Bali, one of some 13,000 islands comprising the Indonesian Archipelago, had an auspicious start. According to legend, when the world was formed Bali was put afloat on the back of a giant sea turtle with fragrant skies above. The gods have been generous ever since. Be advised that the time in Bali is GMT + 8 hours.

Bali has approximately 3,500,000 inhabitants of which probably 80% are Hindu Balinese. The remaining having come from neighboring islands of Java, Lombok, Madura in search of employment.

Bali lies just 8.4° (375km) south of the equator. As such the weather is tropical - consistently hot and sunny. Days are almost universally 12 hours long with sunrise is approximately 6:10 a.m.; sunset at 6:30 p.m. depending on the time of year. The daytime temperature averages between 27° C to 32° C ( 80° F to 90° F) in the southern lowlands (the main tourist venues). Humidity is quite high - a sticky 75% so often times it feels much hotter. Average temperature in the mountains is between 20° C to 25° C (70° F to 80° F). At night the mountains can get downright chilly - so bring a sweater if you plan to overnight there.

Bali’s tropical monsoon climate has two distinct seasons; dry (May to September) and wet (October to April). Monsoon refers to the wind, not the rain. However even in the wet monsoon there’s a better than even chance that it will be sunny for a good part of the day. Weather wise May, June and July are generally considered the best.