Diamond Beach and Atuh Beach: The Cliff Steps, the Shore Break, and the Rest of Nusa Penida's East

Diamond Beach is a wedge of white sand at the foot of a limestone cliff on Nusa Penida's south-east corner, named for the pointed rock stacks off its end. Until 2018 it was viewed from above; then a staircase was cut into the cliff face, and it became possible to walk down. The view from the top of the steps, along the cliff to the stacks, is the photograph. The beach at the bottom is small, the sand is coarse, and the sea comes in with a shore break that knocks people over; there is no lifeguard and the currents beyond the break are strong. Go down for the walk and the base of the cliff, not for a swim.

Atuh is the next cove east, on the other side of the headland from Diamond Beach, and the two share the same car park area with the steps going down opposite sides. Atuh's beach is larger and more sheltered, with a few warungs under umbrellas selling coconuts and grilled fish, and the water is calmer at low tide, though the same care applies. The rock arch in the bay and the stacks make it as photogenic as its neighbour and it is usually less crowded. Coming down to one and up the other, with an hour on the sand, is a fair half-day.

Ten minutes from the beaches, the Thousand Islands viewpoint, Raja Lima, looks along the coast at a line of small rock islands in the sea, and the Rumah Pohon tree houses, wooden huts on stilts on the cliff edge, are the spot everyone photographs from. The tree houses are rented for the night and are otherwise a queue for the photo. A little further, the Teletubbies hills are rounded green hills that are worth a stop from the road and no more. Together with the beaches these are the east side, and they are an hour and a half from the harbour on roads that are narrow and poor.

The east does not fit into a day trip from Bali with the west side; it is a day of its own or the second morning of an overnight stay. Arrive early for the light on the white cliffs and to have the steps before the heat, and be off the beaches by noon. For how the two sides compare, see west or east; for whether to stay, day trip or overnight; and for the west side's own cliff, the Kelingking guide.