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Indonesia
Bali Volcanoes Tourist Attractions
Bali
island's ecology and geography are greatly influenced by the towering range of
volcanoes that dominate the island. These majestic volcanoes created Bali's
stunning mountainous landscape and they occasionally regenerate its soils and
help produce heavy rains that provide the resort island with precious fresh
water.
The Balinese considered the island's many volcanoes, lakes and spring as
sacred and treat them with respect and awe.
If you are a tourist traveling to Bali for your holiday vacation, you will be
awestruck with the sheer majesty of the volcanoes. These natural landscapes
are major tourist attractions and many tourist go sightseeing the volcanoes
with helicopter tours.
The island is still continually being formed by volcanic activities.
Bali island is located over a major fault zone where the Indo-Australian
plate collides with the Sunda plate. In 1963, a violent eruption on Mount
Agung killed thousands of people and laid waste to many rice fields and
irrigation network.
Tourist Volcano Sightseeing
The dramatic lava flows on the north eastern faces of Mt Agung is the newest
landforms, showing what the island may look like in ancient time. It is a
fascinating sightseeing experience.
Perhaps, the most popular volcano for tourists to visit and go
sightseeing is Mount Batur. This volcano sits in a giant caldera that contains
a lake that is a few miles long and over a mile wide.
Mount Batur
is actually a very active volcano. It erupted with greater frequency but the
eruptions are less violent these days except that in a great eruption in 1917
which claimed thousands of lives and destroyed hundreds of temples and
villages.
Hiking up Mount Batur in the wee small hours of the the morning
has become something of a "must do" thingy for many tourists in Bali. You will
need to bring along a sweater as it can get a little chilly towards the
summit.
There is also a little coffee shop at the rim
selling drinks for thirsty hikers and many children and women in flip flops
balancing buckets of soft drinks on their heads scampering around trying to
earn your tourist dollar. As the sun rises, you will get a picturesque view of
Lombok and other surrounding islands of Bali.
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Bali Exotic Tradition
One very interesting hike at Mt Batur is the climb down the inside of the
crater from Penelokan to Kedisan. There are boats at Toya Bungkah Lake to take
you across the lake to a village called Trunyan.
This village is notorious for its mortuary traditions. Instead of cremating
or burying their dead, the Trunyan villagers leave dead human bodies to
decompose naturally in a special cemetery.
Although Bali is known for rice cultivation, its volcanic soil is
actually not well suited for such activities. The soil is finely textured and
well drained, so water soaks through the soil rapidly and thus precious water
is wasted. The solution therefore lies in repeated and vigorous ploughing
which make the soil less permeable.
So if you are visiting Bali for your holiday vacations, do not miss out a
sightseeing trip to view Bali's majestic volcanoes. Perhaps, even better, take
a helicopter tour. - Bali Volcano Tours
as posted on Oct 2007.
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