Amed
Amed is a long stretch of coast running from the village of Culik about 14 km eastwards incorporating the seven villages of Amed, Jemeluk, Bunutan, Lipah, Selang, Banyuning andAas. The pace of life here is slow and the coastal scenery quite stunning making Amed the perfect place for a relaxed holiday in Bali.
Amed is the most recent tourist development area in Bali. It was only in 2000 that tarmac was laid on the roads. Telephone lines were installed in 2003 and it took until 2007 for a bridge to be built over a section of the main road that regularly washed away during the rainy season.
This is the most commonly used base for visitors wishing to dive the USS Liberty wreck at Tulamben. There are other good dive sites close at hand and a thriving dive industry has developed all the way along the coast here.
Amed’s inhabitants live from fishing, salt-making and tourism. The lack of tourism-based revenue, its remote nature and the generally harsh environment for farming, meant that this area was very much one of the poorer areas in Bali. Amongst others, the East Bali Poverty Project drew attention to the plight of the local villagers in this area and that, together with recent tourist development, has gone a long way to improving general standards of living, health and education.
Amed is famous for its beaches, lined with traditional outrigger fishing boats. There is quite coarse black volcanic sand at Amed village beach. As you move further east (and away from Mount Agung), the beaches have softer sand and become more of a mid grey-brown in colour. The prettiest bays are probably those at Jemeluk and Lipah but the whole stretch of coastline is very attractive.
Most people come to Amed as a getaway, including expats from other parts of the island. It is a favourite honeymoon destination for tourists and is very popular with divers and snorkelers. Day trips to local places of interest such as the water palace at Tirta Gangga and Bali’s most sacred temple, Besakih, can easily be arranged. Mount Agung with lots of trekking options just 30-40 minutes from Amed.
