts jets of water, so Biaha looks like a large whale! This dive site is not for beginners. The inside area of the crescent (the east side of Biaha) has a cave large enough for several divers to enter (4 to 5 m high). In the cave there are nearly always several white tip reef sharks.

Gili Tepekong (Goat Island) is only about 50m long and not very wide with deep waters on all sides. Off the southwestern tip of Tepekong is a well known dive site, the Canyon. Tepekong Canyon is lined with some large black boulders of basalt nicely covered with soft and hard corals. It is possible to encounter large pelagics like sharks or even sunfish (Mola Mola) and always large schools of fish! Usually the water is cold and there are strong currents, so this site is for experienced divers only and conditions have to be right to dive here. Close by are some large rock pillars. You can also dive on the east of Tepekong. This is a deep dive. Expect wall diving, strong surges and sometimes down currents.

Night Dives are excellent in Tanjung Sari (Blue Lagoon). The dive site offers three different zones for diving - the sandy slope, the wall, and the large coral blocks - each with distinctive marine life. For example, the slope and wall are covered with filter feeders like feather stars, brittle stars, and basket stars; and there are always crabs and shrimps crawling among them. Nudibranchs like Spanish dancers and some scorpion fish are found on the sandy area and the coral blocks seem to attract a lot of marine life as well. Apart from the sleeping angel fish there are also lobsters and cleaning shrimps. The leaf fish are hidden during the day, but you can see other predators - several black giant frog fish clinging to the coral head down and actively luring.

Tulamben is located on the northeast coast of Bali at the foot of Mount Gunung Agung.

The US Liberty wreck: At about 30 meters you reach the black volcanic sand. The wreck lies on a sandy slope parallel to the shore, roughly southeast (stern) to northwest (bow). Part of the superstructure is close to the surface (about 5m) and can also be reached by snorkelers. The wreck is about 120m long, the deepest point is around 30m and it is nicely covered with corals and sponges. This is not a very difficult wreck to dive on. Night dives at the wreck are something special. Nudibranchs and many spider crabs can be seen.

Tulamben Drop Off: about 500 m to the east of the wreck and close to the temple, the underwater wall drops to a depth of 60m (the top is around 3 to 5 m). There are three coral covered lava spurs that reach down to 50 or 60m but usually you dive at the one that lies to the west of the temple. On the first spur at 30m is a huge Muricella gorgonian fan, it must be over 2m in diameter! Just beautiful!

Nusa Penida is located southeast of Bali. It has some of the best dive site in Bali, with a large various of coral and fish. The dive site at Nusa Penida can be with strong currents so it is dive site for experienced divers only and conditions have to be right to dive here. The chances are, that you will see large pelagic fish such as White-tip Shark and Black-tip Shark, Tuna, Barracuda, Giant Trevally or Manta Ray as well as macro critters such as Orangutan Crabs. In the season you might be lucky to see Mola-Mola (Oceanic Sunfish).

...A perfect place for divers and non divers, honeymooners and anybody looking for a peaceful holiday while exploring the richness of Bali's culture, and natural splendor.

• 14 Superior and 6 Standard air-conditioned rooms
• Minibar
• Private verandah facing the sea
• Beach beds, beach towels
• Complimentary coffee and tea service
• Complimentary bottled drinking water
• Free internet in lobby, ticket reconfirmation, IDD calls
• Safety deposit boxes in front office
• Massage service
• Restaurant and bar with Continental, Italian and Indonesian cuisine
• Fully equipped PADI Diving Center, advanced and beginners dive courses

Other sport activities include:

• First diving lesson in the pool
• Snorkeling, trekking on request
• Fishing the traditional way, with the local fishermen arranged on request
• Other Excursions available

Visit also ... under the same Management ... Villa Almarik, Gili Trawangan Lombok and Gangga Island Resort, Manado

View our online photo gallery of gorgeous pictures taken at our properties - Villa Almarik, Lotus Bungalows and Gangga Island

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