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Located 8 degrees south of
the equator in the midst of the 8,000 islands of the
Indonesian archipelago, Bali measures approximately 140 km
by 80 km and has an area of 5,620 square kilometers.
Immediately east of Java, Bali is the first of the Sunda
Islands lies between the islands of Java and Lombok and is
one of more than 17,000 islands that make up the Indonesian
Archipelago.. Its mountain range consists mostly of dormant
and active volcanoes, with the highest, the active volcano
Mount Gunung Agung, reaching 3,142 meters and last erupted
1963. Stretched to the south and north of these volcanoes,
Bali's fertile agricultural lands produce abundant crops of
rice. The rich volcanic soil and healthy monsoon season make
this island extremely fertile and a range of crops are grown
here. The wide, gently sloping southern regions play host to
Bali's famed terraced rice paddies, among the most
spectacular in the world. In the hilly, northern coastal
regions, the main produce is coffee, copra, spices,
vegetables, cattle and rice.
The thinly populated West is
the only non-cultivated area and includes Bali's National
Park, a deeply forested area with many varieties of plants
and birds. The eastern and northeastern slopes of Gunung
Agung are arid, as is the extreme south of the island. The
climate of most of the island is hot and humid, with an
average temperature of 28 Celcius, but the higher altitudes
can be quite cool. The rainy season lasts from October to
March, and the humidity fluctuates between 75% and 80%
depending on the season. Winds tend to blow from the West
during the rainy season and from the East during the 'dry'
season.
CLIMATE
Bali's climate is tropical.
Temperatures average between 21C and 33C. In the
mountains, however, it can go as low as 5C at night.
Humidity varies between 60% and 100%.
In general, Bali experiences
two seasons: moist and wet! The rainy season is
normally from November to April, during which it can rain
for several hours each day. The rain tends to be
intermittent, however, with plenty of sun in between.
The dry season is normally
from May to October.
TIME ZONE
Bali is in the Central
Indonesian Time zone, which is GMT+8 hours. |
