Bali

Bali is one of Indonesia's 17,000+ islands — a 5,780 km² volcanic shield surrounded by the Indian Ocean and the Java Sea. The island's distinctive culture comes from being ~87% Hindu in a country that is otherwise 87% Muslim. This anomaly survived because the Majapahit empire's elite, fleeing Java's 16th-century Islamic conquest, found refuge on Bali and brought their religious and artistic traditions intact.

The result is a uniquely Balinese form of Hinduism that blends Indic gods with local ancestor worship, animist spirits and Buddhist elements. Every house has a family shrine; every village has at least three communal temples; offerings (canang sari) are placed on streets, doorways and dashboards every morning. With ~20,000 temples in total, Bali has more shrines per capita than India.

For travellers, Bali is the most fully developed tropical destination in Asia — backed by direct flights from most Asian capitals (including Kathmandu via Singapore), world-class surf, the rice-terrace highlands around Ubud, the volcanic Mount Agung and Mount Batur, and a tourism industry that hosts 6.3 million international arrivals annually (2023). Swotah Travel arranges Bali as a multi-country itinerary add-on for Nepal-Indonesia combined trips.