Where to Watch the Sunset in Uluwatu: The Temple, the Cliffs, the Beaches, and the Crowds at Each

Uluwatu is the south-western tip of Bali, so the whole coast from Jimbaran round to the temple faces the setting sun, and sunset is between 6:10 and 6:40 depending on the month, with dark within half an hour. The dry season, April to October, gives clear horizons; the wet season gives cloud banks that either hide the sun or turn the sky red for ten minutes, and you do not know which until it happens. Every spot below is a twenty-minute drive from any other.

Pura Luhur Uluwatu's cliff path runs along the top of a 70-metre drop with the sea below and the temple at the end, and the Kecak amphitheatre beside it is arranged so the sun sets behind the dancers. It is the classic sunset and the most crowded; the Kecak is ticketed and sells out in high season, and the path is busy from 5:00. Worth doing once. Details in the temple and Kecak guide.

Karang Boma is a bare limestone cliff edge near Pecatu with the same 70-metre drop and the same view, no temple, no rail, no fee and no shade; it is where the photographers go, and it is not a place for children or for standing near the edge in wind. Further along, the cliff tops above Bingin and Impossibles have small warungs with a table and a view. At Suluban, the cliff-top clubs above the Uluwatu surf break, Single Fin the best known, give you a drink, a crowd and the surfers below; Sunday evenings are the party.

Padang Padang, Bingin and Melasti all face west enough for the sun to set over the water. Bingin's warungs on the cliff steps put you a few metres above the surf with the sun going down in front; Melasti loses the sun early behind its cliff unless you climb the road. Jimbaran, twenty-five minutes north, is the sunset with dinner, covered in the Jimbaran guide. For the beaches themselves, see the beaches guide and the Melasti guide.