Hot and arid,

the southern peninsula is known as Bukit (meaning 'hill' in bahasa Indonesia).

It's popular with visitors, from the cloistered climes of Nusa Dua to the sybaritic retreats along the south coast: Padang Padang, Pandawa, Green Bowl.

The booming west coast (often generically called Pecatu/ Ungasan) with its string-of-pearls beaches is a real hot spot.

Accommodation sits precariously on the sand at Balangan Beach while the cliffs are dotted with idiosyncratic lodges at Bingin, Impossible and elsewhere.

New places sprout daily and most have views of the turbulent waters here, which have world-famous surf breaks all the way south to the important temple of Uluwatu.