Travel
Outrageous tourist antics have prompted the provincial government to enact new laws for several sacred sites.
ByRonan O’Connell
Published June 23, 2023
• 5 min read
Regular obscene acts by tourists in Bali have prompted the proposal of new rules for visitors, including a ban on climbing its mountains, which are considered sacred and home to Hindu deities. Bali governor Wayan Koster recently sent local officials more than a dozen rules designed to address years of tourist misbehavior on this Indonesian island.
Under his plan, tourists arriving in Bali would receive a document advising them to dress modestly in temples and to avoid touching holy trees, swearing in public, scaling religious buildings, or interrupting Balinese ceremonies. Perhaps the most impactful proposal, however, would be a ban on mountain hiking. This popular tourist activity is promoted by many Balinese companies, which lead tours of majestic peaks and volcanoes.
The governor’s proposal came soon after a German woman walked naked into a Bali temple and a Russian woman posed nude on a sacred banyan tree. In March, meanwhile, a Russian blogger who bared his backside on a volcano became one of reportedly more than a hundred people deported from Bali this year alone.
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Although Bali is one of Asia’s most touristed locations, brimming with resorts, bars, and activities aimed at foreigners, it’s also an island deeply rooted in ancient religious beliefs. Bali is cloaked in sites considered sacred in its Hindu-majority culture.
“In Hinduism the mountains are where the gods live, in particular the Himalayas are associated with specific deities,” says Adrian Vickers, professor of Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Sydney. “So the high mountains and volcanoes of Bali, Java, and Lombok are regarded as versions of those mountains from India. Added to this is the association [in Bali] of high places with ancestors.”
Many tourists don’t understand how deeply they can impact Bali with their actions, says I Nengah Subadra, associate professor of tourism at Bali’s University of Triatma Mulya. Dressing too casually, talking too loudly, or touching someone too intimately at sacred sites disrupts the island’s delicate spiritual balance.
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Such behavior doesn’t just offend locals, it also unsettles Bali’s Hindu gods, he says. To appease these deities, and restore cosmic harmony, Balinese people perform ancient rituals at these disturbed locations, cleansing them of negative energy.
I Nengah Subadra says frustration over tourist misbehavior has been growing in Bali for more than a decade, citing a 2013 incident in which an Estonian couple had sex in a temple. But he says the planned tourist rules will receive a mixed reception from locals. “Some Balinese people who are very pro-cultural preservation, they will be happy,” he says. “But those who work in tourism may be unhappy because it will impact businesses who do hiking tours to mountains.”
Kadek Krishna Adidharma is one such person. Director of Bali Eco Trekking, which has led mountain tours for 24 years, he says Bali’s governor has no right to ban tourists from visiting its peaks. “Whether a mountain or volcano is open to tourism is a matter for local, not provincial, authority,” he says.
“We have not seen any changes on the ground since the arbitrary rule set by the governor. With 2024 being an election year, some also see this as an attempt by the governor to flex and demonstrate his power to do something about inappropriate behavior by some tourists.”
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Although it’s not yet clear when Bali’s proposed tourist rules will be enforced, travelers can show respect when visiting mountains and temples by dressing conservatively and heeding local customs.
Ronan O’Connell is an Australian journalist and photographer who shuttles between Ireland, Thailand, and Western Australia.
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