Sekumpul Waterfalls

Sekumpul Waterfall is arguably Bali’s most spectacular cascades, and less visited than some less pretty, because they take a little bit of effort to reach. If you’re staying in the Lovina region, that minor effort is certainly rewarded as it means that as well as having a good chance of enjoying the area to yourself, fewer souvenir shops and hawkers are trying to sell tourist tat than at other more popular spots.

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Accessed from Sekumpul Village, 18 kilometres southeast of Singaraja or 27 kilometres from central Lovina, a steep trek though a valley of jungle vines and fruit plantations, and a lot of slippery stairs, plus a river crossing or two leads you first to two impressive adjacent waterfalls. They fall from two separate sources: a spring and a river, plummeting about 80 metres into a swimmable pool. Backtracking a little, a further 30-minute trek through the valley with more river crossings will have you passing some minor waterfalls then three more dramatic cascades, evenly spaced, but of different heights. This second group of waterfalls is signposted both Lemukih Waterfall (the name of a nearby village) and Gombong Waterfall, however the whole area of seven falls (according to our guide), which possibly includes the smaller falls, is locally referred to as Sekumpul, literally in Indonesian, “a group”.

The second group of falls. Photo taken in or around Sekumpul Waterfall , Lovina, Indonesia by Sally Arnold.

The second group of falls. Photo: Sally Arnold

As with most natural attractions in Bali, there’s an entry fee: 15,000 rupiah, payable at a small booth in the village. A local trekking association offers guided treks of the area with warnings that it’s at your own risk if you don’t use a guide. It would be easy enough to reach the first falls unguided, but we found our guide helpful navigating the paths and several river crossings to the second group of falls as the trail wasn’t so obvious. Rates quoted for a group size of up to four trekkers are 100,000 rupiah for a short trek (two hours), 150,000 rupiah for a medium trek (three hours), and 300,000 rupiah for a long trek ... please log in to read the rest of this story.