There are many beaches in and around Uluwatu. Only a few are mentioned here.
Pandawa Beach
Paying for the entrance to the beach is pretty normal nowadays and also here you pay for the parking as they say, only IDR 5.000.
There are two parts, the part that is quiet and where there are a few warungs and the more busy part where there is a kind of local market with even more warungs, the beach does not invite you to go there to stay for a day that’s why, with the exception of the three buses with students from Surabaya, it was not that busy on that day, it seems that this is more of a beach for the local people given the large number of people walking around.
The entrance gate is impressive and the road to it promises a lot, there are beautiful statues in the carved rock walls and there is also a large statue at the crossroads.
We first turn left and drive on a bumpy road through a kind of quarry and end up at the beach, it is deserted and it is quite a difference from the other beaches in that area which are really not that far away from this beach, there is a lot more rubbish here and the sand is very different.
Despite the fact that the entrance is impressive, the beach is a bit disappointing and maybe that is also a reason why you don’t see many tourists here. Then to the other side of the beach and that actually looks the same, a large parking lot, several souvenir shops and warungs.
Pantai Gunung Payung
This beach is a bit more difficult to reach due to the difference in height, also here you have to pay for the entrance, from the parking lot you walk into a kind of tunnel, if you walk through it you enter a kind of open-air theatre with the sea as a background.
It turned out later that performances also take place here regularly, when you walk on there is a whole system of tunnels, eventually we arrive at the stairs that go to the beach.
After all the stairs going down there is a warung and that was nice, the beach is quiet with only a few people sunbathing on a towel, crystal clear water and soft sand, at the end of the beach there are a few rocks on the beach and ends with a high cliff and looks a bit like the coast of Nusa Penida. A few local people rent out a canoe and walking through the shallow water looking for crabs and fish.
The warung was a great place to have lunch and so we did, and it was very nice, the view was beautiful and the tranquillity is not bad either. Not a popular beach but just as beautiful, the peace and quiet the sound of the waves makes it a nice place for a visit.
Update November 2024 – There have been some changes here since August 2022, you now come across the entrance earlier but the prices have remained the same, now you can find a smaal number of warungs there and apparently it is also a good place to surf because there were several people with boards and wetsuits at the warung.
There is also a shuttle available, costs IDR 25,000, and it takes you down to the warung just above the beach, but then you miss the special system of corridors through the rocks and the open-air theater as described earlier, the stairs are the same and it was quiet at the warung (perhaps because it was still early). Compared to the first visit, the beach was now smaller, but this could also have to do with the tide and the different time of year, there are now parasols and sun loungers, not too many but that will change here too.
Next to the entrance area there is a large empty plain but they are working on some sort of mega resort there, so things will change quickly here as well. The view over the ocean has not changed and still beautiful, decent waves with a nice breeze this is a great spot but you have to put in some effort for it.
Pantai Padang Padang
Padang Padang beach is located on the west side of Uluwatu and is actually a small beach because it is located in a cove of rock walls. When you come by car you should park the car on the parking area, the entrance fee to the beach is IDR 20,000. It is a short walk across the road to the counter where you buy the ticket, then a few stairs down before you reach a narrow corridor with a staircase down, it is all very narrow so watch where you walk, but when you get down it looks nice again.
Watch out for the monkeys because they are there too, although you won’t be bothered by them much.
There are a few warungs where they sell food and drinks, there is a surfboard rental and the waves look good and definitely fun to try. There are no beach clubs here that spoil things, no long lines of sun loungers and here it is lying on a towel so it is a nice quiet beach where people really come to lie on the beach and to surf, this is a nice beach and not super busy (now this was in November so maybe different in peak season).
That the weather can change quickly in the rainseason is known because a 1 hour later dark clouds showed up, and within no time there was a big rainshower.
When you have to go back up you need to take other stairs and they are pretty steep, so best not to bring too many stuff.
Rundung #Megae 