One of Bali’s most iconic destinations, Kelingking Beach on the picturesque island of Nusa Penida has been the subject of no small amount of controversary in recent months. This has revolved around the construction of a massive glass elevator on the site that has polarized opinions of both locals and visitors.
Kelingking Beach shot to fame not long before the pandemic, with it’s iconic viewpoint on top of the cliffs becoming one of the most instagrammable spots in South East Asia. Everyone from backpackers and the occasional traveler to the biggest travel influencers on social media suddenly had Kelingking Beach as a “must visit” location. The sweeping views of the “T-Rex” shaped peninsular of land framing one of the most beautiful strips of beach sand surrounded by azure blue waters began popping up on everyone’s Instagram feeds almost overnight.
So imagine the uproar that occurred when they announced that a massive glass elevator would be built into the cliff face to whisk tourists swiftly down to the beach far below.
The thought behind this mind-boggling decision is, on some level, easily understood. Right below the famous viewpoint at Kelingking Beach is a set of stairs that take visitors down to the golden beach sand. The problem was always that the stairs are very steep, and what starts out as a few dozen or so solid concrete stairs quickly gives way to jagged limestone and dirt with nothing but a dodgy handrail to hold onto. Then, on top of that, many visitors in their rush to get down to the beach, fail to take into account the massive task of hauling themselves back to the top of the cliff once again. More than one over exciting tourist has suffered major medical issues attempting the feat, and the average time of the ascent is measured more in hours than minutes.
This all fails to even address the fact that ninety nine percent of visitors are not even remotely interested in visiting the beach itself. They are simply there for the views, the quick snap for Instagram, and the proof that they finally visited the iconic spot. Anyone that has done a tour of Nusa Penida will tell you that your time at Kelingking Beach is limited at the best of times as the tour has to keep moving, and the certainty of at least having a one-hour line up (sometimes up to 3 hours) limits your time even more.
So, a company that decides to build a glass elevator to take people down to a beach that they don’t even want to visit, while taking away the entire view that they actually WANT to see, is a decision that is totally out of touch with reality.
Hence the reason there was such an uproar about the construction.
Fortunately, the uproar managed to reach the ear of the Bali Governor, who stepped in on the 23rd November and ordered the project be abandoned and disassembled. The reason given for the decision was the construction didn’t adhere to up to five local regulations. In a formal statement from the Governor’s Office, he was quoted as saying that they could not tolerate development that destroys the natural environment and disregards local laws.
The construction company was given six months to adhere, and all trace of the construction was to be completely removed.
While this news was wonderful for visitors to the island, the locals are not happy. They see the construction as a great idea and feel that development of the site could only be beneficial. Whether they have taken into account the actual reasons that people visit Kelingking Beach is unknown, and many feel that this is just a money grab from local officials seeking to line their pockets courtesy of rich Chinese investors. To this end, they have attempted to delay adhering to the Governor’s instructions and are looking to sway the decision in their own favor.
Despite this, Nusa Penida and Kelingking Beach are still a hotspot for local tourism. Visitors still pile onto the island every morning, and the boats are always full and booked out.
One of the major reasons for this is due to the fact that Kelingking Beach isn’t the only incredible sight to see on what is arguably the most beautiful island in Bali. Broken Beach is a well documented yet under rated site. Nearby Angel’s Billabong is a spot that is idyllic one second, and a dangerous, life threatening force of nature the next. On the other side of the island Diamond Beach is arguably even more picturesque than Kelingking Beach, and a lot easier to get down to.
So for now, book that holiday to Nusa Penida. The construction will be gone before long, and may even be gone by the time you read this. Either way, all of the Nusa Islands and Kelingking Beach remain one of the most popular places to visit in Bali, and will be for a long time to come.
