Pantai Pasir Putih
White Sand Beach
Five kilometres
north east of Candidasa on the east coast of Bali is Pasir Putih,
an isolated, beautiful, white sand beach fringed with coconut
palms.
Pasir Putih is
a five hundred metre long, crescent shaped beach, separated from
the rest of the world by green headlands at each end and a steep
cliff behind. On the beach are just half a dozen warungs put
together from bamboo and palm fronds, serving cold drinks and food,
and offering cushioned lounges under umbrellas for hire. At the far
end of the beach is a group of traditional, red, blue, green and
yellow striped, outrigger fishing boats.
On arrival at
the beach, visitors can select a warung and negotiate a menu and
time for lunch with the owners. Rather than selecting from the
blackboard menu, ask the owners what they have available, as this
is more likely to be fresh and in season. Then it’s into the
cool, crystal clear water for a swim. Sections of the bay near the
headlands also offer great snorkelling.
After enjoying
the ocean, have a soft drink or Bintang, the Indonesian beer, and
watch freshly caught seafood, chicken or traditional Indonesian
dishes prepared before you on a makeshift barbecue. Lunch will be
served with rice and fresh salads on a white table cloth in the
shade of your warung.
In the early
afternoon watch as previously unseen local fishermen mysteriously
materialise, launch their crafts into the water, unfurl colourful,
triangular, curved sails and skim across the ocean, heading out to
sea for the day’s catch.
To reach Pasir
Putih, take the main road north from Candidasa to the village of
Pelasi. The turn-off to the beach is in the middle of the village,
down a narrow road between two houses. A small, handwritten sign
with words "White Sand Beach" and arrow points the way.
From Pelasi the
road winds for a kilometre through rice paddies and then gradually
climbs for another kilometre until it reaches a cleared space in
front of a temple. There is booth where visitors might be required
to pay a small fee to the local banjar (village council). The booth
is not always manned, but if it is, the fee is 2,500 rupiahs per
person. The track to Pasir Putih is to the right of the temple.
This track is only six hundred metres long but it is steep, rocky
and full of potholes, so it is usually best to leave the car at the
top and continue on foot. If you come on motorbike, you can drive
it until the beach parking.
