There’s a road situated within the tourist hotspot of Bali that’s causing quite the stir online.
Cutting through a cliff face, the 300 metre long road results in the favored Pandawa Beach at Badung in South Kuta.
Sometimes called a “secret beach” because of its secluded location behind a mountainous area, the beach has seen a recent surge in interest after trending on social media.
A fast scroll on TikTok and Instagram will show several clips of the unique cliff-lined road that results in the favored beach.
One clip of an aerial shot above the cliff crevice, originally shared by ‘Somethingincredibletook place’ on Instagram, has since gone viral because it shows footage swooping in between the 40m high limestone cliffs.
“That is awesome. Saved to google map immediately,” one person commented.
“This road is incredible,” a second added, with others describing as “insane”.
Nevertheless, while the development of the road has received huge praise, some social media users have branded it “dangerous”, arguing the natural rock mustn’t have been tampered with.
“Looks as if not a thoroughly thought out idea,” a Reddit user said when it was reported on the platform.
“That’s what I used to be pondering,” one other agreed. “Why not drive on top, then make a brief ramp at the tip? Seems very ridiculous.”
“Why can’t don’t they only leave it natural? Next a glass elevator at Nusa Penida, a 3rd person wrote, while a fourth said: “Can’t say I like chopping a slice out of the Earth to make a beach a bit more convenient.”
Meanwhile, given Indonesia is situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is reportedly home to 90 per cent of the world’s earthquakes, others feared what could occur to the road within the instance of such natural disasters.
“That appears like a death trap waiting to occur next earthquake or tsunami,” one person penned, while one other concerned user wrote: “Imagine an earthquake hits and [it gets] smushed. I doubt it could, but I’m way too paranoid to go there.”
The road, which reportedly took two years to construct, is nonetheless a large tourist hotspot that pulls visitors from everywhere in the world.
Social media is flooded with foreigners taking selfies and photographs from between the towering cliffs, with one “travelholic” adding she visited the location after seeing pictures of it online.
Meanwhile, the beach itself is equally as popular.
Public access road to Pandawa Beach opened in 2012 and unsurprisingly social media has since played a large road in boosting in popularity.
In response to local tour operator Bali Ogie, it was once a “secret beach” that only locals visited.
“It was super difficult to access since it was situated inside a deep valley and surrounded by all of the white stone cliffs,” it states on the web site.
“Nevertheless, since road access opened for public in 2012, it is not any longer Bali’s famous hidden beach. It’s actually a extremely popular spot for all locals and tourists.
“It’s an incredible addition to all the attractive white sand beaches within the south. The water is aqua blue and the sand is soft and powdery. It’s no wonder the word got out about this beach.”
Head of Planning and Development of DTW Pantai Pandawa, Wayan Duarta, said that interest in Tanah Barak Beach and Pandawa Beach has soared since December 2022.
He told The Bali Sun the towering cliffs that trail all the way down to the ‘hidden’ beach have gotten ultra-popular online.
There are talks of blocking off the road “in order that tourists can walk through and safely admire the geology and take photos”.
In response to Travel Triangle, the doorway fee for Pandawa Beach is $1.50 per visitor, while parking charges for cars and scooters are 50 cents and 30 cents respectively.
